capeandcowllogs | TIME CAN'T CHANGE MEEEEEEE

Entry tags:

† !—dropped characters—! †

TIME CAN'T CHANGE MEEEEEEE

WHO: Baroona and Mary Marvel
WHERE: Starts off directly outside/around the Porter building
WHEN: April 24th, 2010
WARNINGS: SUPERHEROISM!
SUMMARY: Baroona arrives, leaves the Porter building, and almost gets hit by a car.
FORMAT: Whaaaaaaaaatever~

Baroona was not an educated man. He had been a slave for most of his life and the majority of that time was spent learning how to fight, not read. All the knowledge he had was knowledge that he gained from absorbing and observing the information around him. It was in that way that Baroona had learned the basics of reading, teaching himself words and phrases used often on the road.

But none of that was helpful here.

The moment he stepped out of the Strange Room With The Talking Box, he was greeted with more confusion. Tall structures surrounded him on all sides, all of them thousands of times taller than the largest castle in Chronos. Millions of lights flickered around him, brighter than any candle he had seen. Looking down, he found no grass or cobblestones, but rather a strange substance that didn't quite feel like stone. Raising his head, he found that this strange ground changed from an off-white color to a pitch black, then to an off-white further on.

It felt like dream. A dream where he was in a black abyss, waiting for something to happen. Then, something did. Colors swirled around him, spiraling down and pulling him under. Pulling him under into a sea of bright colors, strange sounds, and unnatural sights. Pulling him down into confusion and then dropping him amongst strange people pushing past him.

Which was the point where he was now: blankly staring at his unfamiliar surroundings with a stunned expression while the people around him walked forward, pushing and shoving and it was all so overwhelming he needed to escape. Get fresh air and the freedom of mobility. So he pushed himself forward, shoving past people until he finally stumbled onto the black-earth.

Which wasn't all that comforting either.

Instead of being surrounded by fresh air, he was surrounded by strange beasts. Creatures that moaned and grumbled and roared by him. Creatures that were both wider, longer and fiercer than the wildest bull he had seen. Their eyes were made of fire that shone brightly on the black earth in front of them. They ran at speeds faster than Baroona ever thought possible and there he was. Caught in the middle of it all, standing in the center of a stampede of metallic animals.

It's no small wonder that he got hit. To the modern person, it would seem like a person had just stumbled out into the middle of the road. In fact, this is exactly what it looked like to the observers on the sidewalk. Later, someone would report that a boy around the age of nineteen, dressed in baggy clothes and an ancient Roman helmet, had stepped into the path of an oncoming car.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Mary was on patrol, high above the city and trying to sort out several things that were running through her head. Katurian was back, but he didn't seem to understand how very much at fault she was for everything that happened. She was so upset about that that it was sometimes hard to think. And she couldn't go to Kitty with that because Gar had been ported out and Kitty was a mess.

And the words that Desire had mentioned to her were bothering her a lot more than she let on. A lot. Why would anyone be jealous of her? Hate her? Is that what people really thought? All she wanted was to just be her best.

The sudden blaring of horns jerked Mary from her thoughts, and she spotted a young man in odd clothing about to get pancaked by oncoming traffic. She swooped down with every ounce of speed given to her by the gods and snatched him up in her arms.

"Holy moley! Are you okay?!"

There were many ways to describe Baroona's mental state at that moment, and 'okay' was not one of them. He had just had his feet firmly planted on unfamiliar ground, and yet somehow he was swept off his feet and now... flying above the earth.

Yeah. This was not normal.

"Where the hell am I?" He muttered, moving his head so that he could see the world below. It all looked so different. He glanced up at Mary, suspicious of her and her... mysterious flying abilities (was she a goddess? Baroona never had been very religious, but he was pretty sure only goddesses could fly). "What country is this?"

"Gosh, you really ought to be more careful! You could have been killed!" she exclaimed. "Oh, golly, are you a new imPort? You must be. Well, that's one way to introduce yourself to the City! I'm Mary, Mary Marvel. What's your name?"

She flew down towards a nearby rooftop. His clothes were so odd-looking, so maybe this is a completely different time period for him? At any rate, she'd have to try to explain everything and that was easier done when they weren't soaring through the air.

