7119/Quantum Club Warehouse

Quantum Club Warehouse
Date of Scene:	28 July 2021
Location:	Foster Ltd Warehouse, Hell's Kitchen
Synopsis:	Ava introduces Vance to her supersuit. He tells her a bit about his story. Maybe he'll be able to help.
Cast of Characters:	Ava Starr, Vance Astro

---

Ava Starr has posed:
The warehouse Ava Starr -- a.k.a. Ava Foster, on the lease -- calls home is a fairly old edifice. It was last active as a legit commercial space probably about twenty-five or thirty years ago, but it was built at the height of the War Years a good 80 or so years ago. However, though the young woman hasn't made any apparent improvments in the place to look at it, an educated eye will see that's simply not true. A lot of the apparent wear and tear outside is purely cosmetic. The property is well secured and well surveilled.

Inside, though it still has that worn feel, it has been outfitted to handle a remarkable amount of state-of-the-art technology, including a small fabrication area.

Dominating the main space is a fairly large scaffolding for a machine that looks like it could be the beginnings of a Quantum Tunnel machine. It's still a long way from done.

The real heart of the place, though, is the second floor loft that was once a collection offices and work rooms that overlooked the main floor. Those old structures have long since been gutted, opening up the space. There's a kitchen at one end, a living room space in the middle, and a couple of screened off sleeping areas along one wall. At the far end, though, is Ava's Quantum Energy Chamber, a glass box that focusses quantum energy and contains a small bed for her to lay on while it does. Not so far from it is some sort of electronics work space Finley has set up.

Indeed, the pair have been working on her little energy problem for a while now and have settled in as roommates. It shows. The space, though furnished with thrift store finds, is simple and homey without being extravagant. Less converted loft chic and more safehouse utility. But, still... it works.

When they arrived home from Delaware -- a four hour drive -- she went almost immediately into that glass chamber to recharge her energy and try to hold her molecules a little longer. She emerged sometime later and now stands in her small kitchen, warming up some leftovers.

Vance Astro has posed:
    Riding in the SUV, Vance did his best to be quiet and polite. He asked a few softly worded questions to Phyla, but for the most part he was respectful. After all, these people were taking a time traveling stranger to their home. Only a total dick would be rude to them.

    But upon entering the warehouse, his face lit up in a smile. "Man. It -has- been a while." he says as he turns about, looking at the place from multiple angles. Again, he hasn't really demonstrated any powers of his own yet. But he asks, "Do you folks have comms?" .... that question only asked after Ava emerges from her Quantum shower.

    "And... I don't mean to be rude, but... how can you afford to keep that energy suffusing room running?"

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava gives a wry smile at the time traveller's inquisitiveness. She didn't say much on the way home, spending a lot of time concentrating on holding herself together -- they were probably treated to several instances of prismatic refraction when her energy nearly got out of hand. But she still listened to what little was said.

"I have very unique skills," she tells him simply. "People pay a lot of money for them. So, yes. We have comms. We have almost everything we need." Save a solution to her problem.

Vance Astro has posed:
    Nodding his head, Vance turns about and looks to the room as a whole for the most part. "Good. If you like, I can tune in to your channel." That said, he reaches up and taps the little star on his chest. This causes a hologram to project forward from it, giving him a display which allows him to control all of the comms he has access to. I mean, it's 31st century tech. His hands come up and he begins manipulating his own system, "Do you use quantum entanglement comms? Or... wait, twenty first... radiowaves, right?" he asks.

Ava Starr has posed:
"Radio waves," Ava confirms, arching a brow. She turns away from the pan she is using to warm the food, her head canting faintly. "Quantum entanglement tends to cause me grief." Though that's on a more generic level than communication transmission. Something she'd admit if pushed.

Regardless, she gives him the frequency and returns to her pan. After a few more moments, she spoons some of out into a bowl. There's a little left in the pan. She glances to him. "Help yourself," she offers, deciding she needs to play nice. "So, what's your story?" she asks after a moment. "Time traveller?"

