When Hephzibah entered with half the X-Men several heads turned and she cued a microphone so she could be heard over the sea of scientist all murmuring to one another. "I bring you personal guests of our Lord Magneto." She began "They are to be allowed complete access to all technologies and a team of volunteers are asked to join their program temporarily, for the duration of their visit." She uncued the mike and handed it to Eliza "If you would tell them about the project we can assign the proper experts to assist you."
"Ah... well..."
Eliza mumbled, one hand growing slightly to allow her to place all objects in one palm. She wasn't used to announcing what she was doing to people who would care or even understand half of it. Anyway she took the loud hailer off Hephizibah and clicked it on, wincing at the back static she got. "I... ummm.." her voice sounded suddenly like a very young girl's in front of this crowd of seasoned academicals "I am attempting to cause a contained resonation in the fabric of space and time in order to create a portal into another universe. This is a very complicated structure because, while breaking the speed of light would most likely rip apart the world, it also would over shoot our mark. We do not want to escape time or reality, but we want to get so close that we can trespass onto other moments of space and time. The closer you get to the speed of light the bigger the difference from our reality. At this moment I am having trouble keeping enough power going to the fluctuators and enough heat dispersed throughout the machine to be succesful in even summon a portal, let alone have it open enough to distinguish what frequency I want the nature of reality to vibrate at. At the moment I am trying to get records from SHIELD about the readings from the day my parents dissapeared, to neutralise the specific frequency, but until then I shall still require a working portal... Help would be very much appreciated." Her face now bright pink, Eliza handed Hephizibah the loud hailer and tried not to look at anyone else in the room, let alone the twins and Junior.
"She's cute when she is talking smart." a
twin leaned in and whispered to Junior.
"And blushes." added the other, smiling along. They kept the objects levitating off and away from structures, holding it up when the others looked.
A series of hands shot up before Eliza had even stopped talking. Soon four scientists in white lab coats lined up in front of her. Hepzibah took the liberty of introducing them. "Doctors Marshal, Simmons, Evergreen and Hostetler. They are all relatively well versed in the theory of interdenominat
ional travels, they should be adequate support for your project."
"It's a pleasure to be working with the X-Men." Dr. Hostetler said stepping up to shake Eliza's hand "Dr. Simmons should be able help design your power regulators, Dr. Marshal can cover the math, Dr. Evergreen can design a working portal that won't rip apart our existence and I make a mean cup of coffee. We're ready whenever you are."
"Question," Junior asked "Is it just me or is it rather coincidental that all of you super geeks are here in one place? Smells like you guys are could be working on light speed technology?"
"They arent at liberty to discuss the details of their projects at the moment." Hepzibah informed them "But they are allowed to use the extent of their expertise to assist with this experiment."
Eliza took Dr. Hosteltler's hand and shook it firmly before turning only slightly to the cat lady beside her. "You said access to all technologies" Eliza pointed out, casting Hepzibah an evil eye that belonged to someone much older than she. Sighing slightly she tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear "I suppose needs must when the devil throws a cog in the works. I've got everything mildly working but it's all too much for one girl you know?" She gave a weary smile and looked around the room with tired eyes "Where can we put the stuff?"
Hepzibah looked down her nose at Eliza a bit they can show you to a work station, I have other duties to attend to. She left without another word.
"Excuse Hepzibah." Dr. Simmons said "They're all very protective of this new metropolis we've all built. They think it would be in bad taste to give out any of our top secret information. But don't worry, you'll get access to whatever is relivent to our new project." perhaps the term "our project" wasn't the best one to use but he turned and the scientists showed the group to a work station that was currently unoccupied.
"Guys, you wouldn't mind..." Eliza said, looking at her friends and nodding towards the word station as if asking for a hand moving the things to there. Smiling nervously she bowed her head and walked through the areas until she arrived at her own, looking at the items and rubbing her chin slowly. "Ok, one of the first things we need to do is set up the pieces that'll go critical if not at the correct temperature, then I'll write a list of pieces that I'll require and start reconnecting the machine fully after that."
"Where did you want this exavtly, love?" the twins asked, still carrying the heavy bits.
"Those bits you're carrying go in the centre" Eliza said, squinting slightly at the floor she'd been given "Rotate it by 90 degrees and put it... VERY carefully in the middle please."
Spinning it around, Jaden and Jayden gently rested the items down with a barely audible 'click'. "Looks like you might make somre geen progress here." they said, releasing one another's hands.
"If I can't make it here then there's no chance" Eliza admitted, examining the machine and nodding slightly "Thanks guys..." She had her arms crossed at the moment, staring intently at the machine and not in the mood for hugging until everything was in place.
A bit discouraged that they only got a verbal 'thanks', the twins remained in a proper stance with their hands behind their backs. They held back their emotions as usual, something they were all too good at.
Junior brought his bit of equiptment over and asked "Where does this bit go?" he asked, he was also carrying several feet of cable with his tail.
"Where did you attend if I might ask?" Dr. Simmons asked Eliza "This almost looks like Dr. McCoy's work..."
"Oh just lay that box over there next to the fusion coup- the red thingy with the warning lable on the top" Eliza said, pointing to the object she wanted him to place it by. She looked up at Dr. Simmons, huffing slightly and brushing her hair out of the way "I suppose you could call it that, if you consider everything Plato ever philosophised as Socrates method. I'm the child of Lyra and Thomas Burd, I lived and studied at Xavier's until it became rather... vacant. Now I am learning these ways myself, by hand off Dr. McCoy's textbooks and just plain reasoning. I am learning off him, I have nothing else to base this on that I can access quite as easily, so my work will heavily favour Bea- Dr. McCoy." One thing about being in a different place is the language, she had to be careful; don't call him Beast, don't say about the nanites in your head and for the LOVE of GOD don't tell them that there's a hologram.
"It does indeed show." Dr. Simmons said "Dr. McCoy was a brilliant scientist and inventor."
"Suppose you wouldn't mind running threw the assembly process?" Dr. Hostetler asked, he could pretty much figure out the bulk of the assembly by himself but one didn't want to be rude in front of a fellow scientist "Just so we don't suck ourselves into another dimension while your gone."
Junior deposited his share of technical equipment where Liz had designated. With all these egg heads around he stepped back to stand with the twins "I duno about you guys but I'm feeling really dumb surrounded by all these brainy types."
"He IS a great scientist, if this machine has anything to do about it" Eliza pointed out, clicking her knuckles loudly as she gazed at the machine pieces. "I'll put it together in a second" she said "Hang on." Turning around finally to her cousins she leant forward, pulling all three into a tight hug "Thanks guys, you can leave if you want yeah? I've got it all wrapped up here and this place will probably bore you." Letting them go she smiled and brushed the hair from her eyes again before turning and picking up a large pronged power line. "Ok" she said to the team of scientists "I'm not going to pretend this is all new to you, some of it is basic, some of it is strange and a hand would be appreciated." She leant down into the back of the machine and began to push several other connectors into place, checking the corresponding machines and the lines as she held the power cord in the other hand. "The thing about building this to save my parents is I'm not proud, I'm not going to restrain your work and I'm not going to get huffy if you get there before me. I NEED your help ok? This isn't a job, this isn't a hobby, this is a safety blanket. I keep working on this and there's still hope."
The twins enjoyed being held by someone- even if it was their cousin. It's apparent that they didn't seem to comprehend what incest was, nor did they care. Probably from their mom's side. They both looked at Junior, "Shall we go find the others?"
"I don't feel so comfortable leaving her alone up here, even if it is with a gaggle of egg heads." Junior said flatly. "I mean you know what Magneto's been about in the past and I know she can handle herself but it just doesn't set right with me just yet."
"Oh we understand completely." Dr. Simmons said "We know what great assets the X-Men where to our kind." He gave a gentle smile and a rush of green scales rippled over his face and rushed away again.
"He's right, if we can bring the X-Men back maybe we won't have to hide the Asteroid forever." Dr. Hosteler said "The X-Men where always very good advocates for Mutant Rights and that's what we're all about here. Building a home where mutants can live freely without having to answer to, to phrase it in a common 60's stereotype-" He held up quotes fingers "The Man."
"And also, you know, parents" Eliza said under her breath as she tested the waggage of the powerline, twisted a dial slowly and then plugged the contraption in. There was a soft hum, Eliza's breath being held as she waited... and nothing. She released the breath and nodded "It seems I have averted things going critical."
"Alright." the twins stayed with Junior as the three watched Eliza chat with the other scientists. A twin stood on both sides of him and leaned in, "So do you really think Eliza can get our parents back?" one asked.
"That thing..." started the other, "That thing is able to tear through the time space continuum?"
Junior shrugged "I have confidence with her, I do, but pinpointing the right moment in time or pocket dimension or whatever has got to be a million to one shot right?"
"Actually the chances of something minute happening are quite staggering, certainly not a million to one." Dr. Marshal said with a bit of a laugh. "But that's what I'm for!" He pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose.
"That is why I'm contacting SHIELD every now and then, bugging them until they release the actual recordings of the moment. If we can pinpoint the frequency given off when our parents dissapeared then we might be able to wildly stab in the direction we should go..." Eliza said, showing she had given this some thought "Dr. Marshall shall be vital in the exact determination but I can give us a rough starting point."
"So until this information arrives I'm practically useless?" Dr. Marshal said, a slight hint of dissapointment in his voice at the idea he would not be contributing straight away.
"No, I need you to calibrate the fluctuators to react in rythem, to cancel each other out at the edges and have a tandam lock. If they don't go in rythem we might rip the universe a new space hole that won't clench shut. You will need Dr. Evergreen's help with that I am sure, and if Dr. Simmons watched over you while you did this then we could work out a method of safely switching the different fluctuators to increase and decrease the power. As for you Dr. Hostetler... you never actually told me what you do." Eliza pointed out, trying to hide the slight maniacle tint to her smile.
