2750/Applied Research

Applied Research
Date of Scene:	07 October 2017
Location:	Legion Cruiser
Synopsis:	It's time for a workout. Lyle and Brin discuss the idea of alternate selves.
Cast of Characters:	Invisible Kid, Timber Wolf

---

Invisible Kid has posed:
    It's unusual to see Invisible Kid in the gym, though obviously he must work out some time.
    And in fact, he's nowhere to be seen... although four small drones seem to be tracking /something/, even though there's nothing to be seen.
    Three of them fire; two small pellets hit the wall with a *crack*! and spats of red and blue paint, while the third connects with something -- or rather, someone. Yellow paint briefly delineates the left flank of a smallish, wiry male, before it fades from sight. The forceful monosyllable that emanates from that area is probably something he picked up planetside. It's certainly not standard Interlac.
    The sound gets the attention of the fourth drone, which pivots in midair and fires. Green paint covers the back of a human head. "OW!! Okay, okay, cease exercise!"

Timber Wolf has posed:
Timber Wolf strides in half-dressed, only in a pair of workout shorts and sneakers. The shorts say 'Tapout' on them. Apparently it's a big name down on the Earth planet. Draped over a shoulder is a towel, and Brin wears weightlifter's gloves and a belt.

Initially, his nose tells him there's someone else around, or there should be as he begins to set up some weights on the bar, then after a shake of the head and another sniff, he picks out the drones. Oh. Pausing with the weights, he leans against the bench and crosses his arms.

Before long, with the general idea of where Lyle is thanks to the paint marking him, he says in a deadpan, "Not so good at hiding when you're splatted with different colors, Kid."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    Lyle flicks back into visibility. "I know." He starts pulling data from the drones to his omnicom, frowning slightly. "That was kind of the point of the exercise, to not get splatted in the first place. I remain visible in some of the infrared spectrum, which I can't really help since I'm a mammal."
    He peels off his shirt and uses it to get some of the green out of his hair. "Granted, that last hit was my own fault, making a noise while I'm invisible. I was trained better than that." He rubs the red spot on his rib cage where he got hit, and winces. "That's gonna be a bruise before too long. Anyway, I'm hoping to improve my serum. I may never be invisible to sonar, or scent -- I saw you glance my way when you came in -- but I might be able to at least foil infrared and radar."

Timber Wolf has posed:
Timber Wolf gestures Invisible Kid's way. "That's why you practice. You're right, though: if you're trying to sneak around without being noticed, making noise defeats the whole purpose."

He returns to adding weight to the bar, then stops and positions himself on his back atop the bench. Just an easy amount to begin with, but it's more than Lyle can probably top out at. As he does a few reps, he asks, "What..kind of progress..have you made so far?"

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "Too early to say," Lyle says with a shrug. He checks a couple notes, and heads for a nearby machine to tackle his regular regimen. "I know it's possible, since my counterpart in the other universe was invisible to my scanners." He loads weights with an *uff* of effort. He may be a well trained human, but he's not superhuman, not physically.
    Settling in, he gets to work. "What I can't figure out -*hff!* - is how yet. He's -*hff!* - not really that bright. I -*hff!* - suspect Stargrave helped."

Timber Wolf has posed:
"Don't tell me you have a doppelganger as well," Brin answers, putting a few more reps in before he sits back up for a short breather before adding more weights to step up further. "Then again, why wouldn't you? Sprock it. Why wouldn't I for that matter?"

This leaves him to mull over possibilities, his brow furrowing as a way of showing he's actually trying to think about it. "What would another version of /me/ be like?" he wonders more to himself, but it's audible.

Invisible Kid has posed:
    Lyle nods, between reps. "If there's another you -*hff!* - I didn't see him. I -*hff!* - definitely didn't enjoy -*hff!* - meeting the other me. Or -*hff!* - the other Cham." He lets the weights down, and shudders visibly. "Or the other Condo. He looked terrorized just at the sound of my voice. And Wraith -- the other me -- was just as terrified by their Cos."
    He grips the bar again. "If you want -*hff!* - to know what the other -*hff!* - you is like," he says, getting back to work, "take -*hff!* - everything you don't like -*hff!* - about yourself and put it -*hff!* - in charge. Then take -*hff!* - everything you do like -*hff!* - and throw it out."

