ic Test Your Might IC

[Thevshi]

Along the banks of the Yarlung Tsangpo River

Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, People’s Republic of China

Wednesday August 2, 2023 10:45 AM local time

 

Situated high on the Tibetan Plateau, the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon lay in the eastern end of the Himalaya range, where the great Yarlung Tsangpo River turned south through the range, before dropping nearly ten thousand feet to the lower gorge and into northeastern India. With an average depth of nearly 7,500 feet, it was the deepest canyon on land, and was slightly longer than the American Grand Canyon.

 

Despite the high elevation, the day was fairly warm, reaching into the low 70's. This was tapered somewhat by occasional light rain from the cloudy sky. While the rain was intermittent, it was enough that all of the vegetation in the forest covering the banks of the river in this stretch of the canyon was soaking wet.

 

Veronica Danger moved through the wet vegetation, following after Davyd Palahniuk as he tracked through the forest. The young brunette was, as always, dressed in a pair of cargo shorts (black in this case), a linen Khaki button up short sleeve shirt worn over a grey T-shirt and a pair of well-worn hiking boots. However, given the rain and wet vegetation, Veronica had added a lightweight waterproof parka, which she had pulled out of her dimensional storage when the rain had started over an hour ago (providing similar parkas to her friends that wanted one).

 

A short distance behind Veronica was the third member of the trio hiking through the forest, Louise (Lulu) Beaumont. While both Davyd and, more recently, Lulu, where employees of Danger International, when Veronica had asked for their assistance it was based on their friendship that went back to their first year together at Claremont Academy.

 

The trio where hiking through this remote forest in search of any signs of Veronica's younger brother, Rex Danger III. The teenage Danger had been accompanying a group of scientist employed by Danger International conducting research in the canyon. Two days ago Rex had vanished from the base camp the scientists were working out of and had not been seen since.

[Dr Archeville]

Anyone shadowing the trio would not see Davyd Palahniuk, the young Ukrainian-American who had just turned 21 years old and was quickly making a name for himself in Danger Media.  No, they would see something more in line with his nom de guerre, Horrorshow.  He was currently in the form of some terrifying predatory beast, roughly the size and shape of a bear, with a head somewhere between a boar and a basset hound -- looking like a half-melted pig -- and a flickering serpent's tongue.  Veronica had provided him with some of her brother's worn clothes, so he had a solid read on Rex's scent.

 

Speaking in this form had proven difficult (and disturbing), but he found he could shift the patterns of his fur to form crude symbols, arrows and stop signs.  The latter was no showing, as he had stopped and was sniffing in several directions.

 

[Heritage]

Crystal-Gazer

 

I never should have let you watch Annihilation.

 

Lulu Beaumont's mental message was humorously grave but accentless, like all her mental messages; it was always somewhat disconcerting, since her Deep South accent was part of her charm. But her telepathy was so darn useful something as simple as a missing accent was irrelevant.

 

Like many redheads, Lulu was very fair-skinned, so she had to dress carefully if she didn't want to get a bad burn. In this case. It meant high socks to go with her cargo shorts, leaving little more than her pale knees exposed. She also had on a hooded rain slick to keep out most of the rain.

 

"Man, this would've been so much easier if ah could've used mah ESP to scan out here; we'd have found Rex in no time. But ah guess ah should be happy the People's Republic let in a telepath at all, all things considerin'."

 

She fiddled with the limiter collar around her pale neck for the umpteenth time; it wasn't particularly heavy or bulky, but in a high humidity environment like this, sweat was bound to build up underneath it.

Edited November 5, 2023 by Heritage

[Thevshi]

Veronica Danger

 

Veronica glanced back at Lulu, giving the redhead a sympathetic smile as she tugged on the limiter collar. "I know it is a pain, but a necessary concession." The young Danger said with her faint French accent. Despite Lulu's abilities being somewhat hampered, Veronica was very grateful for both her and Davyd’s help in trying locate her missing brother. While there was some concern regarding Rex's disappearance, it was offset by the fact he was a Danger.

