2562/I'm Sorry To Tell You...

I'm Sorry To Tell You...
Date of Scene:	23 September 2017
Location:	Inter-ship communications
Synopsis:	Indigo is looking for Brainy. She's not the only one.
Cast of Characters:	Indigo, Invisible Kid
Tinyplot:	Mirror, Mirror

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Indigo has posed:
        There are very few possibilities for why Indigo should be unable to raise Querl on their shared quantum connection.  The kindest is to assume he's still alive, but in another reality.  It's also the least reasonable, so there's a goodly amount of distress buzzing through Indigo's circuits when she starts reverse-engineering the connection to triangulate his last known position, creates relay probes to send through jump portals to chain a message link back to the Milano, and begins broadcasting on what she's fairly sure, based on her knowledge of the tech of the time, would be Legion microwave communication frequencies:
        "Calling the Legion of Super-Heroes.  This is Indigo, a descendant of Brainiac 5."
        (The truth is a lot more complicated than that, but whatever.  That's not information to broadcast under the best of conditions, which these aren't.)
        "I've been trying to contact him and have been unable to.  Do you require assistance?  This message will repeat until I get a response."
        A descendant of Brainiac?  The apple must have fallen far from the tree.  She sounds nothing like a Brainiac.  Her voice is… anxious, and unhappy.

Invisible Kid has posed:
        Lyle doesn't look like he's slept, or if he has, he hasn't slept well.  He's actually getting a little sleep right now, head down on folded arms on the lab table, and Shadow sprawled across the back of his neck, also dozing.  It has not been an easy time of late.
        When the signal reaches the cruiser, K.O.K.O. quickly analyzes it, and routes it to the lab.  Of course, K.O.K.O. knows about Brainy's absence—he's judged that the lab will be best suited to handle this inquiry since there's a better than 95 per cent chance that either Invisible Kid or Brainiac 7 will be there.
        It's fair to call the awakening Lyle receives when the message starts playing a rude one.  Shadow takes to the air when he jerks awake; Lyle himself only barely manages toppling over backwards off his lab stool.  "Invisible—*whoah!*—Kid here!"  He arrests his fall only with the help of his flight ring.  "Please repeat, I missed your identification."  He sounds a little dazed, moreso than merely having just woken up.

Indigo has posed:
        Recursive facial recognition algorithms capture Lyle's face and begin running it, habitually, against known entries in her databanks.  Indigo's a tad surprised to learn it matches a partial sample of a face captured in one of Brainy's holographic conversations.  "Invisible Kid.  Hi.  Brainiac mentioned you before, but we've never met.  I'm Indigo.  I'm…" The woman in the hologram has skin color that matches her name, and bright pink eyes and hair (the latter of which is kind of a crow's nest right now), and an electronic hum underlying all her words (maybe it's distortion from a bad connection).  As much of her as can be seen from the shoulders up suggests she's wearing a red leather jacket.  Indigo pauses to consider her words, and concludes rather lamely, "Well, the short version is, I'm a gynoid built from technology Brainiac 5 will one day pioneer.  I was trying to get in touch with him and I can't reach him.  Do you need assistance?"  Pause.  Then, uncertainly, "Is he okay?"

Invisible Kid has posed:
        "Indigo… Brainiac 8… the android!  I remember, I helped a bit with that.  With you, I guess."  Lyle looks a little more awake, but still a little dazed.  "Nice to finally meet you fully activated.  You were just a frame the last time I saw you."  He runs his fingers through his unruly mop of brown hair.  It doesn't help much.
        "I… uh."  Shadow lands on his shoulder and he reflexively reaches up and pets the kitten.  The flying kitten.  No wings.  "I don't know.  We've had an incident.  He's… not here."  He looks around, as if to verify no one else is in the lab.  "We theorize he's been sent to a parallel universe.  But we're not sure."
        He can't help but chuckle.  "We seem to have a surfeit of Brainiacs lately.  There's another Five, from the universe we think our Five is, there's you, and there's a Seven from the future.  A potential Seven, anyway."

Indigo has posed:
        Whatever Indigo is or may ever be, she'll never make a good poker player.  The consternation and shock and guilt that cross her face are so easily read they might as well have subtitles beneath them.  "I… parallel universe?" she asks, then forces herself to calm down and become brisk and business-like.  "I've been working on parallel universe research, actually.  Can I offer you some assistance?  I can reach your current position in one day, examine your data, and compare it to my own work."

