All Ways of Contending

[Cyroa]

As soon as he was freed, Dark Star turned and rocketed upwards, coming even with the good Doctor whose upwards momentum had begun to reverse. He reached out and grabbed the man once more, before racing towards space at all available speed. "Sorry about that Doc. You're injuries will have to wait for a bit." As soon as the air got thin, he slowed just a hair to only two or three miles per second to extend the field over the Doctor, protecting him from the rigors of space. The very instant he was far enough away, there was a flash as Dark Star accelerated far beyond light speed.

Of course, it only lasted a fraction of a second before he paused slightly outside the system, changed direction and shot off again. After a few more iterations of this, he hoped they were safe from pursuit. He ended the multi-bursting of lightspeed jumps somewhere behind Mars before he stopped their escape.

Floating above the red planet, Dark Star turned to address his fellow hero. "I certainly hope you've got an idea for what comes next...We need to get somewhere where I can drop this shield if you'd like me to heal you too."

[Dr Archeville]

As Dark Star zipped about, Archeville slowly came to.

What the frack hit- Where the frack are we?!

Well, I do believe that is Mars below us, which would mean we-.

I know what that means!

"Right," Archeville feebly replied, "just give me von moment to..." His hands slowly moved to the controls on his circuitry-lined belt, which at the moment was not giving off its usual soft blue glow. A few parts appeared to be burnt out -- though his face and hands were even more burned from Odysseus' plasma -- but the Doktor did.. something to it, and it began to glow again. Soon he was surrounded by his protective force field, which Dark Star knew, from their exchanges during the experiments they'd been conducting barely more than an hour ago in their home dimension, was sufficient to protect him from the hazards of outer space.

"I should put some of dese on a separate circuit, und install some redundancies," he muttered as he closed some tiny panels on his belt. He then looked up to Dark Star, "Hurry, please, dere is much ve must do."

[Cyroa]

Dark Star nodded, floating in space, as he altered his radiation and pushed it out towards the doctor, regenerating his tissue damage easily. The Doctor's injuries didn't seem severe so it should only take a moment.

"So do you have a plan? We're in a different reality entirely and I'm unsure about how to get back. I've been doing some experimentation lately with wormholes and, while in theory it could be used to cross realities, I'm a bit too new at it to know how to figure out what reality to get to. Even if I could alter the gravitic resonance to create it in the first place." Dark Star was something of a scientist, or had been. But he was no where near the Doctor's level. He was just a regular level scientist while the Doc was up in theoretical impossibility land.

"There's also the matter of should we even attempt to leave yet. We don't know what he was up to or what his plans are. We certainly can't let him lure others." He paused in thought. "Plus, if he is something of a dictator, do the people of this world need help? I'm not sure I can turn my back on them if so..."

[Dr Archeville]

Archeville's scorched flesh rapidly regenerated, a process he seemed fascinated in watching.

We need to bottle this kid.

I do not believe he is a 'kid'... and anyway, there are far more pressing matters to contend with!

Yes, of course! We could...

We should also...

After he was healed, Archeville got a far-off look in his eye, and he seemed to just stare off into space for a moment.

The moment seemed to stretch on.

And on.

And on.

And then was broken by a burst of wild gesturing and pointing, and streams of rapid speech... which Dark Star could not hear since they were no longer in the same life support bubble (no shared air = no sound).

After a bit he paused, and stared at his starry companion, as if waiting for an answer to some question. The expression breaking on his face -- followed by a slap of his forehead -- showed that he realized that none of his words had gotten though. He took up his E.S., reconfigured it to the short-range radio/gravity communicator, and began again.

"Dere are two or three dings ve need to do, Herr Star. First, ve need to find some vay to get back to our home dimension. In mein laboratory you had mentioned you had recently figured out how to create vormholes; I believe dat may be a vay out, mit de proper adjustments. But ve cannot leave yet: ve must get back to dat Earth und find out exactly vhat happened..."