 

Up ahead of the two young women, Davyd had found Rex's scent. It was faint, but the teenage Danger had clearly headed this direction. Following the scent, Davyd led the group further into the rain soaked forest, following along the path of the Yarlun Tsangpo. As they went, a distant rumble could be heard, which continued to increase in volume as Davyd followed the trial.

 

Eventually, the path brought the trio to a clearing along the banks of the river, where they got a view of the sound of the now roaring sound of falling water. Less than half a mile ahead was a massive series of stepped waterfalls that led up towards the upper portion of the Tibetan Plateau. Davyd still had a lock on Rex's scent, seemingly leading toward the waterfall.

[Dr Archeville]

Horrorshow

 

Davyd was mostly focused on tracking Rex's scenet, but a part of him could not help but feel bad for Lulu.  All Claremont alumni had spent some time under the effects of power limiters, either to tamp down uncontrollably flaring powers or while training under "extreme conditions," so he knew how uncomfortable those things could be.  (Especially ones made by a government that did not have the best track record on the comfort and well-being of foreigners, metahumans, or foreign metahumans.)  For him, wearing one had felt like being bound in a straitjacket, and he imagined that for her, it would be like wearing blinders and earmuffs and noseplugs.  He thanked his lucky stars that he was not bound by one of those, a feat attrbuted to his Danger Media work credentials, Veronica's diplomacy, and his own underplaying of his abilities.  And if their collar didn't work on me, because of my hybrid nature, I'd really rather not have to explain it's because I'm part Grue, that would just open up several more cans of worms!

 

He paused and sniffed the air, the ground, then the air again, and waved a paw towards the waterfalls in the distance.  

 

[Heritage]

Crystal-Gazer

 

"Let's try a lil' aerial recon, whatcha think?"

 

Lulu held her arms out to her sides and gracefully took to the air, being mindful to keep her elevation well below two hundred feet. Her bright green rain slick made her look a bit like a kite or a Tinker Bell toy, dipping and bobbing in the light rain.

 

It sure is beautiful up here, she sent with a mental sigh. She sent her visual senses no more than fifty yards ahead, scanning the area starting at the foot of the falls, looking for any trace of Rex, both hoping to and dreading to find him.

Edited November 5, 2023 by Heritage

[Thevshi]

Veronica Danger

 

Indeed. Replied Veronica through Lulu's mental link. One of the things I have always enjoyed about traveling, getting out to some of the remaining areas of mostly unexploited natural beauty. Like many of the parts of the Sahara we got to see during the Dakar Rally.

 

As Lulu took to the air, Davyd continued along the banks of the river toward the series of waterfalls, Veronica following closely behind. Lulu was able to cover ground a bit quicker than Davyd and Veronica, but as she was regularly scanning a wider area, the other two managed to generally keep pace with the redhead, as Davyd's tracking of Rex's scent led him in more of a direct path.

 

Ultimately, both Davyd and Lulu zeroed in on a small clearing next to one of the pools of water that formed on one of the upper tiers of the waterfall. Sitting up against a tree at the edge of the clearing was a rugged, worn backpack bearing the Danger International logo on it.

 

As Davyd approached the pack, he clearly picked up Rex’s scent all over the pack. The young teen's scent then led away from the pack, apparently heading further up the bank along the waterfalls.

 

Still hovering up in the air, Lulu continued to mentally scan the area around the banks of the stepped waterfalls. While the redhead was picking up a variety of wildlife in the area, there was no sign of any other humans, much less Veronica's younger brother.

 

Veronica meanwhile had initially started towards her brother's pack when she had turned her attention towards the next tier of waterfalls. The brunette's attention was focused on one of the waterfalls in particular, an intense expression on her face as she studied it for several moments.