Timber Wolf has posed:
Before he starts on the heavier set of weights, Brin frowns over at Lyle. "Grife, are we /all/ nasses in this other world? Are any of us actually good?" It may be safe to say he doesn't like the description he's given about that version of him. Timber Wolf being the opposite of what he is? That could be a problem.

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "Seems to be. Brainy says in that universe, the Fatal Five were the /good/ guys." Lyle sighs. "And are dead. I was hoping we might be able to make contact with their Time Trapper and get back to our own time. I think the best we can really hope for is to get Stargrave back on their side of the walls between the worlds, and seal the hole up tight."
    He adds, "And if you think /you're/ scary in that universe... imagine their Mon-El or Laurel."

Timber Wolf has posed:
Timber Wolf holds up a hand. "I'd rather not," he says, not interested at all in thinking about how those two could be. "But none of that makes any sense." He simply can't wrap his partially feral head around the whole idea that both groups would be complete opposites of what everyone is used to. "So I guess we'd better kick his sorry nass back where it belongs."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    Lyle grins. "That's the plan. I really hope it's that easy... but I think we both know it won't be." He shrugs. "It never is, is it?"
    He enters a couple notes into his omnicom. "I wonder if we're better off each preparing to face our own worst selves, or each others' worst selves. There are good and bad reasons both ways."

Timber Wolf has posed:
"As much as I don't like the thought of beating myself up," Timber Wolf explains as he begins a fresh set of reps, "I think I can make an exception in this case. If they're bad and have no trouble hurting others, it'd be easy for 'me' to go after you, and - no offense - but what chance would you have?"

Shaking his head in between the lifting and lowering of the bar, he concludes his thought with, "No, I think we might have to face ourselves. It could be the safest way, if it gets to that."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "He's armed. /I/ wouldn't have a chance against you... but Wraith would shoot without a second thought," Lyle says. "Optimally, we can get our hands on Stargrave and shove him back through before he can bring any of his people into our universe. But we need to be ready for, well, the non-optimal."

Timber Wolf has posed:
"Let's aim for that, then. Do we have any leads on where he's at?" Brin wonders. It may be high time they followed up on anything, even the faintest sniff of a clue that could move them down the right path. While waiting, he loads up some more weight on the bar.

Invisible Kid has posed:
    Lyle shakes his head. "None that I know of. I've been a little out of the loop the last couple days anyway, between my mission and recovering from it." He glances towards the door, then back to his omnicom, and starts re-setting the weights machine for his next exercise. "I don't think we'll have to wait for long before we pick up his activity. I can't imagine him lying low for much longer."

Timber Wolf has posed:
Timber Wolf can be heard to growl just as he goes back to the weights. It's one of annoyance, which he puts to words. "Sprock it. I can't stand having to wait for the other side to make the first move. It puts us all at a disadvantage. For all we know we might not see him until he's coming through with the rest of 'us' in tow." Seems the weights are no problem for a pissed off wolf.

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "I think we've got a good chance to spot him before that," Lyle says, settling in for leg presses. "He's going to be trying to bring a whole planetoid through, their base. Warworld, they call it."
    He's quiet while going through his exercise, for a couple reps anyway. "So that won't... take a trivial... amount of energy. Should... be able to spot... the energy buildup."
    The weights come down with a *clank*! when he finishes. "He might even try to hijack a nuclear power station. Or better yet, try to build a fusion reactor -- that'd be easy to see, since Earth doesn't have commercial fusion in this era. The sudden burst of neutrinos would be a dead giveaway."

Timber Wolf has posed:
"I'll leave figuring all of that stuff out to the rest of you," Brin grumbles. Scientific stuff, in spite of who they are and what they do, is not his forte. No, his talents are somewhat more..intimate in comparison. "But you know where to find me for other things."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "I would /love/ to give you the opportunity to pop Stargrave one in the nose," Lyle says. "As long as I get a turn too."

Timber Wolf has posed:
Timber Wolf hrrfs, sitting back up as he wipes his hands on the towel. "I'll do more than punch him in the face if I get the chance, but I'll be sure to leave you some scraps," he promises. First they have to get that far.