ic Worlds Enough and Time (IC)

[KnightDisciple]

Cobalt Templar's face was grave as he nodded at Midnight.

"Duly noted; for what it's worth, I have you guys covered as best I can. I just hope this doesn't get nasty. We've got way more important things to do than having a pissing contest slash brawl with non-evil alternate versions of ourselves."

He lapsed into silence as Edge took the lead, and expressed the same confusion as the others at the term "Imageria".

Corbin frowned as Midnight called the costumes of the others into question. After all, the cape was the only real difference between himself and his double.

"I wouldn't say they look like idiots. It's not that different from some of our costumes."

At the question from the other Erin, he stepped forward a bit as his hands gestured widely at their surroundings. His volume now was sufficient to be heard by all.

"This right here is the Imageria. A place of dreams, ideas, and concepts. The source of power for all metahumans, or so we believe. If it can empower hundreds, even thousands, of people around the world, how hard would it be to conjure up fanciful versions of ourselves? I channel a tiny part of its power, and I'm able to create all sorts of incredible items."

He frowned a bit at the thought, lapsing into silence again.

[Gizmo]

"I hadn't noticed," Midnight deadpanned to Cobalt Templar. <<No offense,>> he thought wryly in Sage's direction, expecting the white haired girl would be more likely to pick up on the dig at the Young Paragons' brightly coloured garb.

Trevor gave Erin a small, bemused shrug, placing a gloved hand on the back of his neck just above his jacket's collar. Midnight did his best to remember the advice he'd given Cobalt Templar moments before, but comparing interpersonal relationships between timelines and realities was always awkward. The implication that a more confident version of Wander would have ended up with their unquestionably charming friend was particularly uncomfortable, but the black clad youth pushed it from his mind.

"Not native to this place," he answered their doubles' leader. "From the Claremont Academy of a parallel world." Folding his arms, he turned to his version of Edge. "They may be from the same world as Overshadow's ally."

Frowning behind his mask, Midnight considered the odd, silent exchange between his counterpart and the extra Wander. The fedora wearing vigilante was obviously more a part of his respective team than he was, enough that the super strong girl looked to him for advice. Except she's not in change of them in the first place, he considered. Problems with the chain of command?

[April]

<<None taken,>> Sage thought, shooting a faint smile at 'her' Midnight, subconsciously shifting her weight bringing herself just a little closer to the masked vigilante. She tilted her head, casting an appraising glance at the other Midnight, obviously ignoring those standing with him.

<<Creature of the Imageria notwithstanding,>> she practically purred in Midnight's head, <<He has excellent taste. Still not as good as the original, though.>>

--Knock that off!-- The thought had slipped unbidden into Sage's mind and it sounded furious. Peeling her eyes off of Midnight's counterpart she saw that her double was glaring at her. Even if the mental projection had not carried with it a feeling of sharp reprimand, the set of her features and body language certainly conveyed a sense of anger and… disgust?

[Avenger Assembled]

"Okay, well, I guess we all have different terms for the multiverse," said Edge diplomatically. This isn't good, he thought, a little worriedly. If this is their first experience with the multiverse, this is going to be really, really weird for them. "The important thing is, we all have the same goals. A very evil man from our world named Overshadow has seized control of part of the understructure of reality, and so we..."

"Wait a minute!" The other Edge interjected. "Are you saying you're real?" he demanded. "That you're from another universe full of sentient life, just like we are?"

"Well, yes," said Edge a little diffidently. "As my friends have been telling you, there's a whole infinite multiverse out there. Some universes are further away than others, some are organized along similar lines. If this is your first time encountering us, it sounds like your area must be far down on an axis that's similar enough to have a Claremont Academy. From the sound of things, a bad guy from your world and a bad guy from ours have teamed up, and are doing their best to take over. We're going to stop them," he said with perfect assurance. "And if you think you can handle it, we'd love your help."

"That..." Mark shot a look at Wander and murmured, "...is crazy. But I don't think we have any other choice but to trust them. We can't afford a fight, not when things are on edge back home the way they are. Imagerians they may be, but they certainly seem real here, and we can use all the allies we can get if we're going up against two versions of the Tiger and paragon henchmen to match."