 

[Dr Archeville]

Horrorshow

 

Davyd smoothly shifted to his human form, taking a moment to flex his jaw and fingers to make sure he'd gotten them back into proper morphology.  He appeared to be dressed in brown hiking gear, similar to what Veronica was wearing, though with a prominent "PRESS" on the front and back -- as one might see on journalist's body armor -- and a smaller Danger Media logo above.  He approached the backpack with one hand outstretched, then paused and withdrew his hand.  "Hey, Veronica, you think Rex might have left a note or clue inside his-," he started, before noticing that she was focused on... something.  "You spot something with that 'third eye' of yours?"  He waved at Lulu to draw her attention, then pointed towards Veronica.

 

[Heritage]

Crystal-Gazer

 

Shortly thereafter Lulu gently alighted in the clearing next to her two friends, initially excited to see the pack. "Hot damn, we're on the right track!" But then she looked around the clearing, at the lack of any more additional signs of the young man. "Hell of a place to leave all your stuff behind."

 

Using her TK, she gently explored the backpack as she crouched down beside it, not wanting to leave any fingerprints or contaminating fibers on it. She was looking for any signs of damage, rips or tears that might indicate a struggle.

[Thevshi]

Veronica Danger

 

As Vernoica studied the waterfall, she could see mystical energy seeping out, it was faint, only those with some means of sensing magical energy were likely to detect it, and even then many that could might have overlooked it. But Veronica was able to look deeper, through the waterfall and into the actual source of the mystical energy beyond. One hand reached up and grasped the medallion the young woman was always wearing. As she did, Veronica shifted the magical energy contained within two of the gems set into the medallion, shifting the abilities the gems provided as she studied the mystical energy from inside the waterfall which seemed very familiar.

 

"Yes," she replied to Davyd's question about seeing something. "There is very strong magical source behind the central waterfall on the tier above us. It seems….familiar."

 

As Veronica studied the waterfall, Lulu took a closer look at Rex's pack. While it certainly had seen use, it was in good shape and did not show any signs of being tampered with or damage to it. Everything seemed to be in place, save for one externa pouch that was empty, and appeared to have held a canteen, which was missing.

 

A smile came to Veronica's face as she placed the memory of where she had encountered a similar magical energy, focusing back on her companions, she looked over to Davyd and Lulu with a small grin. "I think I know where Rex is." She stated. "He went through a portal that is behind that waterfall. The energy signature is similar to the portal several members of Green Team and I encountered a couple of years ago in the Taklamaka Dester in Western China that took us to the Lost World."

[Dr Archeville]

Horrorshow

 

"A portal to the Lost World?!"  Davyd grinned, wider than any human should be capable of, "I could get some great footage for Danger Media!" 

 

He cleared his throat, then began narrating in a calm, Attenboughian tone, "here, in a remote valley nestled in the Himalyan mountains, behind this majestic waterfall, likes a portal to a land which time forgot.  Here, a staggering array of plants and animals -- most not seen anywhere else on Earth for tens of millions of years -- lead lives which interlock in such a way that they sustain a rich and varied ecosystem.  What might we learn from this fragment of the past, and how might it inform our stewardship of this world moving forward?  I'm Davyd Antonenko, and on this episdoe of Mundane & Marvelous, we explore this misplaced microcosm, this Lost Worl- oh... oh, wait." 

 

He paused, shook his head, "wait, did the D.I. scientists know that was here?  No, no, they would have mentioned that.  So," he grimaced, "they must have stumbled across it.  They wouldn't be totally unprepared, but..."  He looked to Veronica, to Lulu, and back to Veronica.

 

[Heritage]

Crystal-Gazer

 

Lulu held out one hand, and Rex's pack floated over to her, and she slung one of its straps over one shoulder. It would probably be a lot more awkward to carry if her TK wasn't doing most of the lifting.

 

"Oh Lord, that does not sound good; helluva surprise if you didn't know what yer gettin' into."

