2634/Anti-Mind over Anti-Matter

Anti-Mind over Anti-Matter
Date of Scene:	29 September 2017
Location:	Legion Cruiser / Warworld
Synopsis:	The cavalry is going in to rescue Brainiac 5. It goes well enough. Up to a point.
Cast of Characters:	Brainiac 5, Invisible Kid
Tinyplot:	Mirror, Mirror

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Brainiac 5 has posed:
        When the portal was ready, Brainiac 7 attached it to a shuttle.  "Now, you'll be able to make a return trip; I need to stay here.  Stargrave is almost certainly taking advantage of the chaos Darkseid is creating on Earth, but he won't stay hidden forever."
        The young man put his hands behind his back.  "You won't be able to miss the Consortium's Warworld; even when it's stealthed the gravity well it generates sticks out like a sore thumb."
        His expression softens, "Dad, I have to tell you again, be CAREFUL.  The people you'll run into may look and even act like your friends in a lot of ways, but they're… they're just bad.  It's a sick and wrong universe.  I'm not sure how to explain it—but please be careful.  Don't be overconfident this time.  Please."

Invisible Kid has posed:
        "I've already got it out of my head that I can reason with anyone who looks familiar," Lyle says.  "Grife, I hate having to think like an operative again.  I didn't like it then, and I don't like it now."  He starts checking his pouches.
        Brainy's flight ring, first and foremost.  Dart gun loaded with a charming biochemical cocktail of Lyle's own design—nothing fatal, of course: it involves paralysis, hallucinating madly, unconsciousness, and a vicious migraine upon awakening.  Brainy's old force field belt, liberated from his closet.  And a few treats designed specifically for dealing with Wraith that a less civilized corner of his brain is looking forward to using on him.
        Lyle takes a couple deep breaths.  When he speaks again, there's a flatness to his voice, as if he's deliberately backed up his emotions and stored them off-line for the duration.  "What countermeasures should I expect?  I assume they can't realistically have too many things looking out specifically for Wraith or he wouldn't stay.  I wouldn't."

Brainiac 5 has posed:
        "It depends on who you run into.  Assume any member of the Legion of Superheroes might be on hand to turn their full power against you and you won't go far wrong," Lyl says.  He closes his eyes.  "And think about the negative personality traits of everyone you love in the Legion.  Imagine if they were ruled by them completely.  That's a reasonable starting point."
        "Good luck, dad.  Be safe."

Invisible Kid has posed:
        Lyle pulls out a pair of goggles and props them high on his forehead—IR with a sonar overlay.  Better to be sure.  "I don't remember the word 'safe' being anywhere in my contract with the Legion," he says, almost but not quite smiling.
        He sighs heavily, and lets himself be himself again for a moment, and grabs Lyl for a tight hug.  "I swear, if it's at all possible to bring him back, I will," he says haltingly.  He steps back, and smiles warmly and genuinely.  "And as for you, I know it doesn't take all twelve of your brain paths to keep track of me.  Remember—if Querl was capable of stopping Stargrave, so are you."
        And then… he's all business again.  "One last thing.  If I do come back alone, there's a letter of resignation in the top drawer of my desk.  I'd appreciate it if you would give that to Mon-El for me."

Brainiac 5 has posed:
        "He'll never accept it," Brainiac 7 says, with a sigh, but then he nods.  "I'm doing my best, dad.  But I—I'm still a rookie."  He scrubs under his nose with one finger, trying not to tear up.  He looks away, letting you drop into the little shuttlecraft.  Then he closes it, with a hiss of sealing air.
        "All systems green.  Takeoff commencing in five, four, three… activating the dimensional portal."
        There is a moment where reality itself is punctured, the event horizon passed beyond.  You see sounds, you taste colors.  Then the universe stills again.
        There is a starfield, spreading out in front of you—striking but ordinary… but something is not right.
        It's the visible stars.  They're backwards.  A mirror image of the universe you know.  Then the Earth.  The continents—backwards.  The Earth is even rotating in the opposite direction.
        Imagine if the Uncanny Valley were the Uncanny Universe.  There's the Watchtower—no.  Lyl left you a note—that's the Crime Syndicate's Panopticon.  He somehow managed to underline STAY AWAY FROM IT.