[Electra]

Wander pressed her index finger and thumb against her closed eyes for a moment, trying to absorb enough of the situation to make a decision without being totally overwhelmed. "All right!," she said, looking around at the two groups. "We're losing time just standing here, and I don't know about where you come from, but our world hasn't got any to spare. I say we start heading for that pyramid, since it's the biggest landmark around, and see what we find when we get there. Everybody fall in with your doubles and talk along the way, maybe we'll learn a little more about what exactly is going on around here." Shoving her baton into her belt holster, she set out in the direction of the pyramid, obviously expecting the others to follow.

"Who made her the boss?" Wander muttered, watching her counterpart attempting to take charge of the whole operation. She didn't like this other Erin's cocksure, bossy attitude, and liked it less that she thought it was a good idea anyway. With a frown fixed on her face, she caught up to the other Wander, mostly just to keep an eye on her.

[Avenger Assembled]

Part of what made Mark such a good leader, or so he hoped, was his willingness to take advice from others. What the other, prettier Wander said made a lot of sense, so he didn't argue. "Do what the lady says," he told his own team, shooting a look at everyone with the hopes they'd all listen. "We're all in this together." _I've teamed up with my alternate self before...yeah, I'd better not think about that right now. The important thing is, it worked out for the best._ He shot a look at his double as he formed up alongside him, the Edges and the Wanders leading the parade since they were both leaders. "So," he said socially, "I see you guys wear all Claremont uniforms. Is Mister Summers stricter where you live?"

"Uh, this is the same outfit we all wear," said Mark, giving his other self a look. "I mean, don't get me wrong, your costume is great, and I'd love to wear something like that, but we're all on the same team. We're not like the League." Though fashion had been on Mark's mind too, he had to wonder why his double had gone there first. _Is he...my gay side?! No, no, that's silly. OR IS IT? Yes._ "You seem experienced," he said. "So this isn't your first...thing like...like this!?" His double seemed blase to the spectacular stellar landscape all around them, but he certainly had no such feelings. "Is it always like this?" He listened, wide-eyed, as his double gave him a short rundown of the team's adventures in other dimensions. _He's got to be lying...right?_

[Gizmo]

Despite their various differences, neither Midnight appeared particularly inclined to follow an order to 'fall in'. Trevor followed close enough to Erin to murmur back, "Let it go for now. Headed that way anyway." Hanging back a step, he remained nearby while giving his girlfriend her space. Multiuniversal doppelgangers were a constant fact of life for Erin, but perhaps because of that, she always seemed to take these meetings particularly badly.

Ignoring his oddly outdated double, Midnight hung to the back of the group, paying closer attention to the way the others were interacting with their own twins. Catching the silent interplay between the Sages, he raised an eyebrow, the expression telegraphed by his shifting goggles. "Everything cool?" he asked the white haired telepath while regarding the glaring mirror image with a cold flatness. If anyone was going to twig to a trap, it would be the telepath.

[KnightDisciple]

Cobalt Templar just silently watched the exchange between the more senior members of the teams. He was still trying to absorb everything, really. Dimensional travels were actually pretty nifty!

When they got to moving, he drifted until he was near the back of the group. He kept glancing at the alternate version of his team, trying to take in as many details as possible...

"What's with the cape?"

CT turned his attention to the other Corbin, tilting his head in curiosity.

"What do you mean, "what's with the cape"?"

"It makes you look even more like a cheesy comic book character."

"Assuming your powers are similar to mine, I'm going to have to respond with "Duh". I'm a superhero, dude. I fly around and save people. You ought to know the inherent power in heroes taking on totemic or symbolic costumes. Not only are they easier to remember, people often have an easier time rallying to their side. And it makes it easier for comrades to recognize them in the heat of a fight."

He smirked.

"Plus, I make this cape look good."

Corbin frowned lightly. The other him had a bit of a point, except maybe on the cape part.

"Fair enough. You're right about the historical weight behind the idea. Still, the cape's a bit odd, don't you think?"