Vance Astro has posed:
    "Oh hey, food. That smells good." offers Vance. He moves that way as he considers the question posed to him. "I am not going to use the word.. classified. But you must understand that knowledge of the future could cause problems." A pause.. and then he shakes his head, "Well, I guess the worst I could do is create more alternate timelines. So yeah. My name is Vance Astro. I was born in nineteen sixty two in the Bronx." He grins and shrugs, "I know what you're going to say.. I don't look so bad for a man who is almost sixty. Well... turns out I'm a lot older than that. I was a part of a classified mission for NASA. Long story short, I know.. too late..."

    He shakes his head as he sits down and reaches to take a bite of the food. His eyes light up and he nods, "This is good." he states. "But let's just say that I spent a few -centuries- in stasis... ended up in the thirtieth century by the time I reached Alpha Centauri at sublight speeds."

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava knows classified. She picks up her dish and pulls a second one out for him so he can spoon out what he wants. When he does and moves to sit, she joins him. "Glad you like it," she replies simply. She doesn't take credit for making it, though. In this place, leftovers are frequently takeout.

"Relativistic effects of lightspeed, then?" She's learned an awful lot about science, given she's an assassin by training, not a scientist. She's had to. And while Einstien's theory of relativity in terms of space travel doesn't necessarily seem to impact quantum tunnelling, figuring out the transition point between the quantum realm and the relativistic realm did require some research for her. So... she picked up a few things. Even if she's not remotely as good at that stuff as Finley is.

"I never really understood the twin paradox," how the twin on Earth will age faster than the twin moving at near lightspeed, "but I guess that makes sense."

Vance Astro has posed:
    Chuckling softly, Vance shakes his head, "No, not really relativistic speed. It was slow enough that we wouldn't have that effect. But the ship was only traveling at about zero point four percent of light speed. Fast enough to make it in a thousand years, but slow enough to not overstress the ship -or- to reach relativistic effects."

    He takes another bite and smiles, "I was in stasis for a lot of it. But also had a procedure performed that replaced most of my blood with a synthetic protein designed to extend my lifespan. I was also forced to wear a containment suit as a part of it all."

    And then he gives a bitter little laughing snort, "Turns out, when I finally arrived, humans had already been there for centuries. While I was enroute, they developed FTL engines. My whole mission, the most ambitious idea in nineteen eighty eight... that's when I launched by the way... it was literally pointless."

Ava Starr has posed:
Given how much time Ava spends in her own 'containment suit', she can empathize with that story more than she might normally admit. She has enough empathy to wince as he explains his arrival. "Right. That's bollocks. Makes sense, but still... Kick in the teeth, I reckon." Her spoon clinks against the side of her bowl briefly as she pulls some of the food closer. "But that was another timeline, you said? So, like alternate dimensions?" She knows a little about that, given the whole quantum realm thing. "Sounds like a head trip. I have a hard enough time keeping things straight here."

She chews thoughtfully for a moment and then says, "You seemed to know a lot about Phyla. That from your 31st century time?"

Vance Astro has posed:
    Lifting a hand, Vance wobbles it back and forth. "Some events happened the same here. Others did not. In this timeline, it seems that I did not join NASA. So who knows if that mission ever happened. If it did, it didn't happen the same way as before. So..." Vance shrugs.

    He scoops up another bite, then takes a sip of water. "It took me twenty five more years to get out of that containment suit. That, and a blood transfusion from Hollywood... er.. Simon." A pause... and he shrugs his shoulders, "I mean, I only knew her by name... as the daughter of one of the most famous heroes in my timeline. Captain Mar-Vell of the Kree Empire.... a hero who betrayed his own people because he realized they were in the wrong. It is less that he betrayed them than.. he sided with Earth and strove to teach his own people a better way. He died tragically, but he had a lasting impact."

