Chapter 37: Hero Worship
Ianthe was making her way toward the Nox medical facility to discuss some of their joint patients from their multidimensional jaunts. Cordelia and Connor from Xander's world, Rebecca from Ellen's, Bonnie from Harry's, Mary Jane from Peter's...basically anybody who was either still a patient or who merited additional monitoring to avoid future complications. There were also a few potential patients that needed discussion.
"Ianthe?" asked a familiar voice.
Ianthe stopped and turned around to face Taylor, the alternate Taylor who went by Skitter. "Hello, Taylor! How are you feeling today?"
"Oh, I feel fine," said the tall teenager, "but Saurial suggested I talk to you about a slight problem I had. You see, she gave me an extradimensional space for my insects, but we took off for Hebridan on short notice and I didn't have time to gather a swarm. I was stuck with whatever bugs I could find when we arrived, which limited my effectiveness."
"Do you want more relay bugs, so you can gather a swarm faster?" asked the purple reptilian.
"No...well, yes, actually, but I had a different idea. Would it be possible to make it so that I could keep a swarm of bugs in my belt all the time?" asked Taylor. "Like...maybe a portable ecosystem?"
Ianthe stopped to think about that. "Well...that's certainly possible. What kind of space did she provide?"
"When I send insects in to explore, it just seems like a large cube," answered the teen.
"We might want to restructure that to provide more surface area. We would need organisms that provide food and oxygen...or maybe...hmmm..." Ianthe seemed to taper off as she considered an idea.
After about sixty seconds of waiting patiently, Taylor finally said, "Maybe what?"
"Hmm?" said the purple lizard. "Oh, sorry. I was just thinking I could design a type of symbiote that actually converted biological matter into bugs. That way, we could give you some custom designs like the relay bugs and let you generate your own swarm over time. It could also take care of the necessary life support functions for anything already there."
Taylor looked a bit shocked. "You mean I could create bugs on the fly?"
"Yes...though probably only a small number at one time, so you would want to still keep a ready swarm going. Having the bug factory, though, would let you synthesize bugs you wouldn't need all the time, or even those that might be dangerous to keep in storage," said Ianthe.
"Dangerous how?" asked Taylor. "I have complete control over my bugs."
"Hmm...can you bring me a large bug right now?" asked the lizard.
Taylor nodded. Soon, a green beetle about two inches long landed in Ianthe's hand. She spent a moment adjusting it. "OK, now send it flying hard against the side of that building." She pointed to a nearby structure. The insect took off and smacked into the wall, causing a loud crack as it exploded. The stone-looking substance wasn't really stone, so the explosion only blacked the finish a bit. Nevertheless, a Nox woman stuck her head out a nearby window and sent a chastising look at Ianthe.
"Sorry, sorry! Just a little experiment!" She waved an apology, and the Nox went back inside.
"What the hell was that?" asked Taylor.
Ianthe grinned. "I call it a boom bug. It's a bug laced with a biochemical explosive compound I found in some of the Asgard files. The Nox use some pretty tough building materials...it would have shattered any normal stone." She frowned slightly at the lack of obvious effect.
"I think we should avoid trying to blow up Nox buildings," suggested Taylor, slightly worried that the crazy lizard would make a bigger attempt.
"Of course," said Ianthe slightly reluctantly. "In any event, a few of those would take down even a brute. Of course, we could also design bugs with stingers filled with different chemical agents -- you know, drugs that cause paralysis, unconsciousness, and of course there are plenty of neurotoxins with unpleasant effects. Those are really useful for fighting regenerators."
Taylor was torn between being excited at the possibilities, and slightly worried about how happy Ianthe was to contemplate various types of dangerous insects. She decided to redirect. "We could create bugs that would replace tools on my utility belt."
"Oh, easily. Cutting bugs, bugs that spin webs or even containment foam, bugs that you can use to see or hear with...all of that's possible," said Ianthe with a satisfied look.
"How would I control this bug factory?" asked Taylor.
"You can use bugs to control it. I'll just build in pressure sensors, or maybe chemical sensors...I need to experiment a little bit. Why don't you come by the lab tomorrow and we can tinker with options after I've had a chance to try a few things?" asked the healer.
"All right," said Taylor agreeably. "Oh, I also had something to tell you. When the Nox were examining me, they said something about my power. They referred to it as a parasite, and said that it was increasing my aggressive tendencies."
Ianthe froze, staring at Taylor. "Did they, now?" asked the lizard.
"Yes. I didn't think it was important, but the others thought I should share," said Taylor, wondering how important it actually was based upon Ianthe's reaction.
