6505/Strange times

Strange times
Date of Scene:	09 June 2021
Location:	Amusement Mile
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Vance Astro, Zatanna Zatara

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Vance Astro has posed:
    The park is in Gotham. So while in other cities, a park may be just a park, this one tends to be like a fishing pond, continually stocked with predators seeking easy meals. The bait? The citizens who come and go. They are the bait on the hook. Sadly, the predatory fish -and- the fishermen grind the people between them.

    Of course, there are often those who use this as a chance to prey upon the predators. Tonight, it was more of an opportunity intervention. Vance is a New York kid, but he travelled to Gotham to investigate some of the local technologies provided by Waynecorp. But afterwards, he had a room in a nearby hotel. Not the best lodgings... but he doesn't need the best. Just safe and comfortable.

    Unfortunatley for one of the predatory types in the park, he decided to go for a walk, and he strangely assumed that the park would be a good place for that.

    Cut to Zatanna, having been working through some divinations and other mystical mumbo-jumbo. Something seemed wrong. Something is out of place. Something is here that shouldn't -be- here. There is a wrench in the works, a fly in the ointment. Hard to say -what- the fly represents, or what the ointment really is. But the mystical universe isn't really a 'specific' type of thing. More vague warnings and unclear portents. But tonight, the park represents the location of that portent.

    And upon arriving there, it appears that a street gang has decided to try to prey upon one man, but they appear to be doing so by trying to bash their faces repeatedly into his fists. As without using weapons or other gear, he seems to be able to take them all on. Sure, he's taken a hit or two.... and the brawl is in full force.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
The lights were mostly out in the mansion. A golden glow illuminates the hallway from the open door to Zatanna's study cum sanctum magicae. A dark haired woman sits with her hands supporting her chin staring at the suite of tarot cards spread on the polished table before her. She releases her chin to tap a red polished finger tip on the wooden surface.

*tap tap tap*

Frowning, she pushes the chair back, going to the window to stare out into the night. The cards tell her that not all is right with the world. "Fat chance that it would be right. This is different," she whispers to herself. Resolution taken she decides to go for a walk, looking for trouble.

Not ten minutes later, Zatanna, dressed in black pants and a tailored jacket, strolls down the main drag of the Abandoned Amusement Park. Trouble lurks at nearly every turn here. This could be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Vance Astro has posed:
    Is the trouble the young toughs trying to shake down a businessman? Or the man in the polo style shirt and khaki slacks that seems to be playing them like they were balls on a pool table? Vance has seen a lot of combat, a lot of fighting, and now that he's been upgraded to be something akin to a similar physical specimen to Captain America, fighting is a lot less difficult for him.
    He leans back from a hastily and badly aimed roundhouse punch, pausing with his own face less than an inch away from the attacking fist, and then he snaps a hand up to grab the offending wrist. This is twisted in such a way that the man continues moving in the direction of his punch, but out of control. The proof of his lack of control is how he impacts one of the other attackers, taking them both down in a heap.

    "Guys. Please. Don't make me really hurt any of you. I was just out for a wa.." And he is interrupted in his statement by a man trying to come in on a flank, producing a knife from somewhere. The blade is fast, and Vance didn't see it right away. He twists, but the twist turns what was to be a stab in the vitals, into a slice along his ribs. "Hey OW!" he cries out, "Cut that shit out!" he adds. The pain making him reach deeper. No longer willing to just fight. To just defend himself. The introduction of a lethal weapon turns this from a fight, into combat.

    A pulse of psychokinetic energy slams into the knife, and the hand holding it. The fingers are crushed as the knife goes flying, and Vance rolls his neck. "Seriously guys. This is getting old." He says as he lifts his left hand up, and a glowing disc of force appears from his wrist. A disc that is mostly white with a red and blue star logo on it. Similar in fashion to Cap's shield, but different enough to avoid copyright. The top half of the star being blue, with red stripes down the right and left part and a white stripe in the center.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Rounding a corner brings the raven-haired magician face to face with a street fight. A classic face off with bad odds for the person being attacked is her first impression. Until the man being attacked dodges like a kung fu master, moving like the wind. The energy pulse is Zatarra's second clue that things are not what they seem. The glowing disc emblazoned with a star in patriotic colors affirms the hunch.