        …And rotating this Opposite Earth, counter-orbit to the Opposite Moon, is a planetoid sphere, gunmetal gray and sinister with glittering lights that somehow manage to look more ominous than welcoming.  Warworld.

Invisible Kid has posed:
        Lyle is actually relieved to see things looking so explicitly backwards.  It will help him keep in mind that anyone that looks like a friend isn't.
        He turns on all scanners to maximum sensitivity as he sets course for Warworld.  Passive mode only—no broadcast of any kind.  He knows better than to give himself away, at least not until it's too late for anyone to do anything about it.
        Also, he doublechecks the one thing he didn't check in Lyl's presence: a fully charged blaster.
        "Ready as I'm gonna be," he says to no one in particular.

Brainiac 5 has posed:
        Everything the Legion had was… welcoming somehow.  It was bright.  It encouraged people, no matter how big and brassy it was.  Somehow Warworld does the opposite.  It seems to draw everything into it's gravity… and you're not going to like the sudden stop at the bottom.  However, as you approach, that intimidating sphere comes to life.
        "Approaching shuttle, identify yourself."  A Legionnaire—correction, Syndic—appears.
        Condo Arlik… with sunken, bloodshot eyes.  It's the look of an addict, someone who's washed up and slicked back but can't quite hide the twitch.
        "Identify yourself, or we will open fire," He repeats.

Invisible Kid has posed:
        "Wraith," Lyle replies icily.  Nothing but brazening it out will do.  And seeing Condo like this also helps, in a sick way.  Toto, we're definitely not in Kansas anymore.
        Scan, scan, scan—c'mon, ship, tell me where I'm supposed to park you… a back corner of his mind is already working on a story to cover having an unidentified ship and/or being away from the base and/or ten other things they might question.

Brainiac 5 has posed:
        That makes Condo turn the color of wet ashes.  The voice checks out.  "Wraith.  I thought you were aboard—" He fumbles, and then says, "Docking bay one hundred and twelve cleared for landing.  Where did you get that shuttle—I… never mind.  Docking bay one hundred and twelve."
        He kills the comm, and sends you a signal indicating the docking bay.
        The docking bay is pure Evil Empire aesthetic, harshly lit, black, utilitarian and unwelcoming.  Nobody's there to greet you.
        …By now the first problem is obvious.  This planetoid is massive.  If Brainy is here, where would he be being kept?

Invisible Kid has posed:
        Well.  In answer to the immortal question, 'is it better to be loved or feared', it looks like 'feared' is going to be the winner today.  While it's gratifying to know he can trigger that kind of reaction and therefore bluff his way through some potentially sticky situations, the fact that he had that effect on Condo… on a Condo, anyway… does his stomach no favors.
        So the only reply he makes over the comms is an indifferent grunt of acknowledgement as he pilots the shuttle in for a landing.
        He verifies his invisibility before disembarking.  Something Stargrave said about keeping that reflex tensed all the time—surely Wraith normally remains invisible rather than go through the pain of turning back and forth.
        While his tread is silent, it's purposeful—even if he doesn't know exactly where he's going, make it look like he does.  He assumes radar, sonar, IR, something is trained on him.  Even if it's not, assume it is.  Brazen it out.  And look for anything that indicates a detention area.

Brainiac 5 has posed:
        There's a directory, on a little console.
        So… so many detention areas.  Everything about Warworld is cruel.  There's an interrogation sublevel.  There, perhaps?  But it's restricted access.

Invisible Kid has posed:
        The more restricted, the more likely.  Lyle examines it closely—hopefully it's biometric and will recognize a voice or a retina or a fingerprint.  He doesn't want to have to waste the time it would take to hack his way in.