Clearly he had not heard anything Dark Star had said while being healed.

"... particularly to Gladiator, deir version of Centurion, und his final battle mit August Roman. Odysseus said dings vent to Hell vonce Gladiator vas out, but I dink ve may be able to bring him back."

Bring him back? Yes, Archeville clearly put the "Mad" in "Mad Scientist."

"Don't give me dat look, ve can do dis. Ve just need to figure out exactly vhen und vhere Gladiator vas vhen he vas ejected from Earth, und in vhat direction und at vhat speed. Den it's a simple matter of calculating how far he could haff gone, adjusting for de gravitational pull of stars und planets und thirty years of other celestial phenomena, und following de path."

A "simple matter." Riiight....

"Also, I vould also like to examine de Farsiders on de Moon. Odysseus spoke of dem in a less-dan-kind tone, und I vould like to know vhy... dough ve must be careful, as mein research of de Atom Family's exploits indicates de Farsiders haff some potent telepaths among dem." He tapped his head at the word 'telepath,' perhaps Odysseus und his regime fear dem because dey can break vhatever mental conditioning dey use, or perhaps dey fear dem as competition. If it is de former, ve may be able to make some allies here."

He paused again and looked past Dark Star, to Mars. "I vould also like to see mein doppelganger, mein counterpart here... but dat is more personal curiosity, und can vait."

He paused again, "on second dought..." His face lit up, "seeing mein counterpart may be de best vay to learn vhat ve need to of dis vorld: he vould keep an eye on dings de same as I, even if unable or... unvilling... to do anyding about it! Ja... ja! Can you carry me vhile cloaked back to Earth? I can point de vay to vhere mein counterpart may be, dough ve must be careful as dey may be expecting us to visit meinself."

[Cyroa]

Dark Star listened, and frowned a little as he listened to the Doctor. He extended the gravity bubble around them again so he could talk. "First, does one of your devices receive radio signals? Otherwise, me responding to you is going to be harder."

He paused. "Doctor, I think your premise is flawed. You're making an assumption that the 'you' here is like you. It's a completely different world. There is no way to predict what kind of man your counterpart is. He could be a silent resistor or a willing employee or servitor of Odysseus. There is no way to know that, before actually contacting him, short of attempting to do some research first. I'm reluctant. If the you here is working freely with Odysseus, and there's no way to determine that from out here, we could be in trouble. If the you here is as smart as you, they could have prepared for us to come visit." He shrugged his shoulders. "Just want to make sure we're aware of the possibility."

"But in answer to your questions, yes I can get us there without notice. Unfortunately, doing so makes it a lot slower." He looked around, trying to figure out where they were. "Hmm...maybe 20 minutes or so?"

[Dr Archeville]

'Can it receive radio signal'? HA!

It is not his fault he does not know, we have barely shown him what our Gadget can do.

Archeville nodded, "ja, it can, but since you haff put dis back up, dere is no need to at de moment."

"Und I know dere are dangers -- dat is de entire reason vhy I suggested ve go in cloaked! Und doing research is exactly vhat I am talking about! However, I do not believe mein doppelganger here is vorking mit Odysseus -- vhen I asked about meinself, he said mein counterpart vas not involved in any work mit him. Vhich means mein counterpart could be opposing him... or is dead. Dough, admittedly, dat may haff been a lie."

He stroked his chin thoughtfully, then snapped his fingers, "right, revised plan: ve get back to Earth, cloaked, und just monitor de radio chatter. See if dere's any mention of mein counterpart, or of other heroes und villains of de vorld. Ve may be able to find somevon else who can help us."

20 minutes?! Bah!

Unless you have something constructive to add, be quiet.

"Dat long, eh? Hrm... vell, vhat if you just take us to, say, de Moon, as fast as you can, und den cloak us as ve approach Earth?"

[Cyroa]

He nodded. "Ok, I was just trying to think things through. Yeah, that'd be faster by far." He turned and project the energy, surpassing light speed instantly. Within a few seconds, they were floating around the moon. Keeping them cloaked, he headed for the planet. They had some snooping to do.