 

The redheaded held out her arms to either side and floated into the air in a t-pose, smiling grimly.

 

"Anyone need a lift?"

[Thevshi]

Veronica Danger

 

Vernonica had taken out her smartphone and was typing something as she glanced up to look at both Davyd and Lulu as they commented about Rex ending up in the Lost World. "Well, I said it was 'similar' too portal to the Lost World I previously encountered, but it is different. I am not certain this one goes to the Lost World as well, but it certainly goes…somewhere." She stated as she finished whatever she was typing and put her phone away once more.

 

"Only one way to truly find out." She stated with a small smile. "I have sent a pin and message to Prudence, so she will have record of our last location and what we are planning to do."

 

At Lulu's offer, Veronica gave a small nod. "Sure, a lift would be great."

[Dr Archeville]

Horrorshow

 

Davyd gazed up at Lulu, and 'T-pose to assert dominance' echoed briefly through Davyd's head as a few years of memes rolled through.  Focus, Dayv, focus.

 

"Ah, so no real idea what's on the other side," he replied with a nod, leaping up and across the rocks on caprine legs to reach Veronica's level.  "Might be wise to prepare for the worst, then."  His body swelled with enhanced musculature, his skin shifted to a vibrant crimson & took on the glossy sheen of chitin, and claws and a lashing tail smoothly slid into view.  "Rrready when you arrre," he growled.

[Heritage]

Crystal-Gazer

 

Reaching out with her TK, Lulu gently picked up Veronica in her invisible mental grasp, and began floating towards the portal.

 

"Be ready for anythin', ah guess!"

 

She closed her eyes and braced herself for the unknown.

[Thevshi]

Veronica Danger

 

"Always." Veronica said in response to Lulu's comment about being prepared for anything as she relaxed and allowed her friend to lift her into the air.

 

In short order the three young adults were approaching the waterfall, which still looked like a normal waterfall to Lulu and Davyd. But just before the came into contact with the water everything around them began to warp and shift, the water and rocks becoming a blurred collage of color. Then there was a slight jolt, and the three were no longer looking at a waterfall, but standing in the mouth of a cave looking down in to a lush, verdant valley below.

 

A narrow river wound its way through the valley, and further in the three could see cultivated fields, some of which stretched up the steep hillsides in terraced sections. Towards the far end of the valley, they could see a small village of simple white buildings, and rising up above it on a rocky hill was a large complex of white walled buildings with red and gold peaked roofs, the tallest of which was at the very crest of the hill, towering above the valley.

 

A small smile came to Veronica's lips as she looked out at the scene before them. "I can see why Rex might not have been in a hurry to come back."

[Dr Archeville]

Artificer

 

Are there people there?  Humans?  Humanoids?  Something else?!

 

Xeno!Davyd crouched and sniffed at the ground, then the air, rising to the full 6'9" of chitinous horror height.  "Ssssooo," he hissed, "thisss feelsss... sssafe?"

 

He tilted his head towards their resident psychic, Lulu, what does your mind's eye see?  He could not help but flash an image of a certain meme featuring Orlando Bloom.

 

[Heritage]

Crystal-Gazer

 

Floating in the air, Lulu closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nose, held it for a few seconds, and then slowly exhaled through her lips. "Mmm...sure seems peaceful here! Let's have a look 'round, see what's the what."

 

A little bit of Davyd's pop culture obsession crossed over to Lulu in his thoughts, and she grinned. "Well ah'm no Legolas, but ah'll give it the ol' Alabama try." An absent-minded roll of her neck snapped her Chinese government-issued inhibitor collar like it was a cheap Happy Meal toy, easy work for her TK. "There, that's better!"

 

The telepathic redhead's eyes went unfocused as she sent her eyes and ears far ahead of their little group. Her head cocked this way and that, and when she spoke, it was just a bit too loud. "Hmm...not a lotta tech 'round here; looks like most folks are doin' things the old-fashioned way. Simple tools an' draft animals. Wait a sec, ah see...ah see him!" She raised a hand to point at the distant structure. "He's at some kinda monastary or somethin', doin' martial arts and whatnot. C'mon!"

