4322/Mystery in Space: A Flash of Blinding Light

Mystery in Space: A Flash of Blinding Light
Date of Scene:	06 December 2020
Location:	Creskill, New Jersey. Stately Pym Manor, far in the wolds of New Jersey, and not nearly far enough as far as some of Hank's neighbors are concerned.
Synopsis:	They're not in Kansas anymore...
Cast of Characters:	Hank Pym, Vivian Vision, Nadia Pym-van Dyne, Heather Danielson

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Hank Pym has posed:
Some of the residents of the development look at Hank with awe and not a few with fear. Some proposed anti-ant laws, till they found out the ants kept the bears and coyotes away. A few look at hime with respect as a former Avenger, and are amazed when informed he still is one.

In any case with everything else he was fiddling with, Hank has announced a grand unveiling of his latest project. He answers the door in his West Coast Avengers kit, a red speed suit over a black t-shirt. "Greetings family, friends, Jane... oh Janet didn't come. Oh well come on in, I'm glad you made it. Good evening!" He sweeps his arms out as if he wants to hug everyone.

Vivian Vision has posed:
Where there is a Pym social gathering there is usually a Vision around. Of late it's typically Viv trying to keep everyone out of trouble. But it does give her chance to see some interesting events in Human history first hand!

Besides she pre-bought a lot of congratulations on your scientific endeavor gift baskets earlier in the year and they're not very easy to return!

She's dressed up for a change in a green knee length dress and holds out the basket when Hank opens the door. It's mostly a collection of fine chocolates with a balloon tied to it with a ribbon.

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
To say Nadia is a busy girl would be the understatement of the century, of late she has been flitting between repair work on an alien spacecraft at the Titans Tower, GIRL's facilities where recruitment is still ongoing and they're also trying to decipher yet more alien problems, and even her father's portable lab parked at Avenger's Mansion. In the end though she always finds her way back to the family home in Cresskill, particularly when there is a trial of new technology to be performed. This technology in particular until recently held some special urgency for her, as before the missing Titans returned there was the prospect that this Deep Space communications technology could be used to help find them. Even with her friends back though, she has stuck with the project through to completion, fascinated with the possibilites this technology represents.

"Dad, I'm back!" She pushes open the door, having keys and living there she doesn't exactly need to knock. "Oh, hey Viv! Is everything ready Dad?"

Heather Danielson has posed:
    And stress has built up among the Titans... especially in those who stayed behind to hold down the fort while one group went off to find another. Heather found herself literally sobbing with relief when her teammates and friends all came home.
    But now she is bound and determined to not let anyone go off alone, not if she can help it. She didn't care if it was a scientific endeavor, a day at the beach, a shopping spree, or a roller derby... when Nadia left, Heather basically just kinda buddied up with her. She didn't ask permission to come along. She came along, and figured permission was assumed.
    But as Nadia steps inside and calls out to her father, Heather hesitates in the doorway, not wanting to really encroach on a family reunion.. at least not for about ten seconds.

Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym accepts the basket with a bemused 'thanks.' He gives Nadia a smile and nod of recognition. His eyes go to Heather, still outside.

"If you're going to crash... Heather, you have to come in, and welcome. Good to see you again. Any of Nadia's friends are welcome here. I think Victor is afraid he'll end upunder a scanner. Not entirely irrational. Come in!" He ushers them in, looking outside for a moment before shutting the door. He locks it and engages the security system.

"I hoped Janet would come... her father built the prototype of the device in the basement lab. Unfortunately he encountered a very hostile alien using it. I put in countermeasures but, there's safety in numbers," he says with a sigh. As he speaks he leads them downstairs where a pair of very large ants regard them with inhuman but wise eyes. He leads the women past a massive control console with a heavy steel helmet mounted on it, to a smaller console with a seat and old time microphone.

Vivian Vision has posed:
"Perhaps she will be fashionably late," Vivian suggests as Hank accepts the basket. "It would not be out of character. She is after all very busy and New York traffic can be punishing."

She gives Nadia and Heather a nod of greeting. "Good day Great Aunt Nadia and Miss Danielson. I trust you are both well?" She heads inside too. "Things seem to be quite hectic for the Titans if the news is to be believed. Still I am glad that everyone has returned safely."