"I view it as taking part in a rich history of heroes, stretching back for decades, even centuries."

"Wait, you guys have had metahumans for that long?"

"Yeah. Haven't you?"

"Uh, not by a long shot."

By this point, they were perhaps 10 feet behind the others, standing just a few feet apart to better facilitate conversation. Both were clearly delving deeply into their existing knowledge of history to try to figure out what might be different between their worlds.

It distracted both of them from the sheer scope of their situation.

[April]

Sage was still annoyed with her double, though she finally managed to get over her initial revulsion. Still, there was just something about the girl that rubbed her wrong. She cast a surreptitious glance at the other Sage and noted that she was looking at her.

<<Hey, look, what was the problem back there?>>

--The way you were looking at Midnight… It just… look, I took a look inside your mind when you were staring lecherously at my best friend.--

The other Sage burst out loud, laughing, but stopped short when she saw the look Sage gave her. <<Oh, yeah a head full of that explains your reaction. Don't tell me you didn't think the same thing though.>>

--I didn't.--

<<What, not even a little? I mean you called him your best friend, right? So you know what he's like under that mask. He's cute rght? I bet he's cute.>>

--Oh, he's nice. Just… umm, not my type. We're just friends, that's all.--

[Electra]

The two Wanders walked side by side for awhile, one striding confidently ahead, the other hesitating, looking around, checking behind them, bouncing up to look over the sides of rocks.

"What exactly are you looking for?" Wander finally asked, looking annoyed. "There's nothing there! This place is empty besides that pyramid."

"How do you know?" Wander demanded, glaring at her counterpart. "I'm checking to make sure we're not about to get ambushed, or go off a cliff, or run into some kind of army. This is hostile territory." She stopped for a moment, looking at her counterpart. "Where do you come from, anyway?"

"Seattle," Wander said, a bit defensively. "But I've been training in Freedom City since I was fifteen. It's not like I'm green. I just have a little bit more confidence in myself and my team."

"Fifteen?" Wander asked, stopping entirely. "Do you... where are your parents?" The tone of her voice indicated that this was a very important question.

"...Seattle?" Wander said again, now just sounding confused. "Dad couldn't move away from his job, so I go home for summers and holidays. Why, what about you?" she demanded. "Are you expecting them to be jumping out from behind rocks?"

"No," Wander said flatly. "They're dead. Megan too. It was bad, but it taught me a lot about looking out for trouble." She pursed her lips flat and resumed her surveillance.

Wander stared at her counterpart for a moment, wondering if this was some kind of sick joke. The other Erin did not look like she was joking, or like she ever joked. They walked on in silence.

[Gizmo]

Walking a few paces behind his Wander, Midnight grimaced underneath his featureless mask. Clearly this was going to be as bad as meeting the overly chipper extra Erin from the reality Mark's father had temporarily imposed. Catching the eye of the Young Paragons' leader, he subtly shook his head. There was no reproach in the simple gesture, just a note of sadness and a suggestion not to pursue the topic further.

The Sages were evidently having a private, telepathic exchange, so Midnight left them to their devices and caught up with his hat wearing double. Noting the other black clad youth's position relative to the antsy, angrier version of Wander, he raised an eyebrow, shifting one side of his round, ruby goggles upward.

Midnight responded to his counterpart's expression with flat, silent stoicism, causing the other young man's other eyebrow to join the first is muted surprise before he shook his head slowly in bemusement. In return, Trevor cast a brief glance back at the pair of white haired psychics.

Looking back himself for a moment, Midnight offered only a slight shrug before turning his attention back to the path ahead of them. This time it was his doppelganger's turn to shake his head.

[Avenger Assembled]

"My God!" said Edge excitedly. "Your world sounds amazing! It's like every comic book cliche, everything I've ever wanted to happen, has happened! You've got superheroes, cool costumes, and you're not going to be stuck working for AEGIS like we are when we graduate...well, probably," he said, "Erin and me have different ideas, but we'll all be on the government payroll if we want to go legit. What about our parents? Are Mom and Dad...okay?" Edge gave his counterpart a serious look, imaginings of a bright and shining world dancing in his head. In a world like he was describing, a happy utopia with a standing Pyramid Plaza, full of magic and mystery, his family had to be great.

