6286/The Future is Now!

The Future is Now!
Date of Scene:	20 May 2021
Location:	Central Park
Synopsis:	Baxter detects a quantum anamoly, and upon investigation, Vance arrives from the future!
Cast of Characters:	Baxter Stockman, Vance Astro

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Baxter Stockman has posed:
    "The sensor calibration, is it checked?" Dr. Stockman asks the technician.
    "Yes, sir," comes the response. Lisa brings up the report on the screen of the calibration tests, and the dark skinned scientist runs a finger across his thin mustache as he reads it. "Hmm. Good," he determines. "Let's get out there, see what is going on."
    "Do we want a discrete team?" Lisa asks.
    "Why would we miss the opportunity to publicize ourselves as the first to discover the event?" Baxter asks, a little condescension in his voice. "I want four vans, team of twelve right now."
    "Should we inform...someone?" Lisa asks.
    "Of what? No, we don't have a government contract on this matter, so they'd hand it off to whoever does have the contract. But if we are there when it happens, then we will be in position to take those grants. Now, if you're done asking stupid questions, get Dr. Morris and let's get moving, we don't know how long it will be before it the signal crests."

    Thirty minutes later, four white vans come rolling into Central Park. No doubt causing several people to turn and look. StockGen's symbol is emblazoned on the sides, and Baxter Stockman is the first one to exit the van, his suit shrouded by a white labcoat that hangs open. "I want station one, two, there," he says, triangulating the positioning with a point of his finger, and the teams scramble like white ants from the vehicles, lugging their equipment frantically to get it set up.

Vance Astro has posed:
The scene was chaos in and of itself. The battle had been raging for twenty minutes thus far, and the combatants were weary and yet focused. "Nikki! Give me some cover! I'm going in for Charlie!" called out Major Victory.
    The flame-crowned Mercurian gave a cocky grin and popped up with a blaster in each hand. The cover fire she laid down was withering, and the Stark armored Badoon platoon ducked to avoid her fire while Vance leapt from cover and ran to where his Jovian teammate was lying, wounded.

    It was then that the orbiting ship in battle with their own ship... the Captain America II fired it's phased quantum field weapon. However, as the weapon streaked towards the planet, the Guardians' ship's point defense cluster caught it. Phased particle beams slashed at the bubble of warped spacetime and the energies of the quantum field weapon lanced down, tracing the path of the particle beam. The beam petered out, and yet the field kept flowing invisibly.

    Glancing up as the clouds were sublimated into the path of the field, Vance made a split second decision. "Go!" he yelled to Nikki, the door behind her starting to close. He took two steps and hurled the legendary shield that once belonged to Captain America, psychokinetically ramming it in the doorway to hold it open for his teammates. Then he fired a low yield psychokinetic pulse at Charlie... causing him to slide on through the door just before Nikki could roll through it.

    One more glance up and Vance knew he wouldn't make it.

    The next thing he experienced was blackness. He thought he'd died...... but no, the battle was in a location where a famous park once stood. . . There he lies, clad in his black form fitting uniform... crumpled like a mannequin that's been toppled over.

Baxter Stockman has posed:
    Stockman stands, hands on hips as the warping begins, far less intimidated than most of his staff. "Are readings stable?" he asks.
    "Not yet, but they are definitely stabilizing."
    The owner of StockGen narrows his eyes. "Let me see that." He walks over to station 2, checking the readouts. "Get out of the way." He shoos the man out of the seat, and takes a seat at the computer, and begins bringing up different features. "This isn't an anomaly," he says, translating the data.

    "It's a countdown."

    "A countdown?" comes the questions.
    "Yes," Stockman gets up. "Something has created this," he says, "Whatever has generated this activity, it's been created by something sentient. It's not random. There is a specific event that's been put in motion. Well, it's too late to inform any government agencies now,," he says. "We are about to witness history. And very possibly become it."

    Sure enough, three minutes later, much faster than any agency would be able to organize a response to the call, comes the warping of the zone. Anticlimactic, really, the only discernable activity for a viewer was visual ripple, and the pop that follows air being suddenly displaced, a bright flash shocks as the air.
    "Sonoluminescence," Stockman comments. "Interesting. He looks at the figure on the ground. "That's... not what I expected." He points, "Get the disinfecting sprays," he orders a dumbfounded intern. "Whatever just came through that rupture, we need to make sure it didn't bring a plague with it." The young man rushes to the van, as does two others to grab the biohazard suits. "Spray it down."
    Yes, he's calling the man who just appeared an 'it'. Meanwhile, several spectators have arrived, phones out and taking pictures, video, and commentary is occuring between them. What happened? Who is that? What's going on?