"'The City'?" He repeated, testing the name. He thought for a moment, tilting his head up before pausing and turning away. Pushing a hand into his pocket, he breathed a sigh of relief. Good. He still had his cigarettes and matches. Digging one out, he placed it in his mouth and lighted it, discarding the match when he finished. He breathed in deeply, calming his nerves, assessing the situation.

He was in a foreign land with foreign creatures and a foreign goddess with a... normal name. Perhaps she was disguised? Goddesses did that, right? He blew out a puff of smoke and turned towards her, hands shoved in his pockets. Bowing slightly, he pulled a hand out of his pocket and removed his helmet. From the few stories he'd heard, the gods didn't take kindly to rude behavior, and the last thing he wanted to do now was anger a god.

"Baroona, goddess." He answered.

"Goddess?" Mary asked, perplexed. "Don't bow, silly, I'm not a goddess! I'm just plain old Mary!" She smiled at him.

"So, I'm guessing that your world is quite different! Why don't you tell me a bit about it and then I can try to sort you out, okay?"

So. She was in disguise. He placed his helmet back on, nodding silently. Very well. He'd keep her secret.

Baroona paused, then. Furrowing his brow, he raised an eyebrow at her. "World?" He shook his head, sighing. "No. I'm from the country of Chronos." Another pause as he eyed her, suspiciously. "There's other countries but... that's the only world there is."

That was.... so completely not right. Mary could tell that he didn't quite believe her, so she had to think of another way to get through to him. "Well... that's not entiiirely true. Gosh, this isn't the best conversation for this, though. How about we go down to the park, sit by the ducks and get some ice cream? You're probably not going to believe me, so we might as well be sitting someplace nice! Don't worry, it'll be my treat!"

She holds out her hand in a friendly gesture. "Come on!"

Could he really say no to a goddess without invoking her wrath? Sighing, Baroona put out his cigarette and took her hand.

"... Alright."

She beamed over at him, pulled him over to pick him up comfortably, and leapt off the building towards the park. "How old are you, Baroona?"

Baroona didn't answer for a couple minutes, too busy being alarmed by the jump-off. He held on tighter at first, loosening his grip only when it was completely obvious that they weren't going to plunge to their deaths. When he was finally comfortable, he shrugged.

"About as old as I look, I guess."

Mary held onto him comfortably. After all, she did this all the time. Poor Baroona! The country of Cronos, though, that didn't ring any bells. "You don't know your age? Gosh, you look about about eighteen to me! I'm seventeen. I know I don't really look it right now, but I am!"

She soared over to the park, landing close to the water where she knew one of her favorite ice-cream stands were. She'd stopped a thief just past the stand once, and the owner, impressed with Mary, thanked her by way of sundae. Mary'd become friends with him, and though he always offered to give her treats on the house, she paid her way just the same. "Here we go, this is a better place to talk! What flavor ice cream would you like? The cherry chocolate chunk is amazing!"

As they flew, he watched her as she talked, wondering how it was possible anyone (even an immortal) could be so cheerful. It was almost eerie how happy she was. Almost. Mostly, it was refreshing, just as it had been when he had met Clara. Of course, any type of cheerfulness was refreshing after being pulled out of a war.

Luckily, they landed in the park before Baroona could dwell more on that thought. He bowed slightly in thanks to Mary, then looked around. So there was green in 'the City', though it seemed a bit to small to be the countryside. Perhaps it was a village? Or maybe a rich noble's private gardens. Or maybe--

Oh. Right. She was talking to him. He looked towards her blankly and blinked. "Um." He thought back to what she had said, and shrugged. Even the ice cream here was unusual. 'Cherry Chocolate Chunk'? What had happened to plain old vanilla and chocolate? "Whatever you're having."

Oh, golly, she hoped she wasn't scaring him. He bowed again. He really needed to stop doing that, it wasn't right. "Silly, you don't have to bow! And gosh, you might want to come with me. I'm lactose intolerant, so I get sorbet or soy-based ice creams. I didn't bring my pills with me today! Besides, if you're not sure about flavors, then we can just ask Mr. Garcia to sample some! Ooh, sometimes he has unusual flavors, like mango! Come on! Once we've got our ice cream, I can explain this place a bit better."