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
Nadia is rarely one to turn away company, save for those times when her Bi-Polar is in the driver's seat. This is not one of those times though. "It's much warmer in the house." She calls over her shoulder, before wandering towards the kitchen to grab an apple and following Hank towards the basement lab. "Janet is really busy, I did leave a note next to the vodka though." She offers before taking a bite of her crisp juicy red apple.

On the way to the basement Nadia grabs a labcoat off a peg and pulls it on over her Waspette suit, which she is wearing minus the helmet. Who wears their super hero outfit home? Nadia apparently does. Though this may fall under prudent caution when home contains possibly extremely dangerous experiments most of the time.

Heather Danielson has posed:
    Glancing at Nadia, Heather lifts a brow, "I didn't realize you had a great niece." she offers, "You must -really- be older than you look."
    But when she is invited inside, she grins and approaches Hank. "Doctor Pym. Always good to see you." she intones as she offers a hand.
    But her nose wrinkles up a bit as Nadia mentions Vodka. She shrugs her shoulders and adds, "Too bad. I'd have loved to meet Ms. Van Dyne. She and I could likely talk for hours about fashion."

Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym takes the hand, Heather offers and gives it a small shake. "Always nice to see you too dear. Have they had you lifting that alien ship a lot? Come in. I have lab coats if you want them. that one is unstable molecules, Viv. The yellow one. I'm staying in this outfit. I have equipment I may need n a hurry. Don't worry about Janet. I'm recording this. She can watch t online. I didn't expect a response." As he passes Nadia's helmet he picks it up and brings it along with his free hand. Being tidy or prepared.

He regards Nadia a moment and comes to a decision, though it seems it takes a bit of thought.

"Nadia sit down and turn on the mic. You have the honor of being the first to broadcast a message to space. This was Vernon van Dyne's work and... you're a van Dyne. I shouldn't be first. Vernon was good people."

He pulls the chair out for Nadia. He looks thoughtful. But he keeps the thoughts to himself.

Vivian Vision has posed:
"Oh," Viv says with a shake of her head. "It is not that Great Aunt Nadia or Doctor Pym are old. My second 'birthday' is not until the beginning of January next year. Neither my father or grandfather are especially old by Human standards. Although we do process much more information on a second to second basis...."

She glances at the labcoats. "Will I require one? Are we dealing with chemicals that may spill?" She looks down. "My dress is functionally as durable as I am. So in the event of an attack I'll be perfectly well defended."

Even so she puts on the labcoat anyway. It's only polite!

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
Nadia glances back at Heather, "Synthezoids do not follow human reproductive life cycles," She notes matter of factly, like duh. "Also, it's true, I am pretty great." She skips past Hank taking her helmet and shrinking it down to pocket it, she really shouldn't just leave it laying around.

She moves to sit down in the indicated space, not addressing the can of worms that was her decision to ask Janet to adopt her also and be both a Pym and a Van Dyne. "Where are we pointing this at? What should I say? Helloooooooo people of space! Is it on yet?"

Heather Danielson has posed:
    Lifting a hand, Heather acts like a student trying to get called on in class. But then she says, "Um, haven't we already spoken with aliens? Isn't Supergirl an alien?"
    But she shakes her head, "Plus there's what.. Kree out there? I'm confused."

Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym gestures vaguely. "The system is set up to only reach a few hundred light years. Not really any great distance, yet. Besides, the aliens we have to watch out for already know where we are. This is more a test of concept. But you never know. I hope we don't cook the Guardian's receiver or something expensive... " He snaps a switch. "Go ahead and say something, Nadia. You're live." Part of him can't believe he's actually encouraging his young daughter to talk to strangers. He folds his arms and tenses a little wondering what it was like for poor Vernon in that dark lab as that invader suddenly appeared...

Vivian Vision has posed:
"But perhaps those aliens would like to phone home?" Vivian suggests, looking at Heather and keeping her voice low enough it won't be picked up by the apparently live system. "From what I understand several types of alien living on Earth have no means to speak with their home worlds. At least not without going via a proxy."