    He lifts his left hand and activates a micro-computer in his wristband. It projects the male version of Mar-Vell as a hologram. "Even as a kid, I was a huge fan of superheroes, and when I reached the thirtieth century, I had plenty of downtime. I studied the histories of superheroes right up until the Badoon conquered our solar system. Then myself and the only friend I had at the time.. we formed the Guardians of the Galaxy and fought the invaders until they fled... we had teammates from all of the colonized worlds. Some were the last survivors of their colonies. Nikki from Mercury, Charlie-27 from Jupiter. Martinex from Pluto.... they were all genetically altered to survive and thrive on those worlds. Now.. they are fighting on without me... that is the only thing that terrifies me."

Ava Starr has posed:
A lot of what he says -- Badoon, even Mar-Vell -- goes right over Ava's head. Still, she watches the images he produces and listens to the story. It sounds like a sci-fi movie of the week, to her. Unlike a lot of people, she's not actually looking for clues to the future. She doesn't expect to ever see it.

"So... you're looking for a way back?" She glances toward the open rail that serves as the fourth wall of the loftspace and overlooks the work area below where that skeleton of a quantum tunnel stands. "Quantum stuff might help you, too. Maybe Phyla will have some ideas. Or Finley. Don't underestimate her. She's quiet, but bloody brilliant."

Just don't tell her Ava complimented her. She might not believe it.

Vance Astro has posed:
    Tilting his head, Vance shrugs, "There is a problem with that. Whatever sent me here crossed time -and- dimensional barriers. Just sliding forward again.. even if I put myself back into the suit and went into stasis... would be in the future of -this- timeline. So it's not like I can just wait it out. All I can really do is try to do the best that I can where and when I am now."

    "Oh yes, Phyla. You see, it is not her that I knew, but her Quantum Bands." A pause, and he looks to Ava with a lifted eyebrow, "I don't suppose -her- Quantum energy is similar to your own.... because those bands are godawful powerful."

    Another touch on his wristband, and there is an image of The Seeker... a 31st century Silver Surfer wearing the Quantum Bands. "This guy, combining the bands with his own Power Cosmic... once just stopped time so we could have a chat."

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava lets out a cool whistle at the description of the Seeker. "Yeah, I don't know exactly what sort of energy Phyla has," she admits. "I know it's quantum. I could feel it. But my... situation is a little different. Whatever those bands are, whatever they do, are way beyond me, I reckon. My natural state is intangible. Half the time, I'm invisible, just because of quantum phase states, unless I concentrate. The suit helps keep my energy contained and keeps my molecules from flying apart. But..."

She looks away, her brows knitting. "It's not lasting as long as usual, these days." So, her problem is getting worse. Hence her willingness to play nice... providing they really can help. Her attitude may change dramatically if she thinks it's all been a waste of time. Panic and desperation will do that to a girl.

"If Phyla can help me fix that, I'll hunt down Captain Marvel myself for her."

Vance Astro has posed:
    "Not lasting as long as... well, I've had some experience with my own team. One of them is basically an energy being, and she had times when she felt less... cohesive, than others." Vance pauses, "Aleta... she really is something, let me tell you."

    "Here, I can't fix things for you right now. But if anyone can help, the Protector of the Universe can. She can control insane levels of energy. But.. for now, maybe I can introduce you .. virtually.. to -my- team?" he asks.

    Of course, he is assuming you'll let him.. and he projects a team holo. One of those taken during a party. Everyone smiling. Some looking goofy, others just standing around. "Left to right we have.. Martinex. The one who looks like a walking diamond. Charlie there.. the giant dude with a big heart. Nikki, with fire instead of hair. Yondu the archer, Aleta in the black and gold. And then me when I was still in my suit."

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava makes a small gesture with her spoon, perfectly willing to let him show off his team. True, it's rather like a father showing off his kids' pictures, but sometimes the woman *can* show patience. She wants to know more about the bands and she wants to know what he learned about energy cohesion, now that he's mentioned it that way. She'll take help anywhere she can find it, right now.

She looks at the motley crew as he identifies them. "I imagine you miss them." She has to imagine. Aside from her foster father, she doesn't really have anyone, herself. Not even a team.