Invisible Kid has posed:
        "I think that would be a big help.  I have some readings that don't make a lot of sense to me," Lyle admits, "but my specialty isn't in multiversal dynamics.  Brainiac 7 says he knows a lot in that line, so maybe the two of you can sort out the wheres and hows."
        He hesitates, like he has something more to say and isn't sure either of how or even whether to say it.  Finally his need to know wins out.  "If it's not prying… I don't know exactly how the numbering of Brainiac iterations goes.  Are you also descended from Brainiac 7?  Do you know him at all?"

Indigo has posed:
        "Uh… that information wouldn't be smart to release on a long-distance communications line," Indigo says unhappily, guiltily.  "I guess I can tell you I don't know any Brainiac 7, though.  So I can't vouch for him, if that's what you're asking."

Invisible Kid has posed:
        That wasn't wholly what Lyle was after, but he nods.  "I understand.  Yes, I think you should come, we can use all the help we can get."  He grabs a liter Erlenmeyer flask off the table and drains about half of what looks like water.  "When it rains it pours.  Darkseid is active planetside, and we can't help because we've got an evil Brainiac 5 running loose and our good one missing.  I'd actually feel better if I thought the two events were connected, but we're pretty sure they're not."

Indigo has posed:
        "Don't be too sure," Indigo says, sounding more distracted than like she's actually making a point.  Her eyes are flashing and her shoulders are twitching; chances are fair she's messing with a computer or something off-screen.  "There's a moral axis to reality.  When it starts to tilt in one direction, equivalency follows… okay.  I have passage toward Earth.  I just need you to promise to keep me away from as many humans as possible, Invisible Kid.  Please?" she begs, face now on the 'camera' again and contorted with worry.

Invisible Kid has posed:
        "So far as I know, we'll mostly be working from the cruiser for now.  And while we're all humanoid, we're not all human.  And of course there's a limited number of us here, with controlled access… well, normally."  Lyle glances reflexively at the core of Brainy's part of the lab; not all the mess from the dimensional gate has been cleaned up yet.  "I'll check with Mon-El if we can arrange temporary quarters so you can have a private space to retreat to.  I can't promise that, though."
        He can't help but laugh gently.  "Querl could find us overwhelming at times, too."

Indigo has posed:
        Indigo opens her mouth to contradict and explain, then closes it.  Again, bad poker player.  "Send me whatever data you feel comfortable sharing on a broadcast like this."  Then, as if just realizing it, "If you don't feel safe sharing it, then don't.  The lead time probably won't make much difference, with three of us analyzing it.  Is there anything else we can do?"

Invisible Kid has posed:
        "Extend the day to forty hours so I can get all the work done I need to, and sleep," Lyle says with a smirk.  "Except I don't think we can do that.  I'll hold off on more information until you get here.  Stargrave—the evil Brainiac 5—is probably planetside, and we have some reason to believe that he's going to be inactive for a couple days."

Indigo has posed:
        "Good.  I'm bringing my wife and a friend along.  They… have experience fighting this kind of fight," Indigo says, the last few words coming out strained and miserable.  She can't even look the camera in the eye any more.  "Anyway.  Sleep.  I know you think you're useless while you're asleep, but you're worse than useless if you start making mistakes because of deprivation… and Querl wouldn't want you be miserable, either."  A quick, sad, compassionate smile flashes across her lips.

Invisible Kid has posed:
        Lyle winces a little at her last statement.  "Now I'm sure you're a descendent of his, I've had that same speech about sleep deprivation almost verbatim from him.  I don't mind having to sleep—goes with being human and mortal," he says.  "I'm just not sleeping well since this started.  And I'm trying to avoid chemical solutions for that.  And I don't have enough time for everything I need to do…!"  He sounds frustrated and scared both, and pulls Shadow down off his shoulder and nestles her into the fold of his arm, which appears to calm him some.  "I don't know how much he's told you about me, or us, or anything at all," he adds, without further explanation.

Indigo has posed:
        "Not much, but I'm good at filling in the blanks," Indigo admits neutrally… no, not a neutral admission; a gentle invitation.  "What do you want to tell me, Lyle?"

Invisible Kid has posed:
        "I… this isn't just professional, recovering a team member," Lyle says.  "This is personal.  Querl is my friend and my partner.  I need…."  He sighs heavily.  "I need someone to make sure I don't do something stupid.  Because for once in my life, I know for certain I very easily could.  I nearly did when Stargrave first appeared.  I actually wanted to kill him, and pulled my attack at the last second.  I don't even think I felt rage.  It was more like, 'You shot Brainy, so you need to cease existing NOW'."
        He looks down at his kitten, then slowly back up again.  "And I don't even really feel guilty about it.  The only reason I pulled my attack on him was I remembered that a Legionnaire who kills is no longer a Legionnaire, and this team is my family."  He glances back at Brainy's work area.  "Some more than others."