She gives her Great Aunt a re-assuring thumbs up. She'd probably be a little less enthusiastic if she knew the last person to try use one of these devices got attacked by something.

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
"We have met a few aliens, space is huge though and new aliens seem to keep showing up all the time. Brainiac, the Warworld invasion, that Milano ship that showed up, the aliens that seem to be messing with Mori, it's not about finding aliens it is about having the technology and capabilities to communicate and deal with them. We've met a very small sample of a very large universe." Nadia says before she realizes the system is already on, "Err I mean Helloooooooo people of space! Um disregard that first part!"

Heather Danielson has posed:
    "Are you sure you should call them people? Maybe sentient beings might be more accurate. People has basically become a term we use to refer to human beings and..." Heather pauses and shakes her head, "Sorry. Forgot I'm a blonde, so not supposed to have a brain." She adds with a smirk.
    But she steps off to one side and leans on a nearby counter.

Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym looks at Heather then strokes his own blond hair. "You better cut that talk out young lady. All right? You raise fi... hey, a response!"

The response is grander than even the grandiose Dr. Pym would expect. A speaker almost immediately spews static and a loud carrier wave that has the two giant ants cowering. Hissing statis is replaced by a man's voice, apparently human "Ba Sardath Cho fao leps Rannagar, fao leps Rann. Ranagar thom fao ael... fao hoord... fao sette! Mammoon timti bas! Mammoon timti... " The voice sounds tired and frightened. Unintelligible noise and crashes fill the background.
Hank begins turning the old style dials. "I think I can boost our signal, it sounds like someone needs help. Keep talk..." A gout of electrical arc cut him off. the lights flicker and dim and then the world goes away.

There is a flash of blinding light, that illuminates the soul and seems to not merely overwhelm the senses but bypass them, almost as though it emerges from within as well. It is followed by a moment of utter darkness and cold. Then...

Vivian Vision has posed:
"Personally I would have transmitted some numerical sequences first," Vivian muses. "Mathematics has a certain universal nature to it." Also she just likes numbers. "Which would in theory make it easier for anyone wishing to reply to communicate. After all we should not assume they'd even understand English. Never mind the implications of the word person."

But then Viv has enough problems getting people on Earth to view her as a person... US law certainly doesn't view Synthezoids as people just yet!

"Help? Doctor Pym it sounds a lot like something you might hear from people fighting Doctor Strange. Or it could be lines from a H.P. Lovecraft novel." There is probably a lot of overlap between those two fields.

And then Doctor Pym is changing dials and... everything goes a little odd. A near infinite collidoscope of virtual Vivians all idly playing each other at chess to pass the time while her physical body remains stock still.

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
"English in its current construction is limited by Earthly contexts, however person and human exist as seperate terms for a reason and sentience is said to connote personhood..." Nadia is easily distracted at times and being questioned in the midst of Science seems to have stolen her attention towards explaning word choice in order to clear up a lack of understanding, all the while broadcasting the whole thing to deep space. There was clearly more she intended to say but then there is arcing electricity and the world seems to disappear in a blinding flash of light.

Heather Danielson has posed:
    "Quick, repeat after me. Bah-weep grah-nah, weep-ninny-bomb." offers Heather with a bit of a grin on her face. But then she shakes her head, not really expecting Nadia to get the joke from the cartoons her -dad- got her hooked on from his own childhood.
    But she turns that grin on Hank and says, "What? Do you have any energon by any chance?" She adds.
    And then... arcing power happens, and Heather jumps a bit, startled, "Okay, that's new." she adds.

Hank Pym has posed:
Nadia is the first to wake up, lying on a warm grassy surface. Soft feathery tendrils brush her face and should she open her eyes she will find Baudelaire the ant stroking her face with his antennae. Sort of the ant equivalent of a dog licking an owner's face. Overhead, twin suns shine in the green sky. The group is waking on rolling grassy hills with foliage running from green to a brownish hue and many small colorful flowers. The other ant is standing guard.

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
Nadia's eyes open a crack and then close ago, "Mmm five more minutes Dad." She mutters before the finally open completely, "Oh, hi Beaudelaire." She pats the giant ant on the head, her reactions to insects pretty far out of tune with how most people might have reacted. For the moment she just lays there on her back squinting up at the two Suns... to Suns... "That's not normal, wait why is the sky green?"

