[Video]

[asecondfaster]

[Ian (who is only sixteen) is standing outside the ship. He looks confused and annoyed at the same time; he wants answers, and he wants them now.]

Gabe, are you around here somewhere? Suki? CJ?

[after no response from his friends, he frowns] Where am I? Is this some kind of test, or experiment? Some illusion created by Whisper?

Maybe it’s a dream...but it’s a pretty weird dream, if it is. Even weirder than the yellow elevator one, or the one where Conner called me his liege, whatever that means. [he pauses] At least Señor Guapo hasn’t made an appearance yet.


((ooc: I'll reply to everyone's permissions posts and tags sometime tomorrow! For now, I sleep. Also I have a pathetically small number of icons rn, but I will fix that soon.))

Comments

[flowing_kinetics]

You're not dreamin' and you're not home. You're in some weird place, same as all of us.

[asecondfaster]

[warily] You mean a different weird place? Where, exactly? Who are you?

[flowing_kinetics]

Dunno where. Ain't anything I've seen before, but people around here are coming from different places and times. You know, nothin' special.

Akira Tadokoro. Who're you?

[asecondfaster]

Ian Archer. But "different places and times" doesn't exactly sound like "nothin' special."

[abetterway]

[Her expression is a blend of sympathy and amusement, but her voice is gentle as she lays it out for him.]

None of the above, I'm afraid. You've been abducted. We don't know how or why, or if there's any way to return home.

[asecondfaster]

But I've heard that all before. I couldn't escape Tower Prep, so how am I trapped somewhere else? If it really is somewhere else. [He's still pretty sure this is some elaborate test.]

[abetterway]

[Her tone becomes a bit wry as she responds.] These people, whoever they are, seem very adept at their job.

You'll meet people from across the universe, here, and across time. It doesn't surprise me that they could breach your school's defences.

[It sounds like a school, at any rate - if a sinister one, and that's what makes her frown, now.] You were being held there?

[asecondfaster]

Headmaster's pretty adept at his job, too. [there might be a bit of sarcasm there. or you know, a lot. That should answer her last question.]

[But then he looks back at the ship, and up at the sky. He still doesn't quite believe it, but.] If I'm really not at Tower Prep, then what is this place? Are there really people from all over the universe here?

[abetterway]

[Xavier's nod is quick, almost excited.] Yes - it's extraordinary, really. I never supposed we were alone in the universe, but I hardly expected to meet our neighbours.

The ship that was carrying us crashed here. It's a world called Verdana. I don't know if this was the intended destination or not.

[femshep]

...Señor Guapo?

[She was going to give him the intro speech, but she got hung up on that particular moniker first. She sounds a mixture of skeptical and amused.]

[asecondfaster]

[a bit sheepishly] Sorry, that's Gabe's sock monkey.

[femshep]

...Right. [She sounds a bit skeptical, but not outright judgmental. She's definitely heard stranger things.]

You're gonna have to put some descriptions with those names if you want us to find them. Odds are, they aren't here, but it's always worth a shot.

[asecondfaster]

[It's ok, everyone judges Gabe for his sock monkey. Because seriously Gabe, wtf.]

They're all about my age, and they'd all be wearing some version of the Tower Prep uniform, which is this color. [he gestures at his hoodie, which has a T in a small circle on the front.]

[femshep]

And assuming they're around here somewhere, what kind of survival skills are they leaning on?

[calmyourmind]

[Charles keeps a vague eye on the network but it's the realization that Ian is just a young kid that has him paying closer attention to the video post. That's he's talking about created illusions sparks his curiosity even further.]

I am afraid this is neither a dream, nor an illusion.I wish I could say otherwise.

[asecondfaster]

[Ian shakes his head; he's still processing all of this, but the reality of it is starting to sink in.] This wasn't exactly what I had in mind for an escape plan.

Sorry for the delay!

[calmyourmind]

[Ever more curious.]

Escape?

[His mind reaches out in search of Ian's. Not intrusive yet, just trying to locate the boy.]

I would be very interested in discussing this with you, but perhaps once we get you somewhere safer, yes? It is a bit dangerous around the ship at times.

Likewise! xD

[asecondfaster]

[Ian is still by the ship, but he's exploring the area now.]

I can protect myself pretty well if I have to. What sort of dangers are there?

text ;

[worldkiller]

< It seems very real for an illusion...* >

* translated from kyrptonian

[video]

[asecondfaster]

I wish it didn't seem so real. Who are you?

permatext!

[worldkiller]

< At least reality is manageable.

Kara Zor-El. Who are you? >

permavideo~

[asecondfaster]

[wryly] Depends on your definition of "manageable."

Ian Archer. Where are you from? [because he's pretty sure he's never heard a last name like Zor-El before]

[worldkiller]

< Able to be managed.

I came here from Earth. I am originally from Krypton. Are you an Earthling? >

[video]

[knightoflight]

It is not a dream, but I suspect by now you already know that.

[video]

[asecondfaster]

[have some staring, bro. Also sarcasm.] The fact that you're a giant talking robot makes that really convincing.