Brainiac 5 has posed:
        It has both… and Lyle's prints and retinas won't work, because they're the flipped image of Wraith's.  But he can hack his way past them.
        The descent is swift, at least.  And the interrogation level…?  Dark.  It's still, and there's an unpleasant coppery scent in the air.  Blood and the tang of harsh disinfectant.  The slow hiss of cruelly recycled air.
        And there is a young man, brown hair, nondescript, lying in a rack.  He's struggling, his body covered in a sheen of painful, greasy sweat.  "Help me!" he calls.  "Help me!"

Invisible Kid has posed:
        Still invisible, Lyle's jaw tightens.  This is the sort of thing he'll have nightmares about later, but he remembers Lyl's warning—trust nothing and no one.  Unless there's some reason to think this is Querl in some sort of disguise, Lyle moves on.
        Either way, he does feel less of a hero now—if only because he knows himself capable of just walking by if necessary.

Brainiac 5 has posed:
        As Lyle walks by, the figure, by whatever means it was sensing him, turns orange… then opens dozens of screaming, sharp-toothed mouths all over its body.
        Cham.
        It flows away… up a wall, gibbering indignance.
        This level is massive.  An improbable array of torture chambers, cells, and fiendish devices.
        And there, in one cell, the door way blocked by a force-field, a solitary figure is lying down, his head rudely bandaged.
        Brainy.  He's breathing, but he's not moving, and his eyes are staring blankly up at the ceiling.  Those bandages around his forehead are soaked through with green blood.
        On a workbench nearby, glittering silver implants covered in sticky green blood are lying on a tray, with a pair of pliers nearby.
        What would be the cruelest physical thing you could do to Brainy if you wanted to break him, Invisible Kid?

Invisible Kid has posed:
        Lyle thought he had a strong resistance to a gag reflex.  He does, but it's sorely tested right now.
        And the really important thing is to keep his wits about him right now.
        First things first - goggles on.  Needs to see if there's any trace of Wraith by IR, sonar, radar, or if hopefully Querl alone in there.
        Counteracting the force field will be problem #2.  He has… a few ideas.

Brainiac 5 has posed:
        There is no sign of Wraith.  It's like Lyl said—all you seem to ever see of him is his handiwork.
        That gibbering echoes, from down the corridor.  That… thing, that absurd mockery of Lyle's best friend is coming back.  Echolocation… and a keen sense of smell.  It's looking for the intruder.

Invisible Kid has posed:
        Lyle has a theory.
        That makes him dangerous.  Mainly because he's perfectly willing to test it.
        His theory is simply put: that the force field generated by Brainy's old belt model will interfere destructively with the one across the opening, and allow him to slip through.
        And in case it doesn't, the dart gun is in his hand.  Let's go test a theory.

Brainiac 5 has posed:
        Brainy's force-fields use zero point energy.  It's capable of doing all matter of incredible things… like pushing through this standard issue repulsor field like an umbrella being carried under a waterfall.  It snaps shut behind Lyle with a hiss and a crackle.
        Outside, that gibbering… thing passes by, without even stopping to look.  It's enraged again, it lost the scent.

Invisible Kid has posed:
        Lyle exhales silently, and is at Brainy's side in an instant.  "Querl," he whispers, only barely audibly.  "Your implants.  How do I put them back?"
        He swallows hard, but tries to keep his voice level.  "Biochemist.  Not MD.  I need just a little direction.  C'mon, Querl.  I'm going to get you out of here, but you need to tell me how to do this because I'd rather die than see you hurt more."

Brainiac 5 has posed:
        Querl's eyes stare up at the ceiling, blankly.
        There is a pained noise—but it doesn't come from Querl.  Modifications to your serum to allow invisiblity to multiple potential sensor systems are possible.  Wraith seems to have made those modifications reality.
        He is… you.  But his hair is cut close to the scalp.  His eyes are pained at the edges, with pain-lines around his mouth.  And his eyes are dead, flat and hateful.  "I think the ability to perform that kind of intricate cyber-surgery is beyond you.  I know it's beyond me."  He has a plasma pistol trained on Lyle.  "It's easier to rip things out than put them back, after all."  His uniform is all black, and a hood with goggles hangs loose behind Wraith's back.
        "Drop the gun and put your hands up.  Or I will incinerate you and feed the Coluan to the Durlan Horror."