She sits up and begins looking around, "Where am I? The last thing I remember..." Her words trail off as she looks around.

Vivian Vision has posed:
Vivian should be standing perfectly still. After all without her mind actively controlling her body she's stable enough to remain standing even if there's a minor Earthquake. The fact she's no longer vertically aligned triggers some minor internal telemtry alarms.

The buffering as all those chess games resolve at once takes precidence.

"I think perhaps my choice of gift basket message was premature." It did say successful experiment after all.

Heather Danielson has posed:
    It's weird. Heather faded out after making that last comment of hers. The fact that keeping her unconscious would be like trying to hold a thousand ping pong balls under water with one hand means that this must have been more than physical.
    But she sits up and pulls her feet in close, wrapping arms about her knees. It's not like she has a headache. She hasn't had a headache since she got her powers. "So that just happened." she adds, "When did we get to Tatooine. Anyone got red stormtrooper boots to click together and take us home with?"

Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym is getting up, and if the grumbles are any indication feeling better. Or at least feeling. He checks the bracelet on his wrist and shakes it annoyedly. He shades his eyes from the sun... suns. He pats Cozette, the ant on her head an hands her the gift basket. "Hang on to that, it may be the only food we can eat on the whole planet.

"****! I try to develop wormhole tech while all these kids are doing it... punching stuff or making gang sign and now blammo, /teleportation/ only we're stranded! I... there are no words. Sorry ladies." He pulls put a couple of scanners are starts puttering about genius style.

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
Nadia pushes herself to her feet looking around. Good thing she grabbed that apple from the kitchen, she takes another bite before shrinking it down and putting it in one of the airtight suit pockets. After which she retrieves her suit helmet and resizes it, no telling what's in this atmosphere after all. "A binary star system, this might be Alpha Centauri, unless we're even further away than that. A green sky means light is refracting differently, any number of things could be causing that but it is very likely the atmosphere here as a different composition from Earth." She squats down to examine the grasses they had been laying on, ever the scientist first and foremost.

Vivian Vision has posed:
"My feet are red," Vivian notes. "But I do not posses any teleportation technology built into them." A pause. "I could still click them together if you feel it would help you cope better with the situation?"

She lays still for the moment. One of her legs still slightly raised off the ground as if she were still standing normally in Hanks house. Her systems begin scanning for signals - no GPS and she can't access the internet. "It's highly likely this is not an illusion." She checks the input readings on her solar jewel to confirm the light here is safe and allows her to remain charged then inhalesto begin a breakdown of the atmospheric composition. "A world with two Suns.. Please ensure you all remain properly hydrated as unless they are much further away this place could soon get very warm." She looks at Hank and then Nadia. "Do not get too distracted by science and neglect your personal wellbeing."

Heather Danielson has posed:
    Shaking her head as she tries to keep good humor about things, Heather hears Hank mention food and her eyes go wide. "Um. Shit." she remarks. She stands up slowly and looks to that basket. "Hey, um... if any of you read my Titans file, for my body to keep functioning properly, I need about ten times the calories of a normal person. This... this could be very bad." She mutters as she reaches into a pocket and produces a high calorie power bar. The sort the military gives their soldiers. She always has one on her. "This is like... five percent of my daily requirement."
    "Not to be a naysayer, but.. how do you suggest we keep hydrated? Are we sure there's even -water- here?"

Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym begins pocketing his scanners. Pockets remaining flat. "The green air color is due to airborne photosynthetic organisms and some unusual noble gases. Nothing we can't handle. Between the air and the plant life I'm pretty sure there's water. Generally speaking you can find something to eat on most planets... short term. We need to find civilization... people who can hopefully help us out. Failing that... I mean there's still Scott. I invited him, he sees the console, and my notebooks... well he could call Tony or Richards..." He stops talking as the ants take up positions flanking him over the crest of a nearby hill four animals come into view, roughly the size and shape of Earth great cats but with the addition of a wicked horn jutting from their foreheads. The tawny creatures begin padding towards the humans and ants...

To Be Continued...