9297/N.O.W.H.E.R.E. But Up From Here

N.O.W.H.E.R.E. But Up From Here
Date of Scene:	27 December 2021
Location:	Colony Zero, somewhere that is where N.O.W.H.E.R.E. lurks
Synopsis:	Nadia and Tim meet with Harvest and he tells them the why of N.O.W.H.E.R.E.
Cast of Characters:	Conner Kent, Tim Drake, Nadia Pym-van Dyne

---

Conner Kent has posed:
A couple days ago, three was a moment of disorientation for Tim and Nadia, and afterwards they found out the infamous Dr. Harvest had a brief chat with Laura and Phoebe and they missed him. Even though they were in the room at the side. Weird even for this place.

Otherwise their days have been mostly talking to scientists and going through some tests. Which were sometimes interesting, and some times hard to understand. They have a modicum of freedom, with some odd rules here and there. Like Nadia's bedroom door not opening unless she wears the smartsuit. But of course the suit limits her powers. No escaping to the microverse, it seems.

On the other hand Tim suit allows him to fly and the wings are laced with Inertron, the metal being N.O.W.H.E.R.E.'s less shinny answer to vibranium, making them able to block almost any impact. It is weird they gave him superpowers, but apparently he will need them form some tests in the near future. It is probably a bad thing.

On the other hand, they have managed to pilfer some electronic tools and gizmos from the labs. Securing was good, but not Bat-level good. So tinkering with the things they are not supposed to tinker is going to happen soon. After all Tim dissembled Conner's 'Tron' suit four years ago, and the ones they are wearing are pretty much identical.

Tim Drake has posed:
    Tim's doing his best to leverage all of the information he gained from disassembling Conner's original Tron suit. He's also doing his best not to take it personal, the way they've fitted him with a superpowered suit.

    Because Tim doesn't need super powers to escape. He can acknowledge that they might come in handy, but erring on the side of caution, he isn't going to count on them. Really, he'd much rather have the suit off and his own back on.

    If they destroyed his suit he's going to be upset. That was a *gift*.

    Even more important than disassembling the suit is finding out where they're keeping Conner. Tim is certain that whoever aided N.O.W.H.E.R.E. in breaching the Roost wasn't Superboy, even if he wasn't conscious long enough to see the disguise drop like Bart was. He's done his best to track guard patrols and the general scheduled of the scientists who come in to test them in the hopes of finding a good opening to make a break for it. For now, though, he lingers in the common area of their cells, doing his best to appear as bored as possible even while plots and plans form in his head, plotted against the minimal map he's managed to form of the compound in his mind's eye.

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
It is a grave mistake on NOWHERE's part to underestimate the Waspette. Nadia hardly needs the Microverse to escape, the Red Room trained her better than that. It's just that escaping at this juncture would completely defeat the purpose of coming here in the first place, namely to acquire information.

NOWHERE's Tron-suit fashion sense will earn them no praise from the daughter of Janet van Dyne. And while it will certainly need to be reverse engineered and modified, what Nadia is far more interested in is the tests that are being performed and she has been keeping a very careful mental catalogue of each one while keeping a running speculation of what they might be used for. At this point it is a waiting game and she can be very patient when she needs to be.

Conner Kent has posed:
Tim just returned from a complicated intelligence test (or maybe it was a personality test, hard to say) and might be guesstimating how much he tricked the system against how much the system was tricking him. It was certainly different to other tests they have been trained to deceive. At least he learned something new.

Meanwhile Nadia had an animated discussion with a biologist that knew -way- too much about super-soldier serums. She was reaaaaally interested in working with a 'live specimen' and told Nadia exactly how the serum was interacting with her metabolism, in comparison with other known super-soldiers. Also, as a sidenote, she was told the Lyudmila Kudrin's version of the serum renders women sterile. Isn't that interesting? They let her go half an hour before Tim.