 

And at that, she began swooping through the air!

Edited January 14 by Heritage

[Thevshi]

Veronica Danger

 

Veronica smiled slightly as Lulu broke off the inhibitor the redhead had been required to wear to operate within Chinese boarders. It could be a bit of a problem when they left this dimension and returned to the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, but then the young Danger could easily teleport them away once they were all back in their native dimension, without the need to trek back down the river banks.

 

The three young adults made their way through the lush countryside of the bright river valley, a few people working in the fields stopping what they were doing to regard them with curiosity as they went (particularly as Davyd shifted back to his normal human form as they drew closer).

 

Soon, the three drew near the base of the rocky hill and the monastery which sat on top of it. Up head, they could see the group of what appeared to be monks, one of who was clearly sparring with a fourteen year old with brown hair dressed in oliver cargo pants and a tan T-shirt. Seeing the trio approach, the monk sparring with Rex stepped out of his fighting stance to regard the group as they approach. Seeing his opponent stop, Rex shifted out of a fighting stance as well and turned around, a wide smile coming to his face.

 

Although only fourteen, Rex Danger was already taller than his sister. There was a strong resemblance with Veronica, although his features were much more masculine. It likely was little surprise that he had a lean, athletic build, which likely would continue to gain muscle as he matured.

 

"Ronnie. Should have known they would ask you to come look for me." Rex called out as he moved forward away from the group of monks who stood silently by observing. "Isn't this place amazing?" He stated as he gave Vernoica a hug. Like his sister, the younger Danger had a slight trace of a French accent.

Glancing at Davyd and Lulu, he gave them a smile as well. "And this must be Davyd and Lulu."

 

Veronica stepped back from her brother, letting her smile fade as she gave him a slightly stern look. "Rex, what were you thinking? You realize you just disappeared two days ago right? You didn't think anyone would get worried?"

[Dr Archeville]

Horrorshow

 

As Davyd resumed his Normal Human^TM form, his morphic molecule clothing shifted from brown cargo pants and hiking gear to something akin to the homespun, pre-Industrial clothing worn by the fieldhands they passed.  He smiled and waved at them, trying to appear friendly, or at least non-threatening.  Kinda reminds me of some of the stories babusya told about the old country.

 

He nodded to the monk Rex had been sparring with, followed by a quick bow.  He then offered a hand to Rex, "good to meet you," he replied, "you're looking well!  Glad to see you're safe."

 

[Heritage]

Crystal-Gazer 

 

Lulu crossed her arms, shook her head and clicked her tongue, unconsciously channeling her bio mom with her obvious disappointment. The more she spoke, the more animated she became, with much waving and pointing. 

 

"Boy, you had your sister an' me worried sick!  You can't just run off willy-nilly through portals like 'at! Ah know you think you're all skilled and what-not, but you're still a kid, an' your people worry 'bout you when you go off an' do somethin' so foolish. Ah swear, you'll be the death of me!"

 

Her accent had gotten super thick.

Edited January 31 by Heritage

[Thevshi]

Veronica Danger

 

The monk that had been sparing with Rex gave Davyd a small bow in return as he and his companions silently watched the interactions between Rex and his sister and Lulu.

 

The young Danger was slightly taken aback at his sister’s reaction, "I mean I.." and then he as cut off by Lulu as she started in on him, further throwing Rex off.

 

"But I…"

"I can…"

 

He tried several times to interrupt, but the Southern redhead did not give him any opportunity to do so until she was finished with what she had to say. As he listened, Rex’s somewhat cocky confidence appeared to deflate somewhat.

 

When she had finally finished, Rex began to answer. "I…I had planned to go back out and let people know I was okay. I…just lost track of time."