"Well, well, the cards don't lie do they?" She breathes with a faint smile, walking straight toward the fight.

Two others come out of the darkness to help their fellow gang member. They have all the right gang symbols inked on their faces. Twisting her wrists opens her hands, fingers splayed stiffly, she says loudly, ".tup yats dna nwod llaF"

Her first impulse is not to hurt other people gratuitously. They need to earn it. The two would-be attackers oblige her by falling down for down for a little open-eyed street nap. Their protests, "Hey! hey! What's this?" tell her that they aren't happy about it. Zatanna is not greatly impressed or bothered by them.

Vance Astro has posed:
    Awareness is the first rule of combat. Head on a swivel as they said in basic training. That was so long ago. Over a thousand years, and at the same time, about twenty years. What? Time travel is weird. Either way, the appearance of a young woman into what is rapidly turning into a small scale battlefield has Vance's attention. Oddly, his wound doesn't appear to be bleeding, or at least not seeping through his clothes. Clothes that aren't cut... okay, future stuff. What?

    Either way, the woman's distraction is just what the doctor ordered. Looking to her, and then to the guy with the glowing force shield, the street toughs break and run for it. Scrambling like they are being pursued by demons.

    Vance however, does not pursue them. He just dismisses the shield and then lifts a hand to his ribs with a grimace on his face, "Shit." he mutters. But his eyes traverse to the lady and a brow lifts, "Not every woman would just walk -towards- a fight." he says.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Ebon eyebrows raise into a mocking question, head turning side to side as she gives him an elaborate shrug, "Maybe I am not just every woman, Shield Man. Nor are you likely the average tourist. Just saying." She takes a step closer, neither feigning fear or a need to be protected.

"Let me guess. You're not from around here."

Vance Astro has posed:
    "Lady. You would likely not believe how right you are there." says Vance. Then he grimaces and asks, "I don't suppose I could tell you that you should just forget the whole shield thing, eh?" And then he winces and inhales once more. "I also don't suppose that I could impose upon you to help me dress this wound?" he asks as he gestures to his ribcage.

    As he does, his shirt just kinda melts away from it, to reveal a long gash that is almost bone deep.

    Vance reaches a hand to the left wrist and produces what can only be a miniaturized self-antibiotic applying pressure bandage that goes full size in his hand.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
"Well, well," Zatanna replies, her mouth pursed in an impressed smile at the shirt trick, the contours it reveals and the bandage. "Hmmm, you don't feel magic. Do you?"

Her cyan eyes rake him from head to foot, scrying the powers behind what she saw. "I can help." The more the man reveals, the more Zatanna is not ready to leap into helping him. She wants to know what side of the angels he battles on.

Letting intuition guide her, she holds up an admonishing finger, "Let me help." After looking him deep in the eyes, the magician nods, "Hold still." With her index and middle fingers waving just above the wound, she chants. "sdnuow esolc dna senob dneM" Satisfied, she gives him a chipper nod, "That should do it."

Vance Astro has posed:
    With the wounds healing like they were never there, Vance narrows his eyes and deposits his bandage back into storage. "Well, that's new. Well almost new. Reminds me of Krugarr." he mutters before he shakes his head, "Sorry. I have a friend back home who actually was a potent sorcerer. I ... have lots of strange friends." he adds with a shrug. "You might say that I was the most normal of them all. But.. that's not really the point. You.." he gestures her way, down and then back up. "That was obviously magic. And handy. Explains why you aren't exactly worried about being mugged."

    He offers a hand then and says, "My name is Vance. And... I suppose someone versed in the intricacies of magic might actually be the first person here who could actually understand the situation I am in. Tell me..." He tilts his head to one side as he tries to recall files he studied about the past.. about the twentieth and twenty-first century... "Your name.. starts with a Z, right? That's all I can recall from my studies."

