1217/Small Problems

Small Problems
Date of Scene:	30 June 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Invisible Kid, Brainiac 5

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Invisible Kid has posed:
    That can't be good for his back, the way Lyle is hunched over the eyepieces of the stereo electron microscope. But, that's the price one pays for manual nano-engineering.
    Heavy sigh.
    He sits up, and looks over some notes with a kind of half frown. Makes a small marginal adjustment. Peers into the eyepieces again. Back at his notes. And ends by resting his chin in his hand, elbow on table top, staring off into space in a deep and juicy ponder.

Brainiac 5 has posed:
Brainy has been going over the ship with a fine-tooth comb. In one instance, literally. "I almost had him. I found a microscopic food cache he'd squirreled away, but he was hours gone. He could be anywhere, hiding out in any subsystem, no matter how small." He crosses his arms, and says, "I could build a device that would take control of the subatomic particle that determines mass and volume, and force him to grow, but we'd still have to hit him with it."

He hangs up his tool belt. "What are you doing?"

Invisible Kid has posed:
    Lyle leans back and rubs his eyes. "Atomic-scale hunter that's simple enough to be pieced together atom by atom, and complex enough to take a certain amount of programming. These two states may be mutually exclusive, which only makes me want to accomplish it more."
    He spins around on his chair, welcoming the break. "The only other idea I have is a Higgs field intensifier. If he had his normal size mass at his reduced size, that would bring him to a pretty efficient halt."

Brainiac 5 has posed:
Brainy says, nonchalantly, "It would also almost certainly kill him, which is why I didn't just have us all put transsuits on and depressurize the ship." He sits down at the workstation, and takes a look at Lyle's work, and then he says, thoughtfully, "Not bad," Before he pushes it back. "He's mostly toying with us now. Before we knew he was there, he could've injured or killed any of us."

"But I'm worried that he might stop playing at any time."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    Lyle adds a couple notes while he speaks. "Of course he is. Just killing us wouldn't be any fun." He taps his nose with his pen, thinking. "Of course... if he came back to this time by hitching a ride with one of us, he needs us to figure out how to get back to our time first before he can engage in a more terminal sort of revenge."
    Lyle shrugs, drumming his notepad with the pencil. "And there's still the problem of keeping him contained even if we do find him." As it happens, the notes he's tapping read: 'Turn Higgs field up slowly until it's enough to stop him but not injure. Remaining problem: differentiating him from other microcomponents.'

Brainiac 5 has posed:
Brainiac 5 smirks, somewhat archly at that, and then he says, "I've already solved that." He opens his holographic terminal, and displays a small device. "This is a hard-light cell that also creates an energy field where the Dox Particle - the particle that determines an object's mass and volume in reality -- stays fixed. It neutralizes an Imskian's powers. So it's a simple matter of catching him, dropping him in the cell, then remembering to give him food, water, and presumably some sort of entertainment. It wouldn't do to be cruel to the black-hearted little parasite."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "So that solves everything, outside of the actual catching him and dropping him in there," Lyle chuckles. "Now, if we could make some headway on those problems, we'd be getting somewhere. I *do* have some suggestions for food and entertainment for him, though -- a couple lettuce leafs and a stick come to mind."
    He adds a few notes: 'Wish we had database from home. How much do you remember of Vi's vitals when shrunk? Best chance to find him - that's guaranteed to look different from cruiser's microstructure.'

Brainiac 5 has posed:
"Mmmmmm. I have a thought." Brainy says. "I seem to remember that there were humans on earth in this era who used technology to manipulate the Mass/Volume particle. Maybe we could enlist their help, or the help of someone else to help us catch and collar Micro Lad." He steeples his fingers together. "Do you know any likely candidates who we might be able to enlist?" He shrugs, and says, "In the end, fighting him on his level's going to be the most effective way to take him down."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    Lyle reaches for the nearest terminal. "Good question," he says, typing. "Local records indicate at least three... hrm. I think our best chance for contact will be with the one called 'Wasp'." A few more taps on the keyboard. "She works out of New York City. Well, that *technically* narrows it down," he adds with a roll of the eyes. "I can't locate any recent information on Ant-Man, or the Atom. So yeah, I think she should be our first contact."

Brainiac 5 has posed:
Brainy raises an eyebrow, as he reads. "Janet van Dyne... fashion mogul, socialite..." He strokes his chin and raises an eyebrow, and then looks at Lyle sidelong. "Unless you'd like to go, and you can be very dashing when you're not being a *fink*, maybe we should send Tinya and Luornu? I think they'd have a great time."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "That, and she might want to redesign my outfit and I'm happy with it the way it is. You're right, I think they're a good idea for making contact." Lyle almost turns back to his notes, then stops. "And whaddya mean, fink?"