Vance Astro has posed:
    "We were a family. Aleta was... well more." Vance shakes his head and changes the subject. "But, I am not exactly a scientist. I am an astronaut, a navigator, and a bit of a historian."

    A pause for a beat before he adds, "And a psychokinetic. But... that doesn't help you either. I do however understand technology a bit better than most. I built this from local materials." he says before pressing one more stud on his wristband, which projects a hard-light, photonically bound circular disc... roughly the same shape as Cap's shield. But not colored the same. Mostly to avoid the wrong kind of attention. It is translucent, and he says, "Perhaps the tech that binds the photons and makes them feel solid.." he says, holding the shield out to be touched, "Could help you?"

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava gives Vance a small, tight smile as he mentions what Aleta meant to him. Her eyes narrow some at his shield projection, however. She reaches out a hand to cautiously press her finger tips to it. "Maybe," she says. There is a slight shudder that runs down her spine, which, given the amount of time she spent in her QEC, suggests her cohesion is becoming more dire.

She pushes to her feet, fist clenching as she tries not to shatter into a prismatic scatter of herself. For the moment, it holds. "Here. Let me show you my suit. It's supposed to do something like that, though it also enhances some of my other abilities."

Vance Astro has posed:
    Inclining his head, Vance grins. "I would love to examine it. Oddly, I got a degree in Electrical Engineering before I joined NASA. And an Electrical Engineer on board a 31st century starship can be dangerous when he's bored." he states as he moves to follow. "Why don't you charge up while I look it over, eh?"

Ava Starr has posed:
"Mm," Ava says, her eyes narrowing again. "Don't dismantle it. Fin's already poked at it. I still need it."

It stands on an armor stand in a corner. "It makes it easier for me to contain my energies and use my powers. It channels quantum energy somehow. Just don't ask me how..."

Vance Astro has posed:
    "Okay. I won't ask. I'll try to figure out how." offers Vance as he gets up and walks over to the suit. He doesn't even touch it at first, merely looking it over with a critical eye. After about two or three minutes of staring.. then he finally reaches out to it. To examine it. He would need a working sample to dismantle if he wanted to figure it out entirely. "You don't have schematics, do you?!" he calls out.

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava shakes her head, following ten or so feet behind him and watching him closely. "No," she says. "They're probably somewhere deep inside the Triskelion. So, unless you know a hacking god..." She shrugs. "Fin may have started a breakdown of them. I don't know. We've spent most of our time trying to figure out how to locate the specific particles she thinks I need." Which, of course, are about the rarest out there.

Vance Astro has posed:
    "Man. If I only had the scanners aboard the Cap." mutters Vance. "I mean, I could cobble something together if I had access to a Best Buy trash heap." he adds. But then he inclines his head and looks her way with a piercing gaze, "Please level with me. How much time do you have? How bad is your condition? Do you have months? Weeks? Days?"

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava gives a remarkably mild shrug, given what she's facing. "I don't know," she admits. "Weeks, probably. Fin thinks we can stretch it to months, if we can get that machine down there built." She gestures lightly toward the rail and the tunnel below.

She gives him a serious look in return and then walks toward the electronics station haphazardly setup behind her QEC. "All the components we have are here. Maybe you can find something that works. There's a fabrication station downstairs. You're welcome to it. But, if you tell me what you think you need... I can try to get it." By any means necessary.

Vance Astro has posed:
    "I'm not sure really. I mean it'll take me at least a week or two to get a scanner together that can tell me what I need to know without ruining the suit. Then..." Vance shakes his head, "I really have no idea what more I will need until I can get that done. I'm not exactly a Stark." he adds with a self defacing smirk.

Ava Starr has posed:
"Who is?" Ava replies, squashing the brief sense of hope she felt with a wry, bitter smile. She shrugs now and retreats, expression shutting down into a tight scowl she hides by turning away. "I don't have access to Stark tech, either. I've got young SHIELD engineer who's barely passed her field certs and... whatever I can scrounge from whatever contacts I can find."