Mark gave his counterpart a look, feeling a sudden, painful ache before he said with great firmness, "Mom and Dad were both...okay, last time I talked to them," he said, the Young Freedom kids the only one to pick up on the slight edge in his voice. "We've come through some rough times lately, but things are okay. We're stronger than we used to be." Mark Lucas was not a terribly bright guy, but he knew what that tone meant. "Just because we've had superheroes in our world doesn't mean it's all that great." He didn't like talking about where he came from like that, but he could hardly argue with the facts. He got a strange look from the other Mark at that, and wondered how much of his veiled tone the other guy had actually understood.

The heroes passed along a bright and shining path that seemed to grow wider and wider as they went, approaching the translucent clockwork palace that loomed larger and larger as they approached. It didn't take them long to realize, though, that they weren't alone. Beating on the gates of the palace was a strange assembly of mechanical men, their humanoid shapes constructed entirely out of gears, watches, sundials, and other timepieces: golems made of chronology itself! Behind the Wanders, the Edges moved forward, one staring with particular fascination.

"Holy...all right, we can take these guys," he told his girlfriend and her weird counterpart reassuringly. "They look tough, but they're not even looking our way. It'll be just like those crackheads in the Fens last year, when we...

"Do we need to take them?" Edge asked the others. "They're not going after us...yet. Maybe we need to bypass the whole thing."

[KnightDisciple]

Corbin frowned. Something still seemed off. When it "clicked" in his mind, he spoke up, suddenly not caring about his status as "the new guy on the team".

"What if they're on our side?"

At first, Corbin frowned. Then, as the idea sank in, he gave a small smile, and nodded.

"Wait, no, I think I see where you're going with this. I mean, this pyramid looks at least somewhat natural here. For...whatever that's worth. And the whole motif it's sporting is "clockwork", right?"

Corbin nodded, getting more animated.

"Right! Probably some deep metaphor or something, if this place is really all about "manifested dreams" and stuff. But since that pyramid is clockwork, and those robots look like walking clocks..."

His counterpart picked the sentence up where he left off.

"What if they're the original owners? I mean, they match the decor and all. Clockwork guardians for a clockwork palace."

Corbin pointed at the constructs pounding on the doors and walls.

"What if something...someone kicked them out? What if they're trying to reclaim their home? Isn't this just the sort of thing-"

"That the Tiger...that your Overshadow, would do? Why build his own place when he can take one over! So what if we need to help those things break back in-"

"-To help us then beat the bad guys!"

[April]

--And that would be them, right?-- The black clad Sage inquired, gloved hand gesturing at the battlements of the fortress ahead.

<<Certainly looks like al-Khayan operatives, but I don't recognize the men in black and grey.>>

--SHADOW,-- Sage replied, a thread of scorn punctuating her thoughts. --Umm,-- Sage glanced at the others, rubbing the bridge of her nose. --What do you think the chances are those clockwork automatons will assume we're with them?--

Even though we're not carrying AKs. Nobody good uses an AK.

[Electra]

"We shouldn't have much trouble avoiding them," Wander pointed out, studying the crowd of automatons. "We can swing wide and come around the back with no one the wiser."

"We should engage them," Wander countered. "We can get their help, and their knowledge. They have a better idea than we do of the situation, we need that information. And this is there home, they deserve a chance to help us fight for it!

"It's too risky!" Wander argued. "If we expose ourselves now, we tip our hand to overshadow. He probably doesn't know we're here yet, but if we go causing a scene in front of the gate that all those guards are watching, we lose our chance at surprise. And those guys don't look to me like they're built for fighting. They wouldn't be more than cannon fodder, and that's not right."

"Shouldn't they be able to make that choice for themselves, even if it's dangerous?" Wander pointed out with some annoyance. "And your way still has us jumping blindly into a situation we don't even understand, so the element of surprise isn't worth much!"