Brainiac 5 has posed:
Querl raises an eyebrow. But he doesn't say anything. "You could wear a suit. Don't you have any twenty-first century clothes yet, to go incognito? I mean, you're wearing a giant 'i' on your chest. That's actually surprisingly easy to spot."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    Lyle smirks. "When *I* go undercover, no one sees me, so it hardly matters."

Brainiac 5 has posed:
Brainiac 5 raises an eyebrow, and then says, blandly, "No fashion sense." He conjures up his holographic mini-cell and starts tinkering with elements of the design. Tinker, tinker, tinker. He adds, "Then again, according to human color spectrum vision it's almost impossible for me not to clash with whatever I'm wearing. Even the Athramites gave up." He considers it a little bit of a victory.

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "I was about to say, 'so says the guy in a purple jumpsuit'. Although I suppose you're ri... I mean, I suppose you have a point, I should be able to mingle without attracting attention." Lyle shrugs. "Not that I was given a chance to pack before I got launched back to this time frame."

Brainiac 5 has posed:
Brainiac 5 looks up, and then sighs, before he moves to--after some hesitation--put a hand on Lyle's shoulder. "Believe it or not, Lyle, and I think I told you this once before, people like you. They trust you, because you've shown yourself to BE trustworthy. As much as you prefer to hide, I think that if you *chose* to step forward and lead the Legion, you would excel." He pauses, and then rolls his eyes upward. "We fall into this mode where we play nasty games with one another, and say barbed things. It's comfortable, it's relaxing. But--" He pauses, "I've been studying leadership techniques and one thing that comes up over and over is that you can't let people lose sight of the fact that you value them not just for what they can do but for *who they are*. And you--Invisible Kid--are my best friend. Probably. My only solid basis for comparison were Rond Vidar and--" He sighs, "The only other friend I had before that was when I was six. I'll tell you about it sometime, you might appreciate the intrigue."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "The reason I like to tease you," Lyle admits, reaching up to put his hand on Brainy's, "is because you're the only one mentally fast enough to come up with a clever retort. And that's why I never take it personally when you do. Funny thing is, I don't know if you know that, and even *I'm* kind of used to the idea that you know everything. "
    Impulsively, he gives Brainy's hand a squeeze. "But," he says with resolution, "I've done my time on the leadership chain gang. And I want to remain in the lab just as much as you do. If we ever reach a phase where we need to be a primarily stealthy, behind-the-scenes organization, that might change. Oh, who am I kidding... that *will* change. But right now we need you to hold all the pieces together. And then we need someone to guide us in making our mark on a time that's not ours. And that's not me. My specialty is in *not* leaving traces." He grins, surprisingly shyly. "I do appreciate the vote of confidence, though."

Brainiac 5 has posed:
Querl tilts his head, and then he pauses--before he pulls Lyle into a hug. He sighs, perhaps with a bit more happiness than he might be otherwise inclined to let on he's even capable of, and then he lets Invisible Kid go, before he turns to walk to a futuristic looking device that is actually a water cooler -- scientific purpose -- dispensing cold water. "Not even going to ask me?" He says. "It's intriguing. It involves corruption, and kidnapping, and me not telling the truth."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    Lyle hugs back tight, even resting his head briefly on Brainy's shoulder. "I would expect no less... although really, it took you until you were six to get involved in all that?" He grins wickedly. "Were you a late bloomer?"

Brainiac 5 has posed:
Querl tosses back his water. "Well, on Colu, I was a ward of the state. My mother abandoned me at birth--" He frowns, "But you know that. The problem is, that as soon as I started testing at the twelfth-level, the Coluans knew that I was a Brainiac. It's not a title of esteem, so you know that too. So my freedoms were curtailed. Anything I attempted to do within Coluan society was watched. Anything within the Coluan datasphere would be monitored. I learned how to beat their monitoring almost immediately, of course, but I knew that if I was caught, my already limited freedoms would be curtailed even further. So I turned my attention outward. I noted early on that the Brainiacs had a long history with a curiously unsophisticated planet, that being Earth."

"So. I decided to investigate the Earth Datasphere instead. It was easy to do, even from Colu--and easy to not be caught."

"It wasn't really getting me anywhere, though. Other than some historical recordings of Superman's battles with Brainiac 1 on Earth, it was so uninteresting. Until..." He says, "I was hacking through EarthGov--and this was before the United Planets was anything more than a topic of diplomatic debate--hacking through EarthGov's secured networks, when I found a top-secret project. With a lot of interesting names attached. Names like Barry Allen, and Eobard Thawne. Do you know who those people are, Lyle?"

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "Flash and Reverse Flash," Lyle says absently, those bits of data floating to the surface of his mind. "And as an Earthman, I object to 'unsophisticated'. We're 'hard to predict', thank you very much." He pauses, and concentrates. "I don't see the connection between them, Superman, and Brainiac 1. Other than JLA, and their enemies."