Indigo has posed:
        Indigo nods along, her face betraying no revulsion or disgust.  "I think a lot of people perceive rage as this hot fever that destroys your sense of self and your awareness of the world around you, but it's not always like that.  Sometimes it's cold, and all it does is take away the 'why' of what you're doing, just leaving the 'what' behind for you to worry about.  I've been there too.  It sounds like you did what you had to do."

Invisible Kid has posed:
        "I need to not do it," Lyle says.  "I'm serious, if it looks like I'm about to act blindly, stop me.  And remind me that I told you to.  I can't ask my teammates for this.  They've known me for too long.  They might not react fast enough.
        His face hardens slightly.  "Unless Brainy actually is de—"  Nope.  Still can't say it.  "Unless… that.  Then please stay out of my way, for your own safety."

Indigo has posed:
        "I'll help you," Indigo promises quietly.  "I'm just saying, you proved once that you remember what you want and how to get it.  Fear can keep you honest, but don't let it distract you, since your track record shows you've beaten rage before and can beat it again."

Invisible Kid has posed:
        Lyle nods, satisfied.  "I'll try to keep that in mind.  I prefer to behave and react rationally but, you know…" He spreads his arms in a sort of 'ta-dah!' gesture and smiles wanly.  "…human.  Goes with the territory.  We can be staggeringly emotional creatures despite our best efforts."
        He laughs again, without much humor.  "Funny thing is, I've been trying to help Querl accept and process his emotions, and here I am trying to keep my own in check."

Indigo has posed:
        Indigo nods.  "You'll do fine with it, because you know the price you'll pay if you fail to," she says, seriously.

Invisible Kid has posed:
        "I wish I could be that confident in my control.  But I promise to try.  If anything… permanent has happened to Querl," Lyle says, stumbling unwillingly over the word, "I'll need all my teammates, my chosen family, to keep me in one piece mentally."
        He reaches over and taps a few keys on his ever-present omnicom.  "I'm going to send you a frequency and scrambling key to communicate to me directly and securely," he says, sounding more business-like.  "I'll let Mon-El know to expect company.  Should… should I tell Brainiac 7?"

Indigo has posed:
        Indigo looks startled, but considers the question carefully.  "Good question.  I guess you might as well.  Whatever paradoxes might happen are probably already rippling, so I doubt it matters at this point."

Invisible Kid has posed:
        Lyle nods.  "And I think the two of you together can out-do anything Stargrave can do on his own.  That was why he attacked—he said Querl was the only one who could stop him.  He can't have expected two more Brainiacs to appear in this time, and I'm sure either one of you alone is an intellectual match for him, or you wouldn't be Brainiacs yourselves.  Together… I dunno, do you add up to a Brainiac 15?"  That draws out a genuine grin, a little real Lyle.

Indigo has posed:
        Indigo grimaces apologetically; a strange facial expression to behold.  "No offense, but I'd… that is, I'm not Brainiac 8.  I'm Indigo.  Okay?" she asks, almost like she's begging a favor.  "Brainiac 8 is a monster inside me, and I'm…" Swallow.  "…coming to terms with that, but I'm not it.  I'm me."

Invisible Kid has posed:
        Lyle blinks.  "I'm so sorry.  I'm aware that there's a history with that name, but the one Brainiac I know is also not only my oldest friend but the man I love.  I don't think there's terror in the name.  But I won't use it for you if you prefer.  I meant no insult."

Indigo has posed:
        "I know you didn't, it's okay.  I'm not mad, it just… it's a sore spot.  I know you won't keep poking it."  Indigo looks away from the screen.  "Anyway.  I have to go jump out of the airlock if I'm going to catch my ride.  I'll see you soon.  I won't be able to communicate for a few hours, but I'll check in on you."

Invisible Kid has posed:
        "I'll keep an ear out for your signal," Lyle says, tapping more keys on the omnicom to prioritize any messages from Indigo to topmost.  "And make ready for your arrival.  We need all the help we can get.  Invisible Kid out."
        He manages to stifle a yawn until the communication circuit is completely shut down, and then lays his head back down on the lab table.  He may have gone back to sleep.
        His shoulders jerk fitfully for a few minutes; only when they stop does Shadow sprawl herself across them.  He may instead have cried himself to sleep.