Vance Astro has posed:
    Future plagues are no joke. Who knows what might have attached itself to this future dude? Fortunately for all, the symbiote attached to him immunizes him against much of that. That, and it keeps his body safe from the ravages of time.

    But at the moment, he is just a matte black form with a white star on his chest and white gloves. Though, there are no seams. The outfit does not seem to be anything more than a single piece on his body.

    Either way, he lies there unmoving for a long moment. That is, until he gets sprayed with disinfectant. The spray beads up on the mask and suddenly a breath is taken. A deep breath.. along with the body twitching and then sitting up. It's not a calm reaction. Anyone who has seen action can recognize the signs of a soldier looking around for threats and ways out.

    A few seconds pass before a man's voice says, "Is this... Central Park?"

Baxter Stockman has posed:
    Stockman gives no emotional response to watching the man from the future as he responds to the hazmat suits decontaminating him. geiger counters are read, and after receiving a nod from his staff, he walks forward, lab coat in place of a cap flowing behind him. He's confident, unconcerned, and calculated in his appearance, a tall black man with a sharply fit suit, and a precisely trimmed mustache with short cropped hair.

    "My name is Dr. Baxter Stockman," he says. He glances around to see what discernable landmarks might tell the man he is in Central Park. "And yes, this is Central Park," he says. "Very astute for someone who has just passed through a quantum anomaly. What's your name, and do you know what just happened to you? Everyone here is quite curious about it."

Vance Astro has posed:
    "Quantum... anomaly?" asks Vance, still a bit groggy. "Wait, time travel?"

    He shakes his head in a bit of disbelief. Oddly, the eyes and mouth of the head covering are white when they open.

    But finally, he looks over towards Baxter and lifts a brow, a wrinkle forming there on his mask. "Time travel." he says again, more with disdain than any disbelief. "Again." he adds with a snort, "And this looks a bit different than my last time. Last time I travelled back, it was nineteen ninety three. It looks a bit different this time. Is it earlier or later?" he asks as he slowly gets to his feet. Slowly so that he doesn't look threatening.

Baxter Stockman has posed:
    "Time travel being one plausible option," the scientist takes the suggestion with surprising ease. "Or dimensional travel, or possibly even simply spatial replacement. He folds his arms listening to the rest of the story. "It's currently 2021," he says. "May 20th, and," he lifts his wrist, checking the exact time. "3:34 Central Daylight Time." He holds his wrist there, and his brown eyes look back at Vance. "How does that match up with what time it was for you a moment ago?" he asks, and as Vance gets to his feet, Stockman seems remarkably unconcerned with any attack, though there's a certain lack of empathy for such a massively life altering situation occuring to the man before him.

Vance Astro has posed:
    "Name's Vance Astro and... if you are correct." a pause and he tilts his head with a smirk, "Isn't New York in Eastern Standard? At least, it is when I come from. Which is.. strangely, to the moment, one thousand years from now. Man, I could really screw up history if I am not careful." he adds thoughtfully.

    But he steps forward, "You detected the displacement then? You must have some excellent technology for the twentieth.. er.. twenty-first century."

Baxter Stockman has posed:
    At the correction, there's a mild scowl. "Yes. I flew in from Chicago earlier today, and my attention is more on things at hand. I wouldn't concern yourself with destroying the future," he says. "You've already done plenty of damage, most likely. He glances around the park. "You just upset the schedules of what would have otherwise happened in the lives of...83 people at least in this vicinity. Particularly over the course of a thousand years, the butterfly effect has certainly already radically shifted the events of such a distant time. I find it curious that English is spoken still in a thousand years. Worthy of note.
    Stockman looks back to one of his team. "Dr. Morris, make sure we continue recording the event," he says, no longer calling it an anomaly. "If my guess is right, it should disappate at the same rate it crescendoed, if our visitor indeed has come from the future. It's a rather precise event to have orchestrated. And yes, I do make excellent technology. I'm one of the world's leading quantum physicists. so I should." No questions about the future, though. He seems more interested in the event. "Tell me, what sent you back?" I would offer to help send you forward, but we would need to in essence erase the events of the past from history, creating a new displacement that would essentially sew the fabric of the past, thus returning you to your time." He arches his brow. "THAT level of technology, I'm afraid is significantly past our current capabilities."