She walks back to her food bowl and picks it up to take it back to the kitchen. "I don't expect miracles."

Vance Astro has posed:
    "Miracles are something of a specialty." mutters Vance mostly to himself as he goes back to examining. The man has a determined streak a mile wide. But he speaks up, "The first thing I'm going to need is some high density energy storage and transmission materials. Then I'll need materials to make sensor heads. Are there metamaterials at this time? Programmable matter?" he asks. "Or is that not on Earth yet?"

Ava Starr has posed:
"Yeah, maybe Stark has it, or Richards, but don't look at me. Stark Tower and the Baxter Building are a stretch for my skillset in my current condition," Ava says as she scrapes the last of her food into the garbage and rinse the bowl in the sink. "Their buildings are layered with energy detectors that scream if I'm on the same block, nevermind outside the front doors." Especially when she's fluxing so badly.

"If you can raid what's on the shelf, great. If you can make something downstairs, even better. But if you want raw materials, you need to be more specific and less sci-fi." She's trying very hard not to inject snark into her tone. It's probably only partially successful. Ava is not a soft and gentle woman. That she's refrained from being too prickly thus far is a testament to how badly she wants help.

Vance Astro has posed:
    Vance is used to snark. He just nods and grins. "Well, I'll get to work. Though.. I could really use some of those sensors those folks use. Ironic huh? I need what they have.. and what they have would prevent us from acquiring it."

    Vance looks back over his shoulder and adds, "I'll make a list of materials once I know what I need, okay?" he asks with a bit of a smile. "I'll also ask Phyla..." He blinks all of a sudden and shakes his head, "Hell. If we can get her to help, she can scan this in seconds and save me weeks of work."

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava turns back around from the kitchen sink, studying him from across the room. She's not sure what to make of him. Then again, he did show up looking something like Captain America... and he calls himself Major Victory. Maybe she shouldn't be surprised. "Speak with Fin, too," she tells him. "I trust her. She's been working on this for weeks. She can probably tell you things I can't. She's smarter than me."

Vance Astro has posed:
    Nodding his head, Vance turns back to study the suit. He starts walking around it, a hand trailing along the surface of the material. "Well, if you trust her, that's what matters. I would love to talk to her about this, and work with her. I must admit, it's been a while since I got to focus on my -academic- skills rather than the combat ones. It is quite refreshing."

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava doesn't have any academic skills to speak of. Not that she considers academic, anyway. She wanders back over, fists clenched again and her head rolls briefly, pulling her energy back together. "Cool," she says briefly, returning to watch him examine the suit. "Like I said, grab what you need. Just try not to disturb Finley's blueprints. She gets testy about that."

She gestures to where the computer and some sketches sit on the workbench. There are components scattered across them, too, probably related to those plans. Most of them are parts for the machine downstairs. But there are some notations about the suit, given helpful properties.

Vance Astro has posed:
    "Oh, that's what I had hoped to find. Don't worry.. I won't change anything she's done. The worst I might do here and now is -read- what she's got figured out. I mean it wouldn't help for me to mess around with it until I've learned everything -she's- learned about it first. Need a good starting point, right?"

    And then he turns his head to look her way, his face growing solemn. "Don't worry ma'am. We'll figure this out. I guarantee it." Yeah, he's got that big bro vibe... the guy who -always- tries to look out for everyone around him more than for himself.

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava snirks softly at the ma'am. "Ava," she corrects. "Or Ghost. But not ma'am. No one in their right mind calls me ma'am." She's not convinced he'll figure it out. But she's willing to give him a shot. Perhaps with more minds working on it -- none of them HYDRA -- they'll figure it out together.

Maybe it'll be enough.

In the end, she shakes her head and exhales heavily. "I'm going to hit the shower," she tells him. She gestures lightly to the reading material that should consume him for a while. "Make yourself at home."

Vance Astro has posed:
    Giving a mock salute, Vance says, "Try to relax. A hot shower only helps if you -let- it help." That said, he turns his attention back to the project at hand, doing his best to engage his brain on the topic...