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
A moment of doubt clouds her lovely face. Zatanna is more than capable of protecting herself but she hasn't taken this man's measure. Yet.

"Most normal of them, were you?" She relents and takes his hand into her own, judging the grip. Her handshake is dry and firm. Releasing his hand, she again scrutinizes his face as he tries to recall something.

"Am I ancient history to be studied?" She signals her decision with a minute nod, her gaze steady on his face, "Zatanna Zatara, magician, perhaps at your service."

Vance Astro has posed:
    "Funny you should say that." offers Vance as his eyes swivel left, then right. "I don't suppose you could whip up some sort of privacy screen?" he asks. "But yes, Zatanna! That's it!" He adds with a grin. "Sorry. My friends always said that I was such a nerd when it came to twentieth and twenty first superheroes.

    He pauses, and then admits to the first person since coming here. "But if I can't trust Zatanna Zatara, then the world has truly gone mad. I truly -am- a long way from home. I am... stranded you might say."

    He takes a deep breath and then spits it out, "From the thirty first century. So, when I say I read about you, and about a lot of superheroes in the history files... I mean ancient history."

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Blue eyes widen in genuine surprise. After a glance around them, Zatanna extends a hand in invitation. "Let's go sit in the carousel. The horses are even older than I am," she grins briefly, like a light flashing in the darkness, and walks toward a darkened merry-go-round. The outlines of animals, discernible in the distant street lamps, circle a central panel of mirrors that glint with their shapes. She walks to a double-sleigh pulled by two winged horses with a step up onto the still contraption, her footsteps ringing hollowly on the wooden platform.

"We can talk here," she says, patting the seat next to her. Turned toward him, she asks softly, "You mean it, don't you, about the 31st Century?"

Vance Astro has posed:
    "I could tell you hundreds of details of the timeline, but that would not prove anything to someone who has not seen the future yet." Vance states as he moves to sit down. He leans his head back a bit and adds, "Might I say that it is -exhausting- to be so far from everything I know and remember and yet..." He smirks, "In a flawless bit of irony, I was also born fifty three years ago in the New York area. Served in the Air Force and then NASA. So I guess you could call me a variant of Buck Rogers."

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
He can hear a breath of laughter from the darkness. "How are your ribs, Buck Rogers?"

After a pause, "You want to explain to me how you lived, um, ten centuries? And, how if you aren't from here, you were born fifty-three years ago?" Zatanna is backed into the corner of the sleigh, just in case, eyeing him with both elation and an odd sense of sorrow.

Vance Astro has posed:
    "The real surprise was that there was no magic involved." offers Vance as he leans back in his seat. "It was a classified project at NASA. I took off in nineteen eighty eight for what they called.. project starjump." He smirks a bit and shakes his head, "As far as I know, this may or may not be an alternate timeline in its own right. But either way, I was encased in a containment suit that along with treatments and scientific insanity, let me hibernate for centuries at a time. It was a slower than light ship launched for Alpha Centauri. If it -was- launched in this timeline, it might be about a half of one percent of the way there right now." he states, eyes turning upwards towards the stars.

    "The trip was to take a thousand years... and the real irony was that by the time I arrived... humans had already been there for centuries, having discovered FTL while I was in transit. So my whole trip was... pointless. But I arrived in like thirty oh eight."

    "God, wearing that suit for a thousand years, or for me what felt relatively like more like fifty to sixty years... not aging, but just slowly going mad while alone for so long. That sucked. And then you go through all of that.. endure insanity and recovery, only to find out that you might as well not have bothered?"

    He sighs and shrugs, "But I made my friends there, and we helped to fight off an enemy that appeared and enslaved all of humanity, so that was good."

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
He can't see Zatanna's face hidden in the darkness but the occasional soft exclamation tells him that she is listening avidly. "I have to check with you to check if I have understood. Bear with me. If this was your timeline then NASA launched a top secret project sending a man to the stars at some percentage of the speed of light. Right? You survived. You survived the disappointment of knowing there was a faster way of getting there and made friends. Not only that but you whipped a big bad enemy off after it enslaved all of humanity." A pause. "With the help of your friends. And you believe in magic. Which earns a point in my book."