Vance Astro has posed:
    Shaking his head, Vance mutters, "Well, damage done. Probably spawned two or three child universes already just by being here."

    But then he shrugs his shoulders and offers a hand, "Well good to meet you Doctor. As for English, it oughta be less of a surprise. I was -born- in New York... you say it's twenty twenty-one? Well, something like fifty nine years ago." A pause, "It's a long story, but let's just say I was with NASA for... a while."

Baxter Stockman has posed:
    The information is the first piece of serious surprise that Baxter offers as he takes the hand in a firm handshake. "That's most curious. It seems you are something of a magnet for these types of events, then? With NASA no less, they seem to have less experience than most in quantum theory, and if it was fifty-nine years ago, my estimation by your appearance, at least, would say you aren't older than thirty. So somewhere circa thirty years ago NASA entangled itself with quantum mechanics?" he asks, a dubious frown. Something doesn't add up.

Vance Astro has posed:
    Laughing, Vance shakes his head. He seems well adjusted for a man out of time. Must not really be a new experience for him. "Well, NASA wasn't trying anything so bold. I was on a ship, fitted with a suit to help sustain me, and put into hibernation. The ship left in nineteen eighty eight."

    He looks to the other technicians and staff, and lifts a hand as he mentally commands the black goop to slide off of his head. This reveals a mature thirty-ish man with black hair and hazel eyes. Maybe a day's growth of stubble too. "It's all terribly classified, but let's just say that it was definitely not a faster than light ship. I am apparently the oldest human alive... as when I finished the trip, it was the thirty first century."

Baxter Stockman has posed:
    "Well, I suppose we have to hand it to NASA for quality engineering," he says. After all, something that lasts for 1000 years must have been built correctly. He watches the retracting ooze, presuming it to be a suit of some sort.
    "I am the owner of StockGen Research. You would be hard pressed to find someone who is better versed in quantum physics, and I'd like to run a few tests, if you would be so kind, I suspect that your calendar is rather empty for the next few centuries right now. Perhaps we can help you figure out your next steps."

Vance Astro has posed:
    "Tell me. Are the Avengers still around? Fantastic Four?" asks Vance. He shrugs and chuckles, "Sorry, stories of them are still around in the future and... I wanted to meet them the last time I came back. But I wasn't able to. There was a war going on and I needed to get back to help out."

    Yeah. He's rambling. But he is also seemingly in good spirits, "Tests? I would not object to a few. But I really cannot just go lie down in a lab for weeks at a time being poked and prodded. I seem to be stuck here, so I should at least make the most of it."

Baxter Stockman has posed:
    "Of course not," Stockman agrees. "You are a free man to do as you please, within legal bounds of course. "I'll happily supply you with a hotel suite as you get situated in return for your help, room and board. Regarding the Avengers and Fantastic Four, they are, yes. I would be careful where you throw around information regarding the future, though," he cautions. "I may be a man of discretion regarding such things, but there are those who might, well meaning or not, use gleaned information regarding what happens on a broad scale to influence events today."

Vance Astro has posed:
    "Perhaps, but just by being here I have already altered the future. It may not go remotely the same way at all anymore. But yeah.. not my first rodeo. I don't mind talking about things that have already happened even in -this- timeline. Such as the NASA mission, or my birth." He smirks, "Who wins the world series? Good thing is that I have no idea. I haven't looked at -that- much of my past or your future. All I know right now is stuff about Alpha Centauri, other aliens and... well, a race that enslaves all of humanity for a time. But.." he shrugs, "We have plenty of time for that."

Baxter Stockman has posed:
    Another arch of the brow. "Well, at least we have time," Baxter agrees. "We will start by getting you situated, and agreeing on your pay for your cooperation, I assume you will need some liquid assets," he comments. "Fortunately, I can help in that regard." He motions to one of the vans.

Vance Astro has posed:
    "Well, my suit can sustain me for a few days without food, but that would be welcome. Yes. I would not want to put you out though. However, I would be happy to help contribute to your scientific advancement when it comes to quantum theory. As for what brought me here?" he asks with a shake of his head, "I am not really sure to be honest. I think there was some sort of orbital bombardment with an experimental prototype weapon of some sort."

    Another shake of his head and he shrugs, "I -assume- that might've had something to do with it. But aside from that, I'm sorry... I can't help you. I am an electrical engineer, not a physicist."