nextgen_misc (nextgen_misc) wrote in marvel_nextgen,
@ 2009-08-18 21:52:00

Entry tags:

awesome andrea, kristoff vernard, npc - stature, team - fantastic four, vincent vernard

Time travel: not for the faint of heart
The Fantastic Four’s new location was, as it had been last time, in the middle of a busy square. The architecture of the buildings was different, more advanced and with an oriental feel. There was a garden in the center of the square, well cared for and vibrant. Not very far from the square there was a Sphinx. If the unwilling time travelers at first assumed that they were In Egypt, they could not be faulted. However, there was a landmark that would place them in New York City: the Statue of Liberty. At least that was it had been. Now Lady Liberty was transformed, now bearing a striking resemblance to one member of their team: Cassandra Lang.

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nextgen_baddie
2009-08-20 06:48 am UTC (link)

"Andrea," he addresses her calmly. "While your pretense at 'defending' her is richly ironiic, I think you are underestimating how much I need to know this is not a trick, or overestimating how much I am willing for the three of you to continue existing."

Kang's other hand, hooks around and touches Cassie's hair briefly. Then there's a few sounds from the armor and he checks something at the wrist, eyes flicking back to them.
" It is her. "

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	discardedheir 2009-08-20 06:50 am UTC (link)
	Seething over his efforts to restrain himself, Kristoff pulls her close in his arms and steps carefully back immediately after that. "Yes. And you have hurt her." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	quitethecharmer 2009-08-20 06:54 am UTC (link)
	There's not enough space for Vincent to directly put himself between Kang and the others without forcing an immediate physical confrontation, but he flanks him. "You've seen her. Now bring your filthy carcass away from her, you sad insipid little hybrid of Napoleon and HG Wells." He hisses, dozens of mystically-fueled combat scenarios already boiling in his mind. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	staturity 2009-08-20 07:08 am UTC (link)
	"I'm fine." Cassie's eyes were still stinging but her vision was clearing. And the more she could see the more confused she became. "You're not Kang." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nextgen_baddie 2009-08-20 07:12 am UTC (link)
	"The irony of your 'concern' is even richer," Kang says to the brothers before staring at Cassie for a moment. "Oh, but I am," he says softly. "But you are correct if you mean..." And he reaches and pulls his helmet off. "That I am not Nathaniel Richards the Fifteenth." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	staturity 2009-08-20 07:16 am UTC (link)
	It was like her whole body turned to ice. Even though he had to be decades older, Cassie recognized him instantly. "No..." She moaned. "Please no." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	discardedheir 2009-08-20 06:07 pm UTC (link)
	Kristoff sees it almost immediately after Cassie. "Cassandra, it's some kind of trick. Or a deviation in the timeline too profound to have any re..." But he trails off, just staring in horror. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

quitethecharmer
2009-08-20 07:26 pm UTC (link)

Vincent is not so composed or quietly horrified as his brother and older-sister figure.' He also adjusts to this rather freakish incident with acknowledgment, rather than denial.

"You've gone absolutely stark raving mad!" He points a finger at him viciously. "I should never have given you any robot toys!" He glares fiercely, mentally retreating into absurdium to cope.

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awesome_andrea
2009-08-20 08:24 pm UTC (link)

Andrea can predict and weight probability factors with speeds matched only by other artificial lifeforms or highly advanced computer systems. While this means she can encounter the unexpected, it is difficult to say she can truly be surprised.

Now, however? She is will and truly surprised.

"The statistical likely hood of this scenario was so low as to be irrelevant," she said, as her processors shifted to try and take into account this new scenario. "I... I do not have a properly formulate response."