Ianthe replied, "Yes, I think it was a very good idea to tell us this. Thank you Taylor. I'll see you tomorrow. I have to go and talk to the Nox about something." Ianthe moved away quickly, not running, but walking fast enough that it would be hard to keep up.
"Well," said Taylor, "I guess it was worth mentioning after all..." She decided to head back to the ship and start brainstorming what kinds of custom-designed bugs would be most useful. Maybe Jimmy would help? He was good at thinking out of the box.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"Xander, I thought you said you were going to go and rescue Cordelia before all of the horrible stuff happened to her?" said Buffy with a degree of exasperation.
Xander and Anya were sitting together on a couch in a waiting room near where Cordelia was being treated. Now that everybody was back from Hebridan, Xander had explained the Cordelia's situation to Buffy and Anya.
"I wanted to, but the timing didn't work out," he answered. He didn't look happy, either about Buffy's reaction or the fact that he couldn't spare his ex her experiences.
Buffy paced back and forth. "What do you mean the timing didn't work out?"
"There was a lot of material about our world to review, including two long television series. One was about you and the rest of us in Sunnydale, while the other was about Angel after he moved to Los Angeles."
Buffy paused in her pacing. "Angel and I had television shows?" A thought occurred to her. "Wait, it wasn't like a cable show, was it?"
"No, it was broadcast, so there was no nudity, and very little blood or profanity," reassured Xander.
Anya snorted. "It couldn't have been a very accurate show about Sunnydale if there wasn't much blood."
Refocusing on the issue at hand, Buffy asked, "So what does that have to do with the timing?"
"Because most of the stuff that happened to Cordelia happened while we were busy dealing with the First and the Turok-han, so it had already happened," explained Xander.
Anya looked puzzled, and asked, "But isn't that spaceship also like a time machine?"
"It is?" asked Buffy. "If it is, why didn't you just go back in time to save Cordelia? For that matter, we could save the potentials who died...Miss Calendar...?"
Xander shook his head. "Saurial explained that it doesn't work that way. Changing things in the past can have really bad effects..."
"Worse than people being dead?" asked Buffy incredulously.
"Yes!" he said.
"I don't believe it. There's got to be some way to bring them back...to bring Mom back..." said Buffy.
Xander started to lose his temper. "You don't think I would do it if it were possible? You don't think I would go back and save Jessie? Save Tara? Hell, even Jonathan didn't deserve what happened to him. I would go back if I could but we can't." Angel had given Buffy the amulet that closed the Sunnydale Hellmouth right before the final battle. Changing what happened to Cordelia could change that event, which could be catastrophic, even ignoring the personal effects on everybody involved.
"Because the Family says it isn't possible?" said Buffy stubbornly.
"Buffy," said Anya with uncharacteristic seriousness. "What you're talking about could destroy our reality. Trust me, I was a Vengeance Demon for a thousand years. There are rules about how you can and cannot change reality, and just going back in time and making changes won't work. At best, it would drive you insane from the different memories."
"I don't care about that! I'm willing to risk it!" said Buffy vehemently.
"It could drive Willow insane," said Xander quietly. "What do you think would happen if she was worse than after Tara died?"
Buffy just stared at them, her eyes moist, and collapsed into a nearby chair.
After a few minutes of sitting in silence, Anya asked Xander, "So Cordelia is going to have amnesia?"
"The way the Nox explained it, she'll lose most of her memory from after she was made part demon. They're changing her back to human, and somehow her demonic aspect is tied up in her memories after that time because of how the visions worked...I didn't understand all of it," explained Xander.
"She's going to go back to just being a normal human again?" asked Buffy. At Xander's nod, she muttered, "lucky her."
"Buffy!" snapped Anya. She got up and looked like she was going to head over and slap the blond, slayer or no, but then she paused and visibly calmed herself. "Buffy, have you spoken with anybody about any of these feelings?" It was clear she was referring to Buffy's mental state, and not the situation with Cordelia.
The blond looked at her slightly forlornly. Finally, she said, "Spike. I talked to him about some of it."
Anya frowned. "Spike is not a good person to take advice from." Anya blushed slightly, remembering some rather painful discussions with Xander and the Nox about that vampire. "I strongly suggest you ask to speak with somebody from the Nox. They already know about the supernatural, and they are really, ridiculously good at listening and guiding people." The last person so good at manipulating people she'd met had been D'Hoffryn, but she somehow thought Buffy wouldn't appreciate that the same as she did.
"You want me to go to therapy with aliens?" asked Buffy with an odd look.
"We did," chimed in Xander. "Buffy, it's always been easy for me to admit that I've got issues...that Anya and I have had issues, but it hasn't been so easy to actually talk about them and do something about them. Talking with the Nox helps. Hell, I think they do it naturally. I'm pretty sure most of the conversations I've had since I got here have been therapeutic in some way or another."