"I..." Dr. Hostetler paused "I stimulate creativity in the minds of highly intellectual individuals." He confessed "I'm not actually a learned scientist but I've been around the block a time or two."
"Ah, alright then" Eliza said, trying not to question why he had volounteered for her project. "Before I send you all off to your assignments I would like to know a little about my team, and seeing as where I am and where I have come from I would like to know if any of you have any powers. Seeing as I am an x-man then it is obvious I have one myself, but I wish to know about you."
"Human." Dr. Marshal said.
"I'm a camelian." Dr. Simmons told her "I just blend into my environment, it's a fear response."
"I'm human too." The quite Dr. Evergreen responded.
"Nice to have a mix" Eliza said as if they were introducing themselves at a club or an AA meeting... "Now, you're all esteemed scientists who have worked hard at your jobs, and I'm still technically" Eliza scanned herself to make sure "Still a little girl. Technically. To you. But I want your assurance that you will treat my project with the upmost respect that this venture will deserve. I have been turned away from journels because of my age before."
"You have our word." Dr. Hostetler told her
"Good. Now, I believe I set you all a task to do? Dr. Hostetler if you'd stay here with me for a moment? I wouldn't mind discussing things with you in more detail if I can?" Eliza asked, she knew he wasn't exactly the smartest, but he seemed to know a lot about this place... Best to talk to him about the asteroid AND the labs.
The other doctors left the immediate area, set about to preforming their asks. Dr. Hostetler remained "What is it you need?"
Eliza seemed to run her hands through her hair slowly as she thought, gazing at the machine instead of Hostetler as she spoke. "Doctor, how long have you been on this asteroid? Long enough to gain a large enough reputation among the people here to be allowed to wonder around with no specialty and be welcomed, clearly... What do you think of this place?"
The twins listened as Eliza chatted, "We still need to stay?"
"I thanked you for the help right? This isn't a mission, I'm not ordering you about, I just asked you for some help" Eliza pointed out.
"We're really not too with all this sciencey stuff." Jayden admitted.
"But....if you want us t omove things around, we will gladly." Jaden added.
"What they mean is that their borde." Junior told Liz "I'll stick around."
"You can go when you want guys" Eliza said plainly, smiling at them slightly while she waited for Hostetler's reply "Thanks for the help."
The twins headed to the door. "Alright- give us a ring if something cool happens." Not really knowing where the heck they were, they aimlessly left the labs and wandered around.
"I'll stay." Junior said flatly. "Maybe I'll learn something."
"Thanks Junior" Eliza sighed softly, finding there was no real responce from Hostetler "I don't know what to do really... I was planning to do what I set them but now I can't do anything until we have it set in place..."
"Your job as project leader is to supervise." Dr. Hostetler told her "We do all the work, add our expertise and you make sure we're going in the proper direction. Who knows, we may discover the key to worm hole travel if we perfect this."
A lonely technician, with nothing to do but gather coffee and clean up work stations noticed the twins looking around. He pushed up his glasses and quickly approached them. "May I help you with something?" There was a curt snippyness to his voice.
"Uhh....yes actually." Jaden cued, "We are a bit lost in this place. Everything is so....clean and white."
"Yea, where's the pool? The club? The sexy ladies?" Jaden chimed in.
They looked at the nerdy character and rubbed their chins. "Listen-" they said together, wrapping an arm around each of his shoulder, "You look like a smart fellow....cute too." They paused, If we squint. "Where are the hot spots on this thing?"
"Yes, but if working that out would add another minute onto the finding onto my parents it would be a minute too long. I'm not pretending this isn't a completely selfish operation I'm partaking in" Eliza said flatly, stroking a finger carefully over the ring in the centre of her machine. "How long do people usually work around here?" she asked "Is there a time that they close the labs?"
The tech snubbed his nose at them a bit, it was clear they didn't belong in the labs. "Perhaps you would be more comfortable in one of the 247 lounge areas? Though I hear the holodeck is popping this season."
The twins looked at one another, "Popping?" They looked back to the tech between their shoulders, "Care to show us where that is?"
"I... well I've never been." The tech admitted "Far too busy with my work."
The twins smiled, enjoying the challange. "Come on with us then? Science can wait- Eliza probobably will put you out of a job anyway." Jayden whispered.
"B-but! Everyone needs a break!" Jaden perked up, "Come with us, yea?"
"Maybe when my lunch break starts." The tech said, a little wary of being pressured into something by two strangers.
"Oh come on, mate. Take one early! Everyone is paying attention to Eliza. No one will notice ya sneek out." the twins said together. They wanted SOME sort of entertainment.
The tech thought for a moment "I don't know... I can take my lunch kinda whenever I want..."
"Then it's settled! Come on-" the twins held their arm around the poor chap tighter and headed towards there they figured the exit would be. "Well...maybe you should lead." a twin said, "Oh- my name is Jaden.
"And mine is Jayden." said the other...though spoken, the names sounded the same.
"You both have the same name?" The tech asked as the two boys steered him towards The Holodeck
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