No five minutes after Tim arrives, the door of the prison suite slides open again, letting the pair see the gaunt armoured form of Harvest, the blue wings folded as a cloak over his soulders. "Good evening," he greets, odd accent, old man's voice. "If I step in alone, would you attack me this time?"

Tim Drake has posed:
    Tim's intense observation of the ceiling does not seem to end when the door opens to reveal the man he recognizes as Harvest from Phoebe and Laura's recounting of their encounter. Because he is, of course, sneaking a peek here and there out of his peripherals.

    To any observer, though, he looks like he's meditating. Back against the wall, legs folded together, arms loose as they rest against his thighs. So in this moment, Harvest doesn't get a response.

    In fact, after the initial meeting with Omen and Match, Tim has been unusually quiet. Aside for his clipped, often purposefully incorrect answers during the intelligence-slash-personality test before, he's hardly spoken at all today.

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
Nadia told people NOWHERE was from the future, but they didn't believe her! Yet here they are continuing to demonstrate future knowledge! That's fine, she'll take all the science they want to share, storing it away in her brain. She puts on an appropriately surprised expression when they tell her all about Lyudmila's serum. There is a bit of new information there. Sterile? She'd never heard that before. She kind of passes it off with a shrug not even sure what to make of it. Boys have never really interested her that much let alone any thoughts of children and all attempts to explain dating to her have ended in disaster. Besides who can really compete with Quantum Physics? All the same, the odd nugget is filed away for later like all the rest of the data.

Alone in the room until Tim's return, Nadia also closes her eyes and to all outward appearances gives the impression of deep meditation. In fact she is sorting through, cataloguing, and sifting out useful details in everything she has seen on this trip out of the room. NOWHERE sure is taking their sweet time on her 'Take me to your leader' request. Worst aliens.. future people ever.

When Harvest appears in the doorway with his question, her eyes don't open immediately, instead taking a moment to guage approximate direction and distance of the sound. "If my intent was to attack you, I wouldn't still be sitting here. Honestly, the way you treat people who come willingly it is no wonder that so many violently resist." She says, finally opening her eyes.

Conner Kent has posed:
"What can I say? I am too cautious sometimes," replies Harvest, unapologetic, and stepping in. "I suppose today I will take a risk. But in truth, young Wasp, you came here with a quantum tracker, so maybe it was safer to assume you would have led others that remain uninvited, to me."

He peers at Tim, as if curious, then looks at Nadia again. "In any case, I am very excited to have you two here. I am sure you have a million questions, and actually so do I. The way you breached Colony One, for instance. Now, I can say I was happy about you doing it..." he handwaves. "You put the whole world in danger. I am sure you already know."

Tim Drake has posed:
    Behind his mask, Tim's eyes flick over to Harvest, before shifting backwards to Nadia. They're not quite sitting directly opposite of one another, but it's a close enough thing. And even though he knows she can't see it, Tim still rolls his eyes in a commiserating sort of way.

    If he even notices Harvest looking his way, Tim doesn't acknowledge it. Instead he shifts slightly, letting out all the air from his lungs as he stretches his arms out a little, before letting them both come to rest down beside him, his hands flat against the floor. From there, he starts to drum his fingers against it.

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
Nadia glances at the ceiling, allowing her face to take an expression of what am I even having to deal with here like a put upon teenager. "I am required my parental decree to always keep an active Quantum Beacon after the last time I was kidnapped. By the way? Deactivating that won't stop them, it will just make them angrier. Do you really want to deal with an angry Black Widow?"

She starts drumming her fingers, more annoyed teenaged quirks. "Last time I got kidnapped Thor showed up. /Thor/. I was doing you a favor because I was interested in talking, they might have taken their time if the beacon was still on. Now they're going to hit you with everything they've got." She gives a little shrug. "Really, you should have just asked. So many problems can be solved with better communication, that's what my therapist always tells me."

