Stopwatch 2: Prototype (IC)

[Thevshi]

Megan responded to Robert’s passionate kiss, as her sense of time slipped, making the kiss seem far longer than it actually lasted.  When at last they pulled back apart, she gave him a wide smile at his comment.

 

When Robert took his seat once more, teasing her as he finished his tea, the young woman crossed her arms and grinned.  "Well, only if you want to."  She replied, before becoming slightly more serious once more.

 

"Well, I could try to carry you, but I don't think that would be particularly comfortable for that long a distance, even if it as only a few minutes.  And I would hate to accidently drop you or something."  She shuddered at the thought of that. 

 

"Perhaps the better option would be we drive to London, where the Freedom League has one of its field offices.  From there we could teleport up to the Lighthouse, and take a Pegasus plane back down.  That way we have something to get us wherever else we need to go somewhat quickly."

[Supercape]

GM

 

A little later, on board the Pegasus Plane...

 

Robert Harrow inspected the controls of the Pegasus Plane with admiration. 

 

"It almost flies itself" he said Joyfully, as he handled the ship over the Atlantic. He had an amateur pilot's license. Probably, under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have been let near such an expensive piece of equipment, but Velocity was persuasive and influential - and besides, the ship was fitted with all sorts of automatic safety equipment that handling it's basic functions was routine. As long as they weren't getting into dog-fights, the Pegasus would be in no danger. 

 

They were sailing through the air at relatively low altitude but impressively fast speed. It would not be long till they hit the west coast of Aftrica, and the Canary Islands. 

 

"I'll just give Steed a quick to let her know we are..."

 

Bring Bring! rang his phone. Heather Steed came the name on the display. 

 

"Put me onto your girlfriend!" came the voice as he answered. 

 

"I just has an Idea how you can pay me for your help!" she said brightly to Velocity. "With your Freedom League strings. I have this irritating little legal problem in the states. Something about digging up protected sacred native American land without a permit. Very boring. Look, if you can get me a pardon for that, I am at your service!" she said excitedly!

[Thevshi]

Seated in the nearby co-pilot seat of the Pegasus, Megan smiled slightly at Robert's comment and clear excitement at having the chance to fly the sophisticated aircraft.  The young woman had ridden in them a number of times during missions with other League members, even though they were actually slower than her.  With her starting to spend more time as Velocity lately, she was beginning to think it might be time for her to take the flight training program offered by the League, for situations such as this where she needed to accompany others who were not as fast as her on a mission.

 

Taking the phone from Robert when Steed called and asked to speak to her, Velocity listened to the other woman's proposal, a frown coming to her lovely face at Steed's words.   "Well, I am glad you think our laws are so tiresome that you can just ignore them."  The speedster replied in a cold tone.  "Such an attitude really does not make me want to try to help you."

 

She paused briefly, very briefly to everyone else, even if it lasted some time for her, before continuing.  "But, I can see what I can do.  That is not a guarantee that I will be able to succeed, but if you provide us with assistance in stopping something that could be a substantial threat, that could go a long way in helping getting you leniency."

 

"In any event, we are almost there.  Head out to the airport, and bring the piece you have with you.  We are going to see if Robert can use it to try to find the others."

[Supercape]

GM

 

A little later, at Gran Canaria Airport

 

Strings were pulled without difficulty. Velocity had the suspicion not just at her end, although the Freedom Leauge did most of the heavy lifting on that part. The Pegasus craft landed on a disused strip just outside the main airport, to be greeted by Heather Steed and a rather flashy two seater sports car. 

 

"I'm sure you don't need a ride, honey" she smiled at Velocity, explaining away the lack of third seat. 

 

Without further ado, she whipped out the blue crystal fragment. Robert stiffened at its glow, a thin sheet of sweat on his forehead, and not just from the Canarian heat. He clutched, unconsciously, at his chest in anxiety. 

 

"That's..it...I can feel it. ooooh...I don't feel so well..." he said, leaning on Velocity. 