"It's worth more than getting us and a bunch of civilian...robot-things shot at before we even get into the gates because we want to try and recruit an army!" Wander shot back. The two girls glared at each other.

[Gizmo]

"Hnn, getting old fast," Midnight grumbled quietly to himself, folding his arms and peering up at the heavily armed men patrolling the strange fortress, idly calculating how many he could reasonably take on his own. Off a flat look from his double, he shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not dating her."

With a sigh, Midnight addressed the combined group as a whole, though he didn't raise his voice much. "Need reconnaissance either way," he suggested diplomatically, indicating himself and his counterpart as he continued. "We can scout the pyramid with the Sages, cover the ground quickly. Telepaths keep us 'wired in' while rest of you plan."

[Avenger Assembled]

Suddenly, a burst of gunfire came spurting down from above; aimed not at the heroes, but at the time-golems pounding on the door. Though unarmed, the beings of temporal matter proved more sturdy than their tormenters seemed to realized. The bullets, fired by an al-Khayan thug, mostly ricocheted off brass and steel, while the clockwork golems in question returned fire by shooting gears out their outstretched hands. Richochets spanged and whined off the metal as the two sides engaged in what looked like a thoroughly pointless battle. Notably, when shards from either side struck the time palace, the walls seemed to fade into transparency, giving quick flashes of an interior filled with gears and corridors that led towards an opaque cube in the middle.

"I've got it!" Edge made a gesture, and suddenly the team disappeared in sparkles of black energy, reappearing a second later inside the palace itself! They were standing directly before a solid-looking door of white metal, standing on a catwalk inside a whirling array of gears and ticking clocks! It was a bit like being inside the safe zone of a meat grinder crossed with an old-timey time machine's business end: falling off looked like a bad idea.

"You...oh god!" Mark expostulated. "How did you do that? Why did you do that? We were-"

"I saved us a lot of trouble!" Edge shot back. "We skipped all those goons, and we got right here to the important part."

"But, you just...agh! You should communicate these things! At least tell Wander; how are we supposed to make decisions if you make them all unilaterally? What if we fell off in that?"

"Oh, don't be such a worrier," said Edge grandly. "Now, let's get the door open!"

[KnightDisciple]

As their eyes focused in on the activity around the pyramid, the Corbins grinned.

"Ha! It looks like-"

"We were right about this!"

"Go us!"

The two gave each other a high five, missing some of the tenser byplay between the others.

Then Edge telported them inside the pyramid with no real warning.

Cobalt Templar was suddenly all business; in a flash, he had a compact, double-barreled cannon attached to his right arm, and was aiming it about.

Cobalt Templar, on the other hand, was a bit shocked.

"What the?"

He shakes his head, quickly dispelling his confusion. Knowing they are in hostile territory, and seeing his counterpart has already manifested something for those farther afield, CT forms a powerful-looking polearm in his hands, holding it in a ready position as he stands back-to-back with his counterpart.

"Warning would have been nice, uh, Edge. Kind of threw me for a loop there, you know?"

Cobalt Templar glanced at his team's leader with a light frown, but didn't say anything. It was rather clear by his body language (and his thoughts, if the Sages happened to pick them up) that he thought it wasn't the greatest idea either. But he didn't want to speak so boldly against his team leader.

[April]

The ungloved Sage grabbed the fabric of the caped Edge's uniform and twisted him around, following through with a vicious slap to the taller boys face. <<You brainless buffoon,>> she raged, <<You're the one that suggested teamwork, and we agreed. But that does not give you the right to make unilateral decisions.>>

The blue-clad telepath let go of Edge, shoving off of him. <<You got that? You don't go making decisions for the rest of us.>>

[Electra]

Both Wanders reacted instantly to the moment of violence, but Sage's team leader was a little closer, and there a moment earlier. She grabbed the slight and angry telepath by the wrists, pinning them effortlessly behind her back in a painless submission hold. "That's enough, Sage," she snapped. "I know you're upset, and he made a wrong call, but we don't have time for useless fighting among ourselves."