She grabbed his hand again and tugged him along to the ice cream stand. She figured that he wouldn't unless she lead him.

Baroona blinked in surprise, stumbling after her. He was tempted to pull away, to tell her that he could easily walk there on his own, but he didn't. It was kind of fun like this after all. A brief smile flickered across his face before they stopped in front of the vendor, at which point he feigned annoyance. He gently pulled his arm out of her grasp, looking down at the ice cream instead.

Oh. There was vanilla and chocolate. Maybe this place had some sanity in it, after all.

He looked up at Mary expectantly, waiting for her to order.

Mary beamed at Mr. Garcia, who looked very pleased to see her. "Buenos dias, Maria! Como esta usted? Aha! Quien es ese muchacho? Maria, tiene un novio?"

She giggled. She had been trying to learn Spanish, and Mr. Garcia had volunteered to practice with her whenever she stopped by. She wasn't very good at it, but she made the effort. "No, no, Sr. Garcia! No tengo un novio, usted lo sabe! Este es Baroona, mi amigo! El esta nueva en la ciudad!" The two chattered for a few more minutes, Mary in slightly broken Spanish until she turned to Baroona suddenly.

"Here, you need to try a bunch of flavors before you pick! Mr. Garcia said that since you're new in the City, today will be free of charge for you!" She grinned and lowered her voice. "I'm going to pay him anyway, of course. So pick what you want!"

Baroona just... watched. Blankly. Really, there wasn't much else to do. It's not like he understood anything they were saying. Yet, she was speaking it with such ease. Either this was the native language in 'the City', or the goddess had the ability of tongues. Either seemed plausible to Baroona.

Then, the foreign words stopped and Mary spoke to Baroona. Although to him, it sounded more like a holy command than anything else. So much for just getting chocolate.

He looked down at the ice cream again, pointing to an oddly bright pink flavor. "That one?" He turned to her to her as he spoke, as if checking to see if she or the vendor understood him.

The vendor smiled knowingly at him. Mary was an eager girl, and her sunny personality always seemed to take over, but the poor boy was looking a bit overwhelmed. Rather than hand the boy the bright pink flavor (bubblegum tended to only be popular with the smaller children), he scooped out a green one.

"Here, you try mint and chocolate instead. You like it more, yes?"

Beside Baroona, Mary beamed. He was still so skittish! She hoped he'd put that goddess silliness behind him already, but apparently not. "I guess no one speaks Spanish where you're from, Baroona?" she asked.

"'Spanish'? No." He took the ice cream (nodding his thanks), and tasted it. A small shiver ran down his spine at the coldness of it. It had been awhile since he'd had it-since before the temple fortress was destroyed-and he had forgotten exactly what it tasted like. How cold it was, how sweet it could taste, all about it. He smiled, rolling the flavor around in his mouth.

"It's good."

"You see? I know," the man said, grinning. "Here, you try this one next." And he handed Baroona three more spoons with different flavors on them. Mary giggled and ordered her own ice cream (soy and chai tea, thank you!)

"Pick your favorite, and then we can go sit down by the water and talk," she encouraged.

He accepted the three spoons, blinking at Mary as she giggled. Had he done something funny? He raised a brow, then shrugged, sticking the first spoon into his mouth and savoring the taste. After he finished that one, he placed the second in his mouth, a faint grin on his face. He did the same thing with his last spoon, savoring the taste before taking it out of his mouth. After thinking for a moment, he pointed at the Mint Chocolate Chip.

"That one's the best."

Mr. Garcia handed over a heaping cone of mint chocolate chip to the young man as Mary tried to pay. After a brief, but unfailingly polite argument in Spanish about the cost (Mary lost this one, for once), she lead the way down by the water and plopped down.

"So... well, as you may have guessed, this place is called the City. Don't ask me who named it. It's an awful lot like New York City, does that ring any bells?"

Baroona let the quirked eyebrow speak for itself.

"Is it a large country?"