 

"It's...alive...isn't it?" he asked, metaphorically, as it pulsed like a heartbeat. 

 

"I think...I think...I can feel the others. More like smell them. I don't think I can precisely locate them for you, but if we get closer...I'll know..." he said, trying to inject some firmness in his voice. 

 

He turned towards Velocity. 

 

"I...don't like it, Megan...it's going to make me ill...." he whispered.

[Thevshi]

"That's fine."  Velocity replied with a small smirk at Steed's comment about her not needing a ride.  "Not like we will be going anywhere but in the Pegasus anyway."

 

When Steed took out the fragment, Robert was visibly affected, with Velocity taking his weight as he leaned on her for support.  The speedster had a concerned look on her face at his reaction to the fragment. 

 

"I'm sorry."  She whispered back, her voice laced with concern.  "Hopefully we can get this finished up quickly and get it away from you."

 

"In the meantime, I have an idea."  She said in a louder voice as she made sure Robert was steady on his own.  She was then gone in a blur of movement, reappearing almost instantly, but with a lead-lined metal box from the Pegasus.

"Here, let1s stow that in here."  She said to Steed, holding out the box.  "Then we will take off and head towards Freedom City and see if Robert can get any better read on where the next piece is."

[Supercape]

GM

 

A little later, over the Atlantic, South of Freedom City

 

Robert had never completely regained his colour, but was still able to fly the ship. It was, despite its plethora of high-tech abilities, pretty easy to fly. 

 

"ooooh...." he murmured - to himself, Megan, and Steed all at once. Megan was by his side, whilst Steed was behind him, flicking through some magazines in a state of slight disinterest. 

 

"I can feel something..." he explained, as he started to sweat. 

 

"Megan...I really don't like this..." he said, clutching his chest with one hand, and then two. All around them was the swell of the Atlantic. They were still a score miles from the East Coast of the States. The Pegasus pitched to one side very slightly as Roberts Hands left the controls...

 

"It's near...another shard...I can feel it..." he whimpered, unhappy at the prospect...

 

 

Meanwhile, a few miles north

 

As Hronos plowed south, he was aware of the other signal moving towards him, at high speed. Not homing in on him, as far as he could tell, but heading towards Freedom City all the same...and now within a few miles...

[Vahnyu]

Hronos pondered for a few milliseconds the meaning behind the second signal moving towards the city. Hmmm... I was not expecting the other signal to move... especially not towards this location. Are the signals connected? Are they drawn to one another?... hmmm... maybe... in fact, it would not be unreasonable to suspect that the same applies to the crystal I possess. At any rate, it matters little at this point in time. Whatever the case may be, I suspect I will be finding out soon enough, one way or another. The mechanical Hronos sped up towards his destination. He had been flying for quite some time now, and he wondered how far the signal's location was from his position.

[Thevshi]

Velocity had kept a close eye on Robert when they took off towards Freedom City.  The young woman did not like seeing him in such discomfort and pain, wondering if there was some way of further isolating the piece of the device that they had on board to possibly remove its effect on him.  She was also becoming somewhat worried about what might happen when they had more of the pieces.  Could the effect on Robert become even more severe?

 

The speedster was pulled from that thought as Robert let out a moan and stated he could feel something, before he clutched at his chest, releasing the controls for the hypersonic jet.

 

Velocity quickly grabbed the control in front of her to keep the Pegasus level while turning to look over at Robert, concern on her face.  "It's near?  Where?"  She asked, preparing to try and turn the aircraft in that direction to find where it might be.  "Once we find this one, I think we are going to need to figure something else out for finding the last part."  She added, worried about the effect the shards were having on Robert.

[Supercape]

GM

 

Steed slapped down her Magazine with a sigh, and slinked over to the pilots seat. 

 

"Take it easy sweety" she said. Megan was not entirely sure whether she was talking to her, or Robert, or possibly both. She took over the controls and gently guided the Pegasus back up to a normal flight pattern, before smoothly pitching it to one side. 

 

"Look!" she said, indicating a fast moving signal on the scanner. It was now just visible through the window - a jet stream. 

 

Steed knew how to drive the Pegasus. She was a competent pilot, perhaps not expert, but she was brash and able, and had clearly not just been looking at magazines on the flight. She kicked the ship into full thrust, and in a few moments they had pulled up next to Hronos, keeping pace with him. 

 

"It's there...I could swear it..." said Robert, wiping his brow as he studied the flying Robot. 

 

Steed raised an eyebrow. "A robot? that beats everything. What is it? A robot from the future? that's a bit tacky!" she laughed. 

 

"I guess you are up" she said to Velocity without looking at her, giving her a nudge with her elbow. 

[Thevshi]

Velocity moved out of the way as Steed came over to take over at the controls of the Pegasus.  While the aircraft was slower than her by a considerable amount, it still capable of flying at 5,000 MPH, which was considerably faster than the object they were following.

 

When the Pegasus pulled up alongside the humanoid figure that was clearly a robot, Velocity frowned slightly.  "Well, at least it looks like a robot."  She replied to Steed’s comment with a slight edge in her voice, memories of the events of the Day of Wrath coming back to her briefly.

 

"Actually, one of my best friends in the League is an android that joined around the same time I did."  She then added more casually. 

 

As Steed suggested it was up to her to do something, the speedster gave a slight smirk.  "Well, its flying, not a lot I can do right now.  So we need to try to either get it to land or come aboard so we can see what is up with it and these shards."

[Vahnyu]

Hronos had been aware of the approaching signal, but he still wasn't expecting for it to arrive just next to him, nor that it would arrive emanating from inside a plane. I had intended to investigate this source after the last one, but seeing as it arrived next to my position, it would be prudent to take advantage of this opportunity and investigate. he thought. Turning slightly sideways, so that he could face the plane's pilot, Hronos approached the cockpit from the front, extended a hand to draw his attention to him, and indicated backwards of the pilot, as a sign that he wished to board on the plane. I do not know for sure, whether the plane will aqcuiesce at my request, but hopefully, I will not have to use force in order to investigate for the signal.

[Thevshi]

Velocity looked out the windows of the cockpit as the robot maneuvered in front of the Pegasus and seemed to indicate his desire to board the aircraft.  "Well, at least he did not just start shooting first."  She commented as she signaled back, pointing towards one side of the aircraft where there was a side door.

"Bring us to a hover."  She indicated to Steed.  They were at a low enough altitude that opening the door would not depressurize the aircraft, so coming to a halt should make things even more stable as they let the robot aboard. 

 

Then in a blur of movement, she was gone from the view through the front window, reaching the side door and waiting for the aircraft to come to a halt before opening the door and stepping back slightly to allow the robot in, just in case it did prove to be hostile.

 

"Hi there.  I'm Velocity of the Freedom League."  She shouted over the winds.

[Vahnyu]

Hronos made sure to board the Pegasus as quickly as possible. There, when he was greeted by the woman named Velocity, he ordered his handshake. "Velocity of the Freedom League... Indeed, I have heard of those names, both yours and the group with which you are affiliated. The citizens I have met speak of the Freedom League with the highest praises, it appears, and that includes your name. It is a pleasure to make your aqcuaintance, Velocity. I am called Hronos, a Mechanodynamis and Holder of the Essense of Time."

 

"I apologize for requesting to board your vehicle in such a manner." Hronos apologized, and took out the mysterious fragment he carried on his person. "The reason is that I am currently investigating a signal emanating from a location to the South from our current position. The signal appears quite similar to the one originating from this particular crystal that I aqcuired some time ago. I have reason to believe that the crystal allows for large-scale time/space manipulation, though the finer workings of the crystal elude me. I also became aware of another signal, this one coming from within this vehicle. I was, therefore, hoping that you would allow me to investigate the premices." The Mechanodynamis tried to explain, in as few words as he could muster.