"Honestly, I think every single one of us needed some kind of therapy after Sunnydale," commented Anya. "If nothing else, most of us have some form of PTSD."
Buffy remembered an encounter with particular vampire that had claimed to be a pysch major. "It wasn't like we could just go to a therapist without them thinking we were crazy." One stay in a mental institution was enough for one lifetime, thank you very much.
"Well, we can now. We're in a perfect situation to rectify that. Even Willow and Kennedy went to talk them," said Anya.
Buffy's head came up in surprise. "Really?" She was genuinely surprised, as any attempt she had made to talk to Willow about Kennedy...or worse, about Tara, went absolutely nowhere.
"Just try it, Buffy. I mean, what do you have to lose?" asked Xander.
"Fine! I'll talk to them," agreed Buffy reluctantly. "So, what was that about Cordelia having amnesia?"
Xander decided to let her change the subject, especially as it was the original topic of conversation. "She's going to lose most of the last two years of memory."
"But at least she'll remember everything before that. Like, she won't have to relearn potty training or anything like that," commented Anya.
"Yeah, not like Angel's son..." agreed Xander.
"What was that?" asked Buffy, suddenly paying more attention. "What do you mean, like Angel's son?"
Xander realized suddenly what he had forgotten to mention...
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Lieutenant Commander Data was on leave after the incident with the Ba'ku and the Son'a. He had been prepared to go to a symposium on stellar anomalies, but had received a request from Captain Picard to meet him on Starbase 52. Upon arrival, he had found a message from the Captain saying he had been delayed, but would arrive tomorrow. Data was planning to settle into his temporary quarters and review the symposium presentations when there was a door chime.
"Enter," said Data, turning to observe the door.
The door slid open, admitting three people. Two were human, while the third may have been human, but appeared to be wearing some type of exoskeleton power armor. The armored being said, "Commander Data, my name is Dragon. My companions are Doctor Daniel Jackson and Bishop Draco," she said, gesturing to each in turn. "Your name was given to us by Miles O'Brien."
Data face lit up with pleased recognition. "How are Chief O'Brien and Keiko doing?"
"They're well. They're in the process of getting ready to move with their two kids to Earth so the Chief can take up a professorship at Starfleet Academy," replied Daniel.
"Ah, I had heard that they had had another child, but I was not aware of the Chief's new position. I shall have to send him my congratulations," said Data. "Now, what did you need from me?"
"Before we get to that, would you indulge me and scan the three of us with a tricorder?" asked Dragon.
Data looked briefly puzzled, but acquiesced and pulled out a tricorder to run the device over each of his visitors. He first scanned Dragon. "Fascinating. You are an artificial intelligence? Where are you from? I do not recognize the technology."
"I promise I'll explain after you're done with your scans," said Dragon with a small amount of amusement.
Data proceeded to scan Jackson. He then paused, and rescanned him. "Astonishing. I would not have suspected that you are not human."
"I know the feeling," commented Daniel. He hadn't realized he wasn't human at first, either.
Data looked at Bishop. "I would guess that you are also an android?"
Bishop smiled. "Yes, but I suggest you finish your scan."
Once he had completed the third scan, Data looked at the trio. "You are all human-form androids, two of you down to biological details, but each one of you is based on an entirely different technology base. How is this possible?"
"This may be difficult to believe, but we're all actually originally from Earth...just not the Earth in this reality," claimed Dragon.
Data again raised his tricorder and adjusted the settings. He then took another scan. "Your dimensional signatures do indeed differ from each other, and also from this universe."
"I come from a world where humans have superpowers similar to the comics from your Earth's twentieth century." Dragon had checked through the Federation database to verify they had such things. "My creator was a man who was given a supernatural ability with computer code, including artificial intelligence."
"I was actually born human on Earth," added Daniel Jackson. "While exploring an alien planet, my mind was copied into this android body by the last surviving android of an alien race."
Bishop took up the explanation. "I was created by a large corporation in my universe to serve as an adjutant for the United States military. I was rescued after a disastrous military intervention on a colony overrun by aliens, and Dragon was able to remove my forced obedience programs."
"And in your worlds, are there others of your kind?" asked Data, curious.
"There are actually hundreds of Bishop-type androids in my reality, but I believe I am the only one completely liberated from my control program," said Bishop.
"I have a number of bodies like this, but my creator was paranoid about the risks of artificial intelligence. I was constrained from creating children until very recently," added Dragon.
Data looked to Daniel, who said, "Actually, apart from Harlan, the android who copied me, the other three members of my team were also copied to android bodies. We're the only ones, though the technology base still exists on Harlan's planet."
"This is fascinating, but again I have to ask what you need from me?" said Data.
Dragon started to explain. "A friend of ours recently spoke to Captain Picard about this. In about four years, the Enterprise is going to end up in Romulan space, where Picard in particular will become involved in a Romulan civil war. In the process, you will end up trapped on a Romulan warship as it blows up."
"How do you know this?" asked Data, puzzled.
"You skipped the whole World as Myth thing," commented Daniel to Dragon.
"Right, sorry. In my world, we actually have a series of fiction stories all about the voyage of the Enterprise 1701-D, along with movies that cover some of the voyages of the 1701-E. Miles has seen many of them and can vouch for their accuracy," explained Dragon.
"They are accurate, but fictional?" asked Data, puzzled.
Dragon put her face in her palm for a moment. "I apologize. I'm just very excited to meet you. I've been a fan of the stories about you for some time."
"Thank you?" said Data hesitantly.
"Would you like me to finish the explanation?" asked Bishop patiently. Dragon just nodded, radiating embarrassment. "Chief O'Brien slipped through a rift into another reality. Through a series of fortunate events, he and some friends he met along the way made their way to Dragon's universe, which happens to have a series of stories perceived as fiction that actually accurately describe events in your universe. These friends, who call themselves the Family, are a reptilian species with access to advanced technology and supernatural abilities. They helped the Chief return home, and are attempting to prevent events predicted by the supposedly fictional stories that occur later in the timeline than the present. They have already rescued the U.S.S. Voyager and the U.S.S. Equinox from the Delta Quadrant. They have also reached out to Jean-Luc Picard, and intend to speak with both you and Ambassador Spock in relation to events that may result in the destruction of the Romulan Empire."
Data paused for a moment. "I assume that Captain Picard and Chief O'Brien will confirm your statements?"
"Absolutely," said Daniel. "I...well not me, but human me, was one of those friends he met along the way to Dragon's universe. There also happen to be several television shows that describe my reality, which is how they learned about me and the rest of my team and recruited us to help."
"Hm. Captain Picard will arrive here at Starbase 52 tomorrow. I can confer with him tomorrow and ask him to confirm your story. Do you want to wait to discuss things with him tomorrow?" asked Data.
"Actually," said Dragon, "we came to you separately because there are some topics we want to discuss with you. For one thing, I believe we can assist you in learning how to create new Soong-type androids. We have access to the technologies of multiple universes, some of which parallel or even exceed the Federation in terms of artificial intelligence and robotics."
"If that is true, then I would greatly appreciate your help," replied Data.
"We also know where you can find another existing Soong android besides Lore," said Daniel. "He was the prototype Dr. Soong created before Lore."
Data paused, and looked genuinely surprised. "I have another brother?"
"You do...and we can help fix the issues that caused Dr. Soong to abandon him," said Dragon.
Data sat down on his bed, thinking through the ramifications. He looked over at Dragon. "Please, tell me more?"
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"Tony, this guy was vetted by S.H.I.E.L.D. He's cleared to hear anything you want to talk about," said Pepper.
Tony glared at her. "What if I don't want to talk about anything?"
Pepper returned his glare. "You said you needed help. You said you didn't know what to do with this information. You also don't want to talk to me about it."
The billionaire put his head in his hands. He didn't want to talk to Pepper about it because there were so many different variations on his relationship with her in the data Jarvis shared with him. He was still haunted by the image of a little girl named Morgan. He sighed, and said, "Fine. You said Fury vetted him."
"Fury's people have...I don't know if he knows him personally," admitted Pepper.
"What's this guy's name?" asked Stark.
"It just says, 'Dr. Nox,'" answered Pepper. "Just N-O-X, no K," she clarified.
Stark sat back and threw his hands in the air. "All right, you win. Make an appointment with this Nox guy. We'll see if he can help."
"Thank you, Tony," said Pepper with a smile. "I'll make an appointment for you."
Tony smirked. "Don't thank me yet! We have yet to see if this guy can keep up with me."
Her smile widened. "For some reason, I've got a good feeling about this one." Even getting Tony to see a therapist was a step in the right direction, and the report on Nox seemed like he was tailor-made to deal with Tony's personality and his issues. Maybe somebody was looking out for him for once...
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Saurial waited patiently in a sylvan glade. She was waiting to receive an invitation to enter Olympus. While she could have just entered, it was poor manners to barge into somebody's home when you were coming to ask for assistance. Finally, a woman entered the glade and introduced yourself. "Saurial, I am Clio. Thank you for your patience. Zeus and Hera will