A long slow whistle might tell him that she finds it overwhelming. "Something got you back here, didn't it? But you're not sure if this is where you started from. How much have I missed?"

Vance Astro has posed:
    "Ms. Zatara, I am only alive because Krugarr, the thirty first century's Sorcerer Supreme cast a spell to prevent me from aging a thousand years when my containment suit was breached. So yes... you had better believe it that I believe in magic." offers Vance with the utmost seriousness in his voice.

    "My friends, Charlie Twenty Seven. Nikki, Starhawk or as he prefers to be called.. One who knows... Aleta." A pause and a hitch in his voice as he mentions that last name. Then he shakes his head, "We are a formidable team. The Guardians of the Galaxy. Along with Yondu and Martinex. You see, Yondu is a shaman of his people. Natives of Proxima Centauri. The rest are the sole survivors of their offshoots of humanity, engineered to live in other biomes and conditions. Charlie is the last Jovian, superhumanly strong, huge even... engineered with enough density to live on Jupiter and survive its gravity. Martinex lived on Pluto, his body being more crystalline than organic. Nikki lived on Mercury, and she can handle heat better than anyone I know. She vents excess heat as fire instead of normal hair. The others are friends who joined with us and fought at our sides. We have had many adventures."

    He pauses and adds, "In fact, we were in a battle when I got shunted back here. Our ship was in orbit fighting and enemy ship. They had some sort of quantum destabilizer weapon, and our gravitic weapons -must- have interacted with it somehow. All I know is that I looked up from the surface where -we- were fighting, and shoved Nikki out of the way just before a distortion effect from above flowed over me. And then POOF.."

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
The brief snatch of a song floats on the night, Zatanna murmurs the words, "Do you believe in magic then come along with me."

The tune stops and she leans toward him, one side of her face glowing faintly in the dark, "I'm sorry about your friends. Aleta was your someone special, wasn't she?"

Settling back, she asks, "How is the adjustment going?"

Vance Astro has posed:
    "Yes. My friends." offers Vance softly, "And yes, yes she was. It was... complicated you might say." He chuckles and adds, "You might say she was a married woman, but it wasn't -exactly- what it means. As I said, complicated. Anyway.." he shrugs his shoulders, "If I could adjust to being alone for a thousand years, I can adjust to being in a primitive century." That last part is exaggerated as if in jest.

    "Anyway, I can survive. I just know that there's no way back at this point."

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
"Not yet, at least." She shifts in place, uncrossing her legs, "Who knows? The cards told me that something strange was going down. I didn't have the slightest idea it was you. But, okay. Here you are. And, maybe," she draws the last syllable out, "you're meant to be here. Have you considered that?"

Vance Astro has posed:
    Chuckling, Vance shrugs, "I'll be honest, it's not my first time travelling back to this general era. But the last time was different. It was with a strange alien machine that got us back here, and then back there before it imploded. This is more of an oopsie. But I can see how -that- might be interpreted as fate."

    That said, he stands and stretches a bit, "But seeing that this -is- Gotham... would you allow me the indulgence and the outward appearance of chivalry by walking you home Ms. Zatara?"

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
"You may have figured that I don't need an escort," Zatanna quips wryly. "But I don't mind the company. You can take me to the gates of my house. So, you've been here before, have you? How are the natives this time around? Restless?"

Their voices trail off softly in the night.

Vance Astro has posed:
    "You might realize that's whyt I said the -appearance- of chivalry. To help you maintain your... I am normal... outward appearance. Though, only if gorgeous -is- normal. And the last time I came back, it was to recruit metahumans to come forward and help us in our final battle against the Badoon. As you have surmised... we won."

    And then he holds out an elbow, "As for your gates, that works great. And the natives do seem a bit restless, more well armed too." he adds as he rubs his ribs.