Oh. Oh dear. "Uhm... no. Gosh, what's the best way to explain this." Fortunately, she's got the wisdom of Solomon to help her. "Okay, so you know how the gods dwell in a different realm? One that humans can't get to? Well... this isn't the realm of the gods, not at all, but it's something similar. This country we're in is called America, and it's several thousand miles wide. It stretches between two oceans. There are millions of people here, and we all come from different realms. We were brought here by magic, the magic of the Porter. None of us know how to get back to our realms."

She pauses to let that digest. "So far so good?"

Baroona paused, brow furrowed in confusion. He looked down at his ice cream, frowining. He had never heard of a country called America, or a city called New York. He Only knew of the ocean that surrouned Chronos, no others. Could it be possible that he really was... in another world? That would explain all the strange animals here. And the strange goddess that was sitting next to him. Was she from another world as well, he wondered?

"This... is a different world?" He didn't look at her as he spoke.

She beamed. "Yes! That's it exactly!" Oh, good, maybe this won't be as difficult to explain as she thought! "I didn't come from this world, either! I was summoned here to be a hero to the city, you see?"

A small smirk tugged at his lips. "Just a hero?" He muttered, just loud enough for her to hear. His smirk grew slightly and he managed to successfully hide it behind his ice cream.

"Well, what else would I be, silly?" she grinned over at him. "Everyone gets powers when they come through the porter. I mean, I had mine before I came here, but even if you don't, then you get some!"

Well, that grabbed his attention. "Powers?" He paused, eating a bit of his ice cream. "Like what?"

She thought for a moment. "Well... it ranges from a lot of things. Maybe you'll get super strength, too! Or something. One friend of mine got a power to summon pies whenever she wanted. I don't think most people are quite as powerful as me, though, but I'm not sure I could beat Mr. Stark in his suit in a fight. Maybe I could. If I got in a few direct hits..."

She thought for a bit. Golly, she really was one of the stronger people in the City, wasn't she? "Do you believe me now when I say I'm really not a goddess, at least?"

He hadn't really noticed any bodily change, or... pie-summoning abilities since his arrival in the City, which made it hard to believe that he had any powers at all. Still, if everyone else had amazing abilities here, perhaps he truly was in the realm of the gods. But if he was in the heavenly world, did that mean that he had died?

Once again, Mary rescued him from another morbid train of thought. He gave her a small smile and a sly look. One that clearly contradicted his upcoming statement. "Of course."

"Oooh!" Mary exclaimed. "I can tell when you're fibbing! I'm honestly just a normal girl! And don't worry about finding out your powers. They normally show when you're in a lot of danger."

She licked up her ice cream. "Well, let's see. I suppose I should start to explain some of the technology that we've got here. See this?" She flips over her comm. "This is your communicator. It's how everyone in the city keeps contact with one another!" She begins to demonstrate the various functions, going slowly enough so Baroona can keep up.

The moment she flipped open the comm, Baroona had his hands on his blades. It was only after he saw that the object would do him no harm that he removed his hands from the pouch that held his daggers. Cautiously, he scooted closer to her, peering over her shoulder and studying what she did. It was confusing, even when she did go slowly, but Baroona felt that he was at least understanding half of it.

... Maybe a bit less.

"So far so good?" Mary asked, shifting so he could see better. It wasn't that complicated, not when you got the hang of it, but Mary wasn't sure how well he was doing.

He nodded slowly in reply. Sure, there were things he was still confused about, but he could figure it out. ... He hoped. Besides, there were other things he wanted to learn about.

"I think another pretty important thing you have to learn about next is 'cars'. And buses. And motorcycles. And pretty much anything that's motorized in the street! That's what I saved you from. If you had been hit by that, well, let's just say that we wouldn't be talking right now." She smiled kindly. "They're not monsters, they're machines controlled by people inside them. They're not dangerous to ride in, but they are dangerous to walk between them when they're moving!"

She tried to think of other things to share with him about this world. "Oh, gosh, there's so much to tell you!"

He arched his brow even higher, clearly confused. There were just... so many words in that explanation that he didn't know or understand. 'Motorized'? Machines controlled by people inside of them? How could they not be animals?

"Huh?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

TIME CAN'T CHANGE MEEEEEEE

it is "But I can't trace time", for the record. XD

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

That is such an adorable icon omg

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject