one █ voice

[uzi]

_{( The voice is clipped, sharp, and to the point-- no scuffling with controls or stopping to take things in, here. Also? Whoever this woman is, she sounds pissed off. )}

So, City—great name, by the way, though I think someone beat you to it—stop me if I’ve got any of this wrong.

Alternate dimension, time travel, and duplicates of people we might already know. Superpowers, overly ambitious AI, and absolutely no discretion about who it pulls in, despite claiming to want “heroes.”

And apparently no reliable way back, since you’re all sitting on your hands, here. Perfect.

Just one question—is the universe as I know it going to implode because of all this crap?

Comments

[plantpacifist]

I dunno. I was sent back home for two years and nothing happened that wouldn't have happened if I hadn't left at all.

I'm more worried about the state of THIS reality.

[uzi]

You and me both. Especially if I'm going to standing here when the fabric of time decides to give way.

[plantpacifist]

Who knows, you might get lucky.

[uzi]

What would you qualify as lucky? Because ending up an inter-dimensional tourist wasn't on my list.

[plantpacifist]

Going home.

[uzi]

Hm. _{( she'd agree. )}

You been here long? Since coming back.

[plantpacifist]

[Vash wouldn't actually. Not having a ludicrous bounty on his head and ten million people chasing him is a breath of fresh air.] Just two weeks.

[uzi]

And has not-New York been kind to you? Or is there some catch I'm missing, here?

[plantpacifist]

So far, yes. This time.

Why would there be a catch?

[uzi]

Because there's always a catch. I just prefer to know what it is as early as possible.

[plantpacifist]

Other than the catch of being kidnapped from your own universe and held against your will for a totally arbitrary period of time, with the possibility that you might just seesaw back and forth between realities for the rest of your natural life?

No, beyond your natural life. Even people who have died in their own universes sometimes show up here.

Hard to imagine a catch bigger than that.

[uzi]

Dead people. You're joking.

_{( but since he's obviously not, she makes a noise half-way between a snarl and a choke, and then says: )}

Pretty big catch, I'll give you that. But while we're here we're left alone?

[plantpacifist]

Well, the locals don't like us much, but there's not much they can do to most of us, since us ImPorts all have powers.

No, what you really have to watch out for is Porter malfunctions. Sometimes it'll replace you with an alternate universe or past version of yourself, or switch your powers around with someone else's. And this one time a horde of zombies attacked the City. There's always something happening, but I guess if you kept your head down you could ignore most of it.

[uzi]

Okay, see? Her continuing to screw with us is very much a catch.

[plantpacifist]

Judging from the people I've met here? Getting screwed around is par for the course.

[uzi]

What, no perfectly normal girls-next-door fall through the inter-dimensional hole? Only fate's real chewtoys?

[plantpacifist]

[unsure if sarcasm] Jeez, I hope not. It would suck to be them.

[uzi]

Well, since they can't die, I'm sure they'd toughen up eventually.