<<We're the last hope our world has,>> she pointed out mentally, letting the words sit in her head and knowing Sage would find them. <<These people may have powers we don't. We can't afford to alienate them when they're all the help we've got.>> As soon as it seemed like things were under control, she let go of Sage and stepped back. "We could break through the door, but it would take time and make a lot of noise."

When her counterpart intervened, Wander stepped back and watched, nodding fractionally in approval of the other Wander's tactics. At least she was efficient. "Have you got anything?" she asked her own team's Midnight, looking from him to the door.

[Gizmo]

"Heh," Midnight chuckled shortly as Sage slapped the spare Edge. It was good that Wander quickly stepped in to resolve the situation, but that didn't make the diminutive telepath's reaction to the unexpected transportation any less amusing.

Retrieving a palm sized digital tablet from his jacket, Midnight largely ignored the conflict. "Have to excuse. Get used to it," he calmly assured the duplicate team as he scanned the area for chroniton and thanatosian radiation. He had to dial down the device's sensitivity before he was able to make much sense of the readings, so awash in dangerous energies was the surrounding area. "...that said, do not leave the bridge." Pointing at the massive white doors, he tucked the computer away. "That's the heart of it. That's where we're headed."

[Electra]

"Well then." Wander stared at the doors, then blew out a breath. "Last call for anybody coming up with a solution more elegant than "let's blow the doors off." She looked around the group for any volunteers, then looked to her counterpart.

Wander shrugged. "Sometimes brute force is the only thing that's going to work anyway. On three?"

[Avenger Assembled]

Neither of the Edges seemed inclined to argue with that solution, even though one was technically the leader of one of the Wanders. "All right," said Edge, standing behind his Erin, "Let's do this together and we can take down this...holy crap!" From behind them in the corridor, a volley of machine gun fire ripped out, tearing into the flesh of the twin girls who'd last spoken out and (of course) ricocheting off into the whirling gears all around them, temporal energies in the corridor ensuring that not one so much as bounced back to nick any of the other teammates. Down the corridor, Edge saw a mixed bag of SHADOW goons and those Middle Eastern-looking thugs, all of them hastily reloading after their machine gun fire had proven so ludicrously ineffective. "Sage, Midnight, take those guys out!" Edge barked. "Everybody else, let's bring this thing down!"

For his part, Edge wasn't inclined to listen immediately. "This is for 9/11, you bastards!" he spat down the hallway, his father's face flashing before his eyes as a wave of concussion bowled the terrorists and their allies from the other universe off their feet. "Don't let them get away!" He turned back to the Wanders and said, "Come on, guys! We get this door down, we save two worlds AND we get the Tiger and his best buddy! Do it for all the Freedom Cities, everywhere!"

[KnightDisciple]

Both Cobalt Templars barely flinched at the gunfire. These days, assault rifles didn't personally worry them. Though they felt rather more concerned for their friends. Still, there were at least 2 universes that needed saving.

Cobalt Templar's red cape streamed behind him as he flew up to the door. Concentrating for a moment, blue, fire-like energy flowed out from his ring until a 15-foot long crowbar appeared, wedged as well as it could be in the seam of the door in front of them.

"Erin! I've got an idea! We can use leverage and your strength-"

"-to make this easier! And with both of you working at it, it'll be even better!"

Cobalt Templar stepped up next to his alternate self, pouring his own power into the crowbar construct, reinforcing it. It was certainly long enough to accommodate both of the super-strong girls. He turned to face the two Edges.

"Do you think you two could lend some metaphysical might?"

Cobalt Templar nodded.

"Make this a really lucky venture! Make the odds work even more in our favor, please? Let's try this out!"

Both boys seemed confident in their idea, as well as the power of their friends.

[April]

Two pairs of green eyes narrowed as they regarded their attackers. Neither Sage needed much prompting as they dashed down the hallway, blades of telekinetic force snapping into existence; the purple-striated crimson blades bathing the area with their glow.

The black clad Sage reached the goons first, lashing out at the SHADOW agents; the other Sage a half-step behind and focusing her assault on the terrorists from her world.