[Avenger Assembled]

The world below was a strange place, one eerily similar to the world left behind by the two superheroes but at the same time very different. The nations they remembered still seemed to be there, all of them speaking the same language with many of the same customs, with a few small differences here and there. Listening close, Dark Star was able to make out something about "The Government," a word that appeared to be in the same language (English) in every broadcast he overhead. Having visited alien worlds that were a single unified state before, Dark Star was able to deduce that The Government was the ruling governmental body he recognized. There was some chatter from Freedom City about the recent return of the Liberty Brigade from their mission to "another world," and a promise of a personal visit from The Leader as soon as it was within his power.

And from Germany, something else was going on. There were reports of a battle going on right that very moment in the Black Forest, an engagement between the Eagle Defense Squadron and "The Archeville!" Dark Star could hear the broadcasts right now of what sounded like a good-sized tactical engagement between infantry and...something else. It was hard to sort out exactly what they were saying without a closer inspection of the deep, uncharted areas of the woods where the battle was going on.

[Cyroa]

Dark Star listened as they slowly moved towards the home that wasn't there own. He wasn't concerned with speed, just keeping the two of them hidden. He wasn't sure if this world government was benevolent or not. And honestly, at one time, he would have just approached them and spoke to them. But he'd learned a lot since then.

He broadcast a weak signal, just enough so Doc would pick it up, as they descended. "Doctor? I'm getting some brief bits on some form of unified world government and a Leader. Which considering out arrival might not be too helpful. Also the Liberty Brigade just returned from off-world apparently. The signals aren't exactly chock full of information, and there aren't that many either." He paused. "Hey, this just in...think we know where your double is. The Archeville is currently involved in a good size battle, 'tactical engagement' against the Eagle Defense Squadron. Seems like infantry and something extra too. It's going down right now in the Black Forest." He already altered course, expecting the Doctor would want to head that way.

[Dr Archeville]

Ah-HA! I knew we were up to something important!

I have a bad feeling about this.

Archeville had been listening in on the radio and tv signals with his own gadget, and was rather surprised to her his name. "Ja, Herr Star, please take us down! I... I must see for meinself."

[Avenger Assembled]

Down below, over Germany, the two heroes found the Black Forest in flames. The Eagle Defense Squadron apparently got their names from the jet-powered wings they wore, each wing harness carrying one armored, helmeted soldier wielding what looked like an impressively advanced blaster rifle. In the air and on the ground, the Eagles were engaged with a rag-tag army of what looked at first glance like scrappy resistance fighters battling the world-state, each of them wearing mismatched uniforms and carrying old-fashioned projectile weapons. At least until they got close enough to see that each and every resistance fighter had a splay of tentacles across their scalps that made it look like they all had sea anemones for hair. Something very peculiar was going on here. It was an easy matter to find the centerpiece for the two armies; the Eagles in a flying carrier at the edge of the horizon that looked like an actual aircraft carrier given wings, and "the Archeville" down below in the heart of the looming Feldberg itself.

[Dr Archeville]

What the-

I told you I had a bad feeling about this!

Are those... are those my neural inhibitors on their heads?

Oh, I hope our doppelganger has not been taken over by your counterpart!

Archeville was intently studying the ragtag group, "can you get us a bit closer? I vould like a better look at dose... dings on de men's heads. I am also going to vant to go dere," he pointed to the apparent centerpiece of his counterpart's army, "und learn more about vhat is going on here. Und, if ve are lucky, ve can find more answers to our other qvestions -- if mein doppelganger is fielding a group dis size, ragtag as it is, he should have some monitoring und communications equipment vhich ve can use."

[Cyroa]

Ok, those are odd...

"Will do Doc." He flew them closer, keeping an eye, ear and gravitic senses peeled. He had no idea what was going on here but it didn't look good. He was going to keep them hidden as long as possible. Hopefully they'd figure this out...