Conner Kent has posed:
Harvest chuckles, "but so many problems need to be dealt quietly. It is difficult to discern when it is one or the other. And being too open is as bad as being too secretive." He steps closer, "well, now you are here, we can communicate. I will certainly try to find time to talk with you; I appreciate constructive criticism as much as scientific insights."

He turns to Tim. "And with you, Red Robin. We need more people like you here, won't you tell me anything? Maybe how wrong am I? Perhaps a warning about Batman coming to destroy me? Or ask me where is your missing friend?

Tim Drake has posed:
    The annoyed tap-tap of his fingers continues for a while longer, after he's addressed directly. But then Tim sighs, and rolls his head so he can look towards Harvest. Maybe at him, maybe not. In his general direction, at least.

    He pauses. His nose wrinkles, faintly, in distaste.

    "Your organization's name is stupid and you should fire whoever designed these outfits."

    Yeah, that's it. Then he starts up with the drumming of his fingers again.

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
Nadia nods her head in agreement at what Tim says. "He has a point. I'm pretty sure Janet would try to cut you or at the very least call the Fashion Police if she knew you made me wear this." She hasn't stopped the irate drumming though occasionally the pattern changes.

"Really Doc, you should try therapy. It has helped me a lot. You could work on some of your interpersonal issues." A pause. "So, is all of your tech based on Space Trek? Because that ship you picked me up in definitely looked like it." Smooth Nadia, great segue.

Conner Kent has posed:
Harvest tilts his head. It is hard to say what he thinks of Tim and Nadia's opinions. "Do you know you can change your outfits appearance? It is entirely programmable. I hoped you would figure it yourselves, but... in lie of your discomfort, I will give this as a freebie." No, he is not going to explain them how to program them. They are supposed to be very smart.

Then he folds his arms, looking at Nadia. "Much of my technology comes from Earth's future. You probably suspected it already. I will be born mid Thirtieth Century."

Tim Drake has posed:
    The drumming of fingers stops. Tim leans forward slightly, eyes narrowed behind his domino mask. He clucks his tongue after a moment, having looked Harvest up and down once. "So what was it, then?" he asks as he shifts forward, legs unfolding so that his feet touch the floor. "What terrible apocalypse scenario was enough for you to abandon your morals in a desperate bid to save the people you care about?"

    As he stands, Tim's hands fall to his side. Relaxed, non-threatening. But as he steps forward, his posture changes.

    There's something psychological about putting on the costume, for the Bats. It provokes something of a shift in thought patterns, not all that unlike a sudden moment of clarity. The fog lifted. And this whole time, without his real costume--who cares if this one is customizable, it'll never be the Red Robin costume--Tim's been without it. Right now, though, even with a lack of the physical thing, he's assumed the mantle of Red Robin once more.

    Sure, he can't brood like the Dark Knight himself. He's been told in the past he does better at the whole "I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed" thing. So maybe that's what he's conveying now, with the way he stands there in front of Harvest. "Because whatever it is, it still won't be enough to convince one of my team to work with you. Because we're more than just a team. And your biggest mistake, even bigger than traveling back to the past thinking that will do anything at all to save your future, is only taking a few of us."

    A smile spreads across his face. It's definitely not quite Batman's style, because he'd never smile. "Enjoy your last few days of freedom."

    Then he turns and sits back down.

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
Nadia makes a face at Dr. Harvest. "You remind me of Mother." There probably should have been a 'my' in there for most people or maybe Nadia is suddenly borrowing a page of prim and proper old timey America.

"Yeah, your suits are pretty advanced Dr. Harvey. I mean they don't have mono-axial co-moleculators and aren't linked by quantum entangled phase pairings, but I guess you can't have everything, right?" She gives a shrug of her shoulder and resumes drumming her fingers on the surface of the bed. "So, out with it, what is your grand master plan, INSPIRE me to work for you. I mean I came to talk, but all you seem to have to offer is dirty tricks and coercion. Did I have a beacon? Of course I did, like I said it was really to your benefit and it would also have been to your benefit to convince me to deactivate it in a way that wouldn't send people running. You're really bad at this, you know? So, let's try again. INSPIRE us, aaaand go!"

