selfhelp | [Action / Voice] evening + morning

[Action / Voice] evening + morning

[...This doesn't look like Prison #42. At least, not as he recalls it. Billy pushes himself upright in the grass, squinting in the early evening light, and absently lifts a shaking hand to his ears. There's no device there, nothing to prevent him from casting any spells... a fact he proves to himself with a wave of his hand, conjouring up a shirt to go with the unfamiliar white pants he finds himself in. What's all this about, exactly? Some new trick that Stark and Richards came up with to keep their prisoners placated? Or has he - against all odds - been freed and dumped somewhere in the wild?

What've you gotten yourself into now, Kaplan?

Cautiously he lets his magic take him up to the tree line, resting on a high branch to get a better look around. Up ahead, not far in the distance, he can see a village, but it's so small and old-fashioned that he doesn't recognize it at all. Wherever he is, it's pretty remote.

Well, whatever. What does location matter to a witch who can teleport? His priority is finding Cap and the rest of the Young Avengers. Teddy's probably flipping out right about now. Dropping back into a crouch, he sits himself down on the branch, cross-legged, and lifts his hands again, letting the glow return to them, and begins chanting under his breath-]

"IwanttobeinNewYorkIwanttobeinNewYork..."

[Yeah, he's pretty noticeable like that. Especially since he'll be there until he's discovered, pointedly not teleporting to New York. Awkward.]

[In the morning, however, things are a bit different- he's settled (sort of), he's rested (a bit), he's informed (just enough). And he's sorted out how to use the journal. Thus, around mid-afternoon, he sends out a message:]

Okay, this is weird, but... let's give it a try. Hey, uh, whoever's listening out there. I've heard there are people from all over the galaxy, and lots from Earth, especially. That's where I'm from, too. I was wondering, though- are there people living here who'd be considered "super heroes"? Here or on your own world, I mean. I'm actually-

[Actually... he really shouldn't just announce it. What if someone from the Initiative is here and remembers him when they get back to Earth? Even a slim chance isn't worth the risk.]

...I'm actually a huge fan of the superheroes from Earth! You know, heroes like Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-man... I've been a fan since I was a kid. Though I guess it's not unusual for someone from New York. There's a ton of superheroes living in the city these days.

Sorry for rambling so much. To be honest, I'm just nervous... I've never been to another world before.

[....]

Teddy? You here?

[ooc: first dibs to action (chronologically) goes to Buffy, otherwise he is free to be met wherever/whenever. Also if you could have a look at his permissions post I would be much obliged!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[...Bwuh.]

What... seriously? They can do that now?

[And here he thought he was up to date on all the superhuman news.]

[Nope, he probably was up to date. Viral, for his part, is just confused.]

The Spiral King was doing it for far longer than both of our lives combined. Our worlds are different, even if they have the same name.

Different worlds? The Spiral King?

Sounds pretty messed up, sorry.

...Its no more messed than this place, if these journal entries are to be believed.

I want to say I'm still getting used to it, but... I don't know if that's even possible.

We're here, regardless.

[It was a fact that grated on him too, but at least it didn't seem too violent a place.]

...you don't have to get used to it. What do you want to do?

Honestly? I'd rather be home. There's some serious stuff going on and I need to be there for it. But it sounds like it isn't going to be easy.

...It probably isn't. [Even reading and listening to scraps for a few hours has shown him a nagging disorganization. Who were the leaders? Who were the ones that kept the village safe? Such disorganization could be a fatal flaw.]

If you want it enough, though, you might be successful. If our worlds are at all similar, anyway. Slim chances never stopped a human from meeting their goals before.

...What, like... wishing for something and making it a reality?

[That sounds disturbingly familiar. It's kind of alarming actually.]

Perhaps. I don't fully understand it. Why?

Um... just wondering.

[Okay, that's a pretty lame explanation.]

...I mean, I know of someone who can do that.

Oh really? [So it wasn't unique to his world.] How does that work for them?

I don't really know how else to describe it... it's exactly as I said. They can actually will something into existence, just by thinking or saying it.

[Truth be told he doesn't understand his own or the Scarlet Witch's powers any better than that.]

That is different. [Said in a mild tone-clearly the beastman is interested.] I'm not sure that it works exactly like that, but believing in something with all of their heart is enough for some very determined humans to turn the tide of any conflict.

Isn't that just... willpower? It's not that uncommon. I mean, if you keep trying at something and never give up, you can make it happen. That's not any kind of power, it's just stubbornness.

Is it? My fiercest opponent, a man called Simon, was able to defeat my king with nothing more than a tiny drill and his will when he was barely more than a child. His people, in seven years, have risen from underground caverns to a thriving city of the likes I never have before seen.

...I don't know what it is that drives them, only what I see. Even if what I see makes no sense.

Edited 2012-05-13 02:08 (UTC)

[...Wow. Sounds like one powerful kid. The rest, though... hmm.]

I don't know if it's the same thing, then. But humans creating something big out of nothing isn't that rare! Where I'm from, communities get developed really fast if a group gets together to make it happen. Usually it depends on how much money goes into it though.

If you say so, but this population is made of smaller groups that didn't have a common monetary system, if any at all. It's why their advancement seems unusual to me.

Well, money didn't always exist. It's people who create that kind of thing to make life easier. Ancient civilizations used trading systems, far as I know- you know, trade a chicken for a bag of vegetables or something.

[...Is it offensive to talk about trading animals to an animal-man? This is weird.]

[Not at all. He openly talks about hunting and catching (and releasing) animals over the journals in a couple of days. The fact that they talk will cause a not insignificant problem with him and his conscience.]

...That is true. Perhaps, if your friend were here, they could find a way to fix some of the problems. Especially if it requires no more effort than thinking or speaking, like you said.

...Yeah, maybe. [Except he's already tried. The Scarlet Witch is more powerful than he is, though, so maybe she could.] I don't know, though. I hear that lots of powerful people have already tried.

Do the odds make it any less worthwhile to try?

[He knows the stakes involved in futility, but that never gave him reason to stop.]

...No, they don't. [Huh. This guy's got the right idea, at least- Billy hadn't expected that.] I'm sure they'd keep trying, no matter what.

[So. He should probably keep trying, yep.]

That's it.

[There's a toothy smile--if more residents in this strange place were like this kid, then it wouldn't be so bad. From what he was reading, it was a similar situation to his world's history anyway. Familiar territory.]

...what's your name, kid?

I'm Billy. How about you?

[Anyone else might've been nervous to see that smile, but Billy's faced down smirking super villains and is dating a mini-Hulk. At this point a smile like that seems almost normal.]

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