[Avenger Assembled]

The mountain before them was a strange place to Dark Star, gravitically all deep canyons and ravines that were barely visible to his naked eye. There was obviously something going on inside the mountain itself that was distorting the local laws of physics significantly, reminding him more of alien technology he'd encountered during his voyages in the stars than anything else. He'd have to think about it to get a better grasp of what was going on, though.

For Doctor Archeville's part, the tentacles down below did indeed bear a strong resemblance to his own neural inhibitors: indeed, he was scientist enough to recognize his own work. But if he was right, his counterpart's research had gone in different directions than he'd anticipated. In addition to sapping the will and increasing suggestibility, the biotechnology below seemed to be greatly increasing the intellect! For the small price of removing one's independent willpower, the equipment below could turn a normal man into a genius!

Dark Star's powers provided concealment for them as they approached closer to the mountain, leaving behind where the battle raged between the EDF and the forces loyal to The Archeville. But how were they to get inside?

[Dr Archeville]

He... he made them geniuses? Why would he do that?

An accident? The neural inhibitors crossbred with the neural enhancers?

Or maybe he just wanted smarter slaves, ones who could comprehend the Great Works he would have them do!

I... suppose that is one possibility. I am still of the opinion that there was some manner of laboratory accident.

Okay, smart guy, then answer this: if it was an accident, what was the original purpose? Was he working on the neural enhancers, and the inhibitors got mixed in by accident? Or was he working on the inhibitors, and the enhancers got in by accident? And in either case, why are they on so many people?

"Dere!," Archeville exclaimed as he pointed to one side of the mountain, where he'd seen soldiers exiting. "I belief mein doppelganger has set up an advanced holographic cover over an access tunnel, von ve can use to get in. Dough... it is also remotely possible de fighters haff some manner of intangibility field generator on deir truck, und de vall is indeed solid rock. So... approach mit caution, please, as I vould rather not be smeared across the mountain face."

[Cyroa]

Dark Star chuckled at the Doctor's comment as the moved in closer. He assumed this was some kind of hidden base...just seemed rather weird. He couldn't quite get a bead on it. He'd really like to focus his energies to the task, but that wasn't likely to happen just yet.

He nodded at the Doctor, and slowly approached the mountain. If it was an illusion, they'd pass slowly through it. If not, well, it would just be a minor bump...Well, the for Doctor anyway.

[Avenger Assembled]

The two heroes passed through the (thankfully) insubstantial wall, emerging on the other side in a large hanger full of various kinds of patched-together military equipment. Neither man was a military expert of any particular renown, but Doctor Archeville's intelligence was enough to recognize the weapons, tanks, and planes of several European nations. The soldiers down below, on closer inspection, were wearing uniforms assembled from the armies of those various nations too. Before they could decide on their next plan, Doctor Archeville suddenly heard a voice in his head, clear as a bell.

Ah, Viktor! I vas vondering ven you and your friend would arrive. Plez, land and introduce yourself to my soldiers. Zey vill be happy to guide you to me. Do not worry about the privacy auf your mind, this is a mere...message, ya?

Was that...his own voice?

[Dr Archeville]

What the-?

I believe that is our Doppelganger.

Of course it is! My momentary shock was more at how he was able to find us, to pierce Dark Star's cloak. I suppose it's not as complete as we'd thought.

... or, it's a unique connection owing to the fact that our Doppelganger's mind would be of the same 'mental wavelength' as ours, and could communicate with us wherever we are on this entire planet.

"Hold a moment, please, Herr Star," Archeville said. Then he appeared to be concentrating on something.

Hello? Can you hear me?

Hey! Show yourself!

[Avenger Assembled]

Oh yez, Viktor, I can hear you. I hope you vill pardon ze unorzodox nature of zis message, but I imagine you are pressed for time. I haff only reached you through certain dimenstional-zychic waves zat are unfortunately difficult to explain. It is fortunate I haff been expecting you. Plez make your way to my men, so that I may know vere you are and speak to you in...vell, in person, I suppoze.