Conner Kent has posed:
"Not a single event," replies Harvest. "My six year old son was murdered by metahuman terrorists. But if I was merely aiming to save him, I wouldn't have needed to come this far back."

He raises a hand, three fingers. "The first metahuman war is about to begin, it will cause three billion dead and set back humankind to the pre-atomic age. North America will be virtually depopulated by the end of this century. Gotham will vanish in a nuclear holocaust in fifteen years. The Dark City is barely a legend in my time."

He steps closer to Nadia, almost looming over her. "Almost every nation has rogue super-soldier programs. There are dozens, hundreds of kids like you, Nadia. They will be the first into the slaughter."

He steps back and sighs heavily. "And that is just the beginning. Eight world wars involving thousands of metahuman warriors in eight centuries. And still lingering terrorism all the way into the Thirtieth Century, even after genetic engineering has been used to delete the meta gen and the x-gen from humankind, some will undo the changes to elevate themselves about the rest."

The armoured doctor keeps silence a few seconds, and then chuckles. "But I came here a decade ago. I have made changes. Perhaps enough. It would be safer if I, we did more. I am getting old, you see. And time travel took a toll on my body."

Tim Drake has posed:
    Tim folds his legs together again, ankles crossed, and he drums his fingers against his boots. Underneath it all, he does feel a pang of sympathy for Harvest's loss. That's just the kind of person he is. And maybe if their situations were different--you know, if he wasn't currently kidnapped with several members of his team--Tim would try to make some kind of connection there, try to sway Dr. Harvest.

    But that's always a risky play. Fine if it's just him, when he can weigh the odds and make the choice, but not when he also has Phoebe, Laura, and Nadia here with him. He won't put their lives on the line like that.

    He's silent throughout the explanation. It achieves his ultimate goal; whether it was his derision or Nadia's prompting isn't all that important. What is important is now they have more information, and a look into Harvest's motivations.

    If there was anything else Tim had to say, he would've already said it. He remains silent.

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
Nadia leans back until she bumps her head against the wall in a very teenaged gesture, "So, what? You're going to fight metahumans with metahumans? You're old and out of time? Trying to find your one true heir? Realized time is a splitting river and you can never go back to the future you left once changed?"

She gives a big exaggerated shrug before sitting up and looking at Harvest again. "How do you even know what your doing right now isn't what triggers the events you're talking about? I've done plenty of theorizing on the logistics of time travel and what you're describing is like a case study in what not to do."

Conner Kent has posed:
Harvest shakes his head. "I have a thousand years of chrono-science on you, Nadia. I know quite a bit about creating alternate timelines, nexus-points divergences and even psycho-history. Virtually every step I take, including bringing you here, makes the metahuman wars more unlikely."

He turns, walking to the door. But he looks back before opening it. "You are already helping me. The position I have put you into and your own psychological profiles mean my plans will progress no matter what you do now. But some of the actions you take would make things much pleasant for you and your friends. And family."

Tim Drake has posed:
    It isn't until the door is closed that Tim clicks his tongue again. "I'd still put my money on your knowledge of the science over him, experience or not," he says to Nadia.

    Well, step one: learn the villain's ominous backstory has been completed. There's some other stuff in-between that Tim's still working on, but it's one step closer to getting out of here.

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
Nadia tilts her head forward just enough to watch him go and the drumming of her fingers stops. "If you're betting on my psych profile, you must be really bad at cards." She says in Dr. Harvests wake before smiling at Tim.

"Thanks, I appreciate the vote of confidence. Regardless of what he thinks he knows, we don't need a nanny from the future taking away our freedom to act. Even if these wars are coming it is on us to stop them, not him. But at least we're one step closer to knowing what is really going on here."