[Thevshi]

Velocity shut the door behind the robot as soon as he entered, turning to fully regard the new arrival, though her goggles had let her keep a close watch on him even when she was not facing him.  Thankfully he continued to show no signs of hostility, returning her greeting in a rather formal fashion.  Keeper of the Essence of Time?  The speedster thought, somewhat troubled by the title, given the situation with the Stopwatch.  But she kept a friendly smile on her face as she racked her brain for anything she might have heard about Hronous, a task she was able to perform in a millisecond. 

 

Velocity recalled an article she had read in the Daily Word (after all, it was easy for her to read pretty much everything she could get ahold of), where Jessica Jaggers had interviewed Hronos, that helped reassured her that he was one of the good guys.  Taking the offered hand, the speedster gave him a warm smile as she replied.  "A pleasure to meet you as well Hronous.  I read the interview you gave Jessica Jaggers."

 

As Hronous produced another part of the crystal device and explained how he was searching for other parts to it, the speedster gave him a small smile.  "Well, there is no need to search the plane."  She replied.  "We do have piece of that crystal aboard and were in the process of looking for the other two as well, which is why we intercepted you."

 

"I have…encountered a device similar to this crystal before, and given the potential danger that one posed, I wanted to be sure that the pieces of this one were secured before they could fall into the wrong hands."

[Supercape]

GM

 

Robert Harrow walked up to Hronos behind Velocity, although it was not clear if he was shielding himself from the physical threat of the Robot or something more metaphysical. 

 

"I am Lord Harrow, physicist and..er...." he swallowed, wiping sweat of the brow. 

 

His eyes glistened and widened. 

 

"You have it, don't you?" he asked faintly, his normally stiff posture stooping slightly. He lashed out a hand to Velocity's shoulder and gripped her costume, squeezing her. 

 

"Yes, I can feel it...another..piece...oooh I don't feel so good...no...no..that's not it..I don't feel myself..." he said, turning his head away from Megan. 

 

"You alright back there, honey?" shouted Steed with a Jaunty wave.

 

"We got the other piece, yeah? its all good? we can go home now? and I get the charges waved?" she asked. 

[Vahnyu]

Hronos listened to Velocity attentively. "Ah, I recall. the interview. Back then, I had only recently awakened to this society, and I was largely unaware of important things regarding this civilization, such as its ecosystem and its past, and miss Jessica Jaggers was kind enough to help me acclimate. It was, therefore, my obligation to return the favor and have myself be interviewed by her." He explained. After Velocity finished, the Mechanodynamis said "Ah, I understand, and I appreciate your forthcomingness on this issue... It would appear that we both have quite a story to tell. Perhaps, if we were to compare our findings, we would be able to percieve the situation regarding these artifacts with better clarity?" He pondered, when Robert entered.

 

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Lord Harrow." Hronos introduced himself, but before he could say any more, he witnessed Robert's abrupt behavior. "... Your friend..." he noted to Velocity. "He appears weakened and sick. Also, I am not entirely sure so please correct me if I am wrong, but I get the impression that he can feel the artifact that I hold, and that it is because of THAT that he feels ill. Am I correct in my assumption?"

[Thevshi]

Velocity paused a brief moment as Hronos suggested they compare notes so to speak regarding how they had each recovered their parts to the new device.  The speedster was somewhat unsure about how much she should tell the relatively unknown robot about the Stopwatch, or its purpose.  But she was relieved of any need to answer immediately when Robert approached to introduce himself before becoming affected by the presence of the crystal that Hronos was holding in his hand.

 

As Robert reached to her to help steady himself, Velocity stepped in under his arm to wrap one of hers around his back and help lead him over to a nearby chair for him to rest in.  She looked down at him with a worried look on her face as he mentioned not feeling like himself.  “Do you feel like they are trying to influence you?† She asked in a low voice, concern very evident in her voice.  "Maybe we should drop you off in Freedom City, it appears Hronos can sense these things as well."

 

When Hronos questioned her about Robert's wellbeing, and Steed called back asking what was going on, Velocity looked back towards Hronos.  "Sorry, I forgot to introduce everyone that was helping me.  Our current pilot is Elizabeth Steed, a…adventurer, who was the one who recovered the piece we currently have."

 

"As for Lord Harrow, yes, the pieces of the device are affecting him.  The device I mentioned encountering before was designed to operate only for Lord Harrow, and these pieces appear connected to that one, as he can sense them, after he came into contact with the first piece."

 

She then shouted back up towards Steed.  "There appears to be one more piece to recover.  So we are not quite done yet."

 

Edited June 23, 2013 by Thevshi

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Holy Cow! Another piece?" shouted Steed. 

 

"I want to see this!" she demanded, setting the ship to auto pilot and storming into the main deck of the Pegasus, to inspect the two parts of the prototype. 

 

"I'm...surviving...Megan..." whispered Robert recovering some robustness. "I can sense them...and I can sense them scratching at me....if anyone can pick up these things....it's me....it's just I don't much like it..." he said with a weak grin. 

 

Heather peered up at the fragments which started glowing. 

 

"Hey look, its as if they are activa

 

Hronos feels the time around him swim like tar...

 

"Holy Cow! Another piece?" shouted Steed. 

 

"I want to see this!" she demanded, setting the ship to auto pilot and storming into the main deck of the Pegasus, to inspect the two parts of the prototype. 

 

"I'm...surviving...Megan..." whispered Robert recovering some robustness. "I can sense them...and I can sense them scratching at me....if anyone can pick up these things....it's me....it's just I don't much like it..." he said with a weak grin. 

 

Heather peered up at the fragments which started glowing. 

 

"Hey look, its as if they are activating!" said Heather, full of curiosity. 

 

"...wow, deja vu!" she said, pressing her hands to her temples. "These things really mess with your head, huh? I feel as though it got all slowed down for a moment there. This could be dangerous...."

 

"You!" she said, in a demanding and charming way all at once, all smiles, eyes, and hand on swung hip, accompanied by pointed finger. "Where did you get this little trinket from? maybe it could lead us to the last piece?"

[Thevshi]

Velocity listened to Robert's reply with deep concern.  "Okay, if you are sure."  She replied quietly.  "But please don't hesitate to tell me if these things are really starting to get to you.  I…I don't want to have to fight you again."

 

The speedster then looked up as Steed arrived and the scene seemed to replay, causing her to blink slightly.  As Steed then pointed at Hronos and began demanding information, even if in a somewhat charming way, the young woman frowned slightly.  "Settle down there Steed."  She stated, a bit of an edge in her voice.  "While I appreciate your finding one of the pieces and bringing it to my attention, and your help with piloting the Pegasus, but this is no longer one of your treasure hunts."

 

"Hronos has already offered to compare notes, so to speak, so there is no need to be demanding things from him." 

[Supercape]

"Hey, if there is treasure, I'm hunting, honey!" she said with a wink that Megan was not entirely sure was directed at her or Robert, or both of them, or possibly even Hronos too. 

 

"Look, you may think I am all smiles and bling, but I do know what I am doing here. I have a degree in Archaeology and I have been on more digs than either of you, I think" she said, warmly. 

 

Robert could not help but nod. 

 

"That's true" he agreed. "Upper second at London if I recall correctly". 

 

Steed ignored the jibe. 

 

"I have dug up more than most, I can tell you. Even if it because of my gifts. Look, I'm not demanding anything, I just want in on the action. Hronos, where did you get the fragment from? it could lead us to the third piece!"

[Thevshi]

Velocity was unimpressed by Steed's response, crossing her arms as she leveled a look at the other woman.  "No Steed, this is not treasure we are looking for, it is a piece of an dangerous artifact that represents a considerable threat to the space/time continuum.  As you have readily admitted, you are no hero.  And I have far more experience than you in that area anyway."

 

"So kindly sit down and shut up.  Or…I will act on that outstanding warrant for your arrest in the States and hand you over to federal authorities and you can spend an little time in jail and in legal mess until such time as I can get back and see what I can do about possibly getting those charges against you dropped."

[Vahnyu]

"..." For a long time, Hronos remained unmoving. What had occured right now... there was no mistaking it. He was certain. When he finally arrived at a conclusion, he decided it was time to address everyone in the plane. "You have my greetings, Elizabeth Steed. I apologize for not greeting you earlier, but I am affraid that I have some worrying news, that I believe all of you should be made aware of."

 

When he had everyone's attention, Hronos spake. "That feeling of Deja Vu, as you called it, that you experienced a few moments ago... was not a feeling. Time was forcibly rewritten, in such a way, that caused a localised group of events to occur anew. That is to say, we all experienced the exact same events that happened when the fragment started glowing, two times in a row. The Essence of Time shields me from such effects, but I suspect that none of you has an accurate recolection of the event taking place. Hmmm... This is highly peculiar..." Hronos went on. "I am certain the fragment I possess was the cause, but for as long as I have held the fragment, it never once acted upon itself... Could this crystal you possess be causing some form of reaction with the shard?"

[Supercape]

GM

 

Steed sat down and crossed one luxuriously long leg over the others. She did, of course, quickly glance to check the autopilot was still functioning. At the moment, they were just hovering in a holding pattern. 

 

"Well...if I may absolve myself from my shut up status for a moment" she said, winking at Megan. "I found the other fragment from stories just like the one you told. They have sprung to life over the past few months. Ever since..." she glanced at Megan, and decided to stay shut up. 

 

"Well, ever since something else gave the signal, I guess" she said, evasively but accurately. 

 

"I heard the stories in Freedom City. The Dinosaur for one. And I would take a guess that it was you that flew it out of the park, hmmm? well, the descriptions match..."

 

"Maybe putting the two of them in proximity is sparking them off?" she asked. "Maybe its something else?" she flicked off a glance at Robert. 

 

"In any case, I don't pretend I know how these things work. All I know is that I am pretty good at digging them out of the ground. Where was that one buried?" she asked. 

[Vahnyu]

"Indeed, that is correct, Elizabeth Steed." Hronos replied. "That dinosaur creature was part of the first incident I had with this fragment. It was not until much later that I realised that the effects of the fragment were localized, affecting a certain spherical area centered on the fragement itself. The man who was using it at the time, John Smith, was in the process of attempting to alter the flow of history itself. Unfortunately for him, his endeavors proved rather pointless, as despite his better efforts, no permanent change in the time stream occured. His actions DID endanger the present time, though, by directly summoning creatures and people ill-equiped to properly deal with the modern era of this planet, such as the aformentioned dinosaur, or a group of warriors from the past of the Earthen country known as Spain. In the end, John Smith left me with no other choice, but to stop him by force, and deliver him to the authorities of Freedom City."

[Thevshi]

Velocity was glad that Steed took the hint and sat down, though she did not stay quiet for long, though at least this time she was not trying to act as if she were running the show.  As Hronous confirmed that there had been more than just a feeling of Déjà vu just a few moments earlier, the speedster began to consider how much she should tell the robotic hero.

 

When Steed finished providing a brief description of how she had found one of the pieces of the crystal, Hronous explained how he came across his own, Velocity figured it was time to provide a bit more information.  "As Ms. Steed suggested, the pieces of the crystal, or at least the one she found, only became active once again a few months ago.  That activation appears to coincide with Lord Harrow activating the device I mentioned earlier, a stopwatch.  That stopwatch gave him the ability to control time, but it also was exerting a considerable amount of influence over him."

 

"But, there is more.  There is an organization in the future which was after the stopwatch, both to prevent certain events from possibly happening, and to use against a threat in the future.  That treat is a man called Collapse, who also has the ability to control time, but at such a level that he can tear apart the time/space continuum and collapse entire time streams together.  There is no indication of it so far, but it could well be possible that this organization might have an interest in these crystal fragments."