[Cyroa]

Dark Star paused, hovering and looking around. Apparently the Doctor had seen or noticed something. There were an awful lot of solders and weapons in here. A rather broad selection from various sources as well. Possibly a good sign. But none seemed to notice them. So what had caught the Doctor's attention?

"Eh...What's up Doc?"

[Dr Archeville]

Hurm.

A moment, please.

"Herr Star," Archeville finally said, "you may as vell de-cloak und lower us to de ground. Ve haff been spotted -- by mein Doppelganger -- und ve haff been invited to meet und talk mit him."

"Und before you voice any protests," he added, "I am avare of de hazards here, und I do share some of your concerns. But ve are still sorely in need of information, und I do believe dis vill be our best bet."

[Cyroa]

Dark Star nodded. "Ok, if you say so." He trusted the man implicitly as a fellow hero. Without pause, he dropped the shielding and lowered the Doctor to the ground. He hovered there, looking around. But since he was no longer diverting his energies to hiding them, he let his senses extend outward.

[Avenger Assembled]

The appearance of the two formerly invisible heroes certainly startled the soldiers below; either Archeville's counterpart had been honest about not knowing exactly where they were or simply hadn't had time to inform his soldiers what was going on. Still, it wasn't long at all before Dr. Archeville and Dark Star (though in the latter's case it was mostly for form's sake) were in the back of what had formerly been a French army jeep speeding into the darkness of the mountain around them, their driver and armed escort both calm, professional soldiers with tentacles for hair. As they went, Dark Star could feel the size of the fortress around them; from the local gravity field, much of this very tall mountain had been transformed into a fortress. There were probably thousands of people living here.

It wasn't long before they found themselves reaching a broad double door that opened at their passage, the two soldiers stepping back to speak the longest sentence they'd yet used to the two new arrivals. "The Archeville is this way." Inside the room, the two heroes found...darkness. The room was lit very poorly, with only a single figure visible, an individual the size of a man but with certain other irregularities about him that were surely just an artifact of the deep darkness. There were few lights in here, the mountain around them blocking all light that didn't come from the omni-present computer screens. All Dark Star and Archeville could see clearly was a face that looked just like Dr. Archeville himself, with the singular exception of perfectly flat, black eyes.

"Ah, Viktor and your friend!" The Archeville smiled. "A pleasure to see you. Please, don't come any closer," he urged politely as the sound of limbs tapping on keyboards came through clearly. "I am currently coordinating our counter-offensive against the cowardly fools in the EDF. I am pleased to see that you found me so readily." The German accent he'd spoken with was gone, his voice now sounding flat and neutral, though polite.

[Dr Archeville]

Archeville made mental notes on everything and everyone he saw. He also kept track of all the turns they took, should they need to beat a hasty exit.

Danger Sense... tingling!

I agree it is... odd, but nothing to be overly concerned about. Let us hear him out.

"Vell, if you cannot meet your own Doppelganger," Doc said in a semi-nonchalant tone, "vhat is de point of coming to an alternate vorld, eh?"

"Und you do seem to haff doen qvite vell for yourself," he went on, spreading his arms wide, "de size of dis complex, und of your forces, are truly impressive! I vould love to know you set dis all up..."

He lowered his arms, and folded his arms behind his back, "but, of course, since you are mein Doppelganger, I am sure you can guess vhy I vould vish to come here, und all manner of other qvestions I vould vish to haff answered. Such as, vhy are you opposed to de Eagle Defense Squadron, und how your vorld came to be under von unified government."

[Cyroa]

Dark Star stood next to the Doctor for the brief travels, just in case. They had already had one close encounter, he did not intend to leave his fellow hero in case of another. He did note the scope of the base as they moved, making a note to talk to the Doctor when they were unobserved.

Finally, they came before this universe's version of his companion. Dark Star kept his sense going, reaching out for every bit of information available...