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	nextgen_misc 2009-08-20 08:59 pm UTC (link)
	"Yes, Mother, it's me." Something goes out of his voice as he then drones quickly. "No, Kristoff: no tricks, no Skrulls, no illusions, no forcible memory encoding. And you look just like I remember. Vincent, there are many, many things you should not have done. As for the relevance, well...the situation certainly seems relevant right now, does it not?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	staturity 2009-08-20 11:23 pm UTC (link)
	"Scotty..." Cassie stepped forward and reached out to touch her son's cheek. He looked so much like his father and not simply because of how he was dressed. She also saw some of her father in his face. And some of her. "Why? What happened?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nextgen_misc 2009-08-21 12:06 am UTC (link)
	"I can explain once they're gone." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	staturity 2009-08-21 12:20 am UTC (link)
	"Scotty, I don't know what happened here but you can trust Kristoff, Vincent and Andrea. You know that." Please, please, please by all that was holy let this not be her future. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nextgen_misc 2009-08-21 12:41 am UTC (link)
	"I know quite the opposite, Mother. I trusted them as a child, and that's how I lost you." He gestures to the police, who start to reposition. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	discardedheir 2009-08-21 01:04 am UTC (link)
	Skrulls, and illusions, and memory manipulation sound so, so good right now. Kristoff's insides become even more filled with frozen knots at the implication of what Scotty just said. If this is their future, he's sure it is all his fault. He's too horrified to even raise a hand at the obviously-imminent attack. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

staturity
2009-08-21 03:31 am UTC (link)

"No!" Cassie started to grab this alternate version of her son but realized that wasn't going to help. She quickly turned back to her teammates and nearly threw herself onto Kristoff. They wouldn't fire so long as she was there.

She hoped.

"If your world is anything like mine, they're not your enemies. I don't know- I don't know what Kang told you but he was lying."

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	awesome_andrea 2009-08-21 04:26 am UTC (link)
	Andrea shifted templates and instantly ignited into flames. More than any of her others, Johnny Storm's was the most battle-suited, which was what was required here. "We will not leave Cassandra alone with you." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	quitethecharmer 2009-08-21 05:12 am UTC (link)
	Vincent's eyes glowed bright blue with unearthly energy. "Scotty, if it's really you, you know what I'm capable of. More importantly, you know that I don't give a damn about what happens in a future. I can compel your men to choke on their own tongues or believe they're a bunch of pandas. Don't tempt my creativity." He snarls. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nextgen_misc 2009-08-21 05:22 am UTC (link)
	There's a ripple of air, and then a fluttering of cloth as a cloaked individual appears besides Cassandra. "Tell me honestly, boy--" He intones to Scotty, his voice calm and grizzled. "--was I ever truly that fierce?" His eyes flash, and the members of the Fantastic Four flicker from view. "Another time, Lang." He vanishes as well. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	staturity 2009-08-21 05:55 am UTC (link)
	"No! Scott!" Cassie reached out for her son but he disappeared before her eyes. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nextgen_misc 2009-08-21 07:13 am UTC (link)
	They materialize in an expansive underground cavern filled with ruins -- not the ancient variety, but thoroughly destroyed and rusted equipment of a ...colorful bent. "Vincent, did you -- " and the man in the beyond-cutting-edge-but-battered armor with the solid grey hair stops midsentence. "Cassandra..." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	staturity 2009-08-21 07:32 am UTC (link)
	Her son was Kang. Her son was Kang. And even if Kristoff looked terrible, even if she couldn't imagine what had happened to make him look like that, Cassie was mad. "What the HELL happened?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nextgen_misc 2009-08-21 07:43 am UTC (link)
	The older Kristoff dropped to his knees. "Scotty, I... I failed him. Failed you. Completely. Kang...the real Kang...he killed you. And he...he got Scotty. And then he put all his resources to...as you see. By the time Kang was killed, he'd been raising Scotty for years and we...couldn't through to him. I can't ask you to forgive me, Cassandra." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

nextgen_misc
2009-08-21 07:49 am UTC (link)

"Brother... you've cried over all this before. Don't torture yourself further." The other man pushes back his cloak to reveal a familiar visage, but multiply scarred and aged. He surveys the group, shaking his head softly. "You shouldn't be here Cassandra, not you or any of the family." Each word seems to be sincere, but they come across void of emotion.

He parts his gaze from them and crosses the room to a woman who entered with Kristoff. "My jewel..."

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nextgen_misc
2009-08-21 08:12 pm UTC (link)

The woman, by and large, looked little different from the one who had arrived with the Fantastic Four. Perhaps just a touch older, there was also something that could only be described as more "natural" about her, about the way she moved and spoke.

"You are too hard on yourself, Kristoff," the older Andrea said, before she embraced the older Vincent.

"I was worried," she told him. "I am glad you returned safely."