Brainiac 5 has posed:
"Well." Brainy says, "Here's the thing. The Allen family and Thawne family have been in a running battle for roughly a thousand years. Allens produce flashes, Thawnes produce Zooms or Reverse-Flashes. And this does touch on the Legion a bit. At some point in the future for this era, undefined at this point in time, or at some point, some probability, something in OUR past, Barry and Iris Allen-West will travel forward in time to the early 31st century and there, they'll have two children; Don and Dawn Allen." - The Tornado Twins, pre-Legion Superheroes. "Dawn Allen's daughter... well, we know her--she's a Legionnaire." Jenni. "But Don Allen had a son... with Meloni Thawne." Querl gestures. "It's all very dramatic, in the way humans often are."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "I *will* grant you 'dramatic'. We can make an art form of it." Lyle grins... then blinks and stares. "Oh, wait, that's right, even if XS is still in the future, Bart should be active in this time frame. Although... ugh, here's where temporal dynamics becomes a mess. I don't know if we're in his future or in his past at this time. You haven't made contact with him, have you -- or do we need to avoid the Allens for fear of messing with their future, or our past?"

Brainiac 5 has posed:
"I think the timeline's resilient enough that we don't need to be concerned." Querl says. "Anything we do, we would have already done." He says. "As it were. But. That's where I come in. Bartholomew Henry Allen II was born with his father and grandfather's powers, but he had a problem... they were causing him to age incredibly fast. So..." He says, "His grandfather, President Thawne, you know, the Dominator hand-puppet? He appropriated him as a ward of the state. Which was a really rotten thing to do after having his father executed. And Thawne put him in a virtual reality simulation that was tailored to keep up with the incredible speed of his thinking." Querl quirks his mouth. "And that was where I enter into the story." He sighs, and sits on the edge of a bench. "I was curious... so I broke into the virtual reality program. Yes, I did it from Colu... yes, it was easy. I constructed an avatar for myself, some... cute little bug-thing that would look like the VR AI generated it as a teaching tool, and I called it 'Dox'. A little childish of me, I know, but what can I say, I *was* a child."

He sighs. "I expected the person I found to be a barely-cognizant child. Instead what I found, while somewhat immature, was one of the most brilliant people I've ever met. I've only met one person in my life with the same talent for lateral, creative thinking." Brainy raises an eyebrow at Lyle.

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "Modesty requires me to assume you mean Rond," Lyle says, grinning broadly. "You hacked into an Earth-based hyperspeed VR from Colu -- isn't that just a typical Tuesday afternoon for you?"

Brainiac 5 has posed:
"Flattery? How unlike you." Querl lets out a sigh. "Bart and I--we became friends. I didn't realize how absolutely miserable it was having nobody to play with, until I had somebody *to* play with. And he was incredibly smart, incredibly quick, no pun intended. He got bored with games easily, because he mastered them so fast, and it was, honestly, all I could do to keep up with him in most of them. I had so much fun with him. But the more I came to know him... the more I realized *I* was being selfish. He was a person, and he was a prisoner. And he was *dying*. It wasn't... right." Querl quirks his mouth. "So, as far as I know, a lot of this is still classified. The Thawnes are still a wealthy and powerful family in our era. I'll just say this: Iris Allen-West and Meloni Thawne wouldn't have been able to break into a secure EarthGov facility without help from SOMEONE. Someone who would've been able to pull a map of the facility and information on the security patrols off of their computers and then send it to them anonymously. Or, I could just be telling you a story, and it could be completely made-up. You decide."

"And no, I haven't been able to locate Bart in this era. And that worries me... because he SHOULD be here."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    Lyle holds his hands up in a 'who, me?' gesture. "Hey, if there's anyone who understands 'classified', it's me. Granted, if there's anyone who understands digging up 'classified' and seeing what's in there... I said nothing."
    Lyle hmms, absorbing that last. "There are a lot of things that should be that aren't, and shouldn't be that are. Heck, we ourselves fall under that last. I more than half suspect sometimes that we not only moved backwards, we moved sideways."

Brainiac 5 has posed:
Querl runs his hand down his face, and lets out a soft 'heh'. "That's one I've kept to myself for a long time. It feels... odd to tell it. I was really only a minor player in what happened. I doubt he even remembers his VR friend -- I was just a sprite, just a computer program to him, and really, that's for the best. I owe him, though. I saw a reflection of myself in him... being kept on Colu as a curiosity, a pariah, someone to be used, someone to be PITIED... and I knew that someday I was going to leave and never look back. Nobody should be a prisoner based on the name they were born with. Come on." He says, "Let's get back to work on your Nano-Hunters."
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