 

"What was so important that you could not at least come out and let us know you were okay and where you were?" Veonica asked, still somewhat frustrated. "I get that this place is beautiful and has a quaint charm to it."

Rex gave his sister a slightly annoyed look. "What about that time you and Janus got stuck in…"

"That was different." Veronica stated, cutting off her brother. "First, we were older, but more importantly, we did not have an immediate means of returning, so we had to spend a bit of time figure out how to get back."

[Dr Archeville]

Horrorshow

 

Dang!

 

"Okay, okay," Davyd slipped between the Danger siblings, "we're all happy to be reunited, and relieved that everyone is safe, which is the important thing.  Rex," he turned to face the younger sibling, "I'm sure you didn't mean to make anyone worry, and when you explain yourself," he turned more towards Veronica and Lulu, "which we will give you time to do," he turned to Rex, "we'll see that you were learning important skills here, and perhaps even teaching these fine folks," he turned to the monk and his companions, then back to Rex, "a thing or two.  And surely, after seeing how worried we all were, he will do better about communications in the future.  Now, ladies," he turned to face the elder sibling & Lulu, "I'm sure that, once Rex explains himself, you'll recall similar times where we all got caught up in the moment, but, thanks to the lessons we'd learned from our mentors and allies, we were able to get through with minimal fuss, and were stronger for it in the end.  And that any punishments you might impose on him," he turned back to Rex and nodded solemnly, "will be tempered by these memories."

 

He paused to look down at himself, and realized that he had not been turning back and forth as he spoke, but rather had been turning continuously clockwise, so now his torso looked like a Twizzler.

[Heritage]

Crystal-Gazer 

 

Lulu still had her arms crossed, but her demeanor had softened some; her tone wasn't nearly harsh when she spoke, and there was a hint of smile on her lips.

 

"It looks like you're feelin' a bit guilty; good. You should be. But after all is said and done, turns out you're fine and you just have a case of the 'forgotums', coined by Great Aunt Cecilia to describe the forlorn and crestfallen look on a kid's face when he sees how pissed off and worried his folks is."

 

She sighed, shook her head and ran her fingers through her red locks before giving Rex a smile and a wink.

 

"So, you ever plannin' to introduce us to your new friends?"

Edited February 20 by Heritage

[Thevshi]

Veronica Danger

 

Rex took the opportunity provided by Davyd to take a step back from his sister and Lulu, but the teen stayed focused on Davyd as he addressed each of them in turn, twisting his torso as he did so in a most unnatural way. Of course, the young Danger was not overly surprised by this, he had known his sister had attended Claremont, and generally knew many of her friends from there had amazing powers.

The monks had been silently watching the exchange, but clearly became surprised by Davyd's inadvertent display of his powers and several began talking to each other in low voices, using some language that none of those gathered recognized.

 

"No, your right Davyd, I am sure Rex can explain what distracted him the past couple of days, and as far as a Danger family unintended dimensional trip goes, so far this is certainly one of the least dangerous ones." Veronica stated with a small smile as Davyd seemed to realize what he had unintentionally done.

 

Rex relaxed as both Lulu and his sister seemed to clam down. "Yeah, I have not really been able to communicate with them so far. They mainly speak some language I do not recognize. Some seem to speak a bit of Mandrin, but not enough that I can really get much across to them with Cantonese." The teenage Danger stated as he turned back towards the monks, who had gone quite once more after the initial surprise at Davyd’s unnatural contortion. "So, this, I think, is Zong, Quan and Tsang." He indicated three of the monks, who all gave a small bow.

 

"But, as for losing track of time…I mean just beyond the peaceful tranquility of this place, I quickly came across Zong and some of the others training." He looked over to his sister. "Ronnie knows I have studied martial arts here and there as we have traveled with our parents, but I have never really seen what I have seen some of them do. I have been trying to convince them to allow me to train here, but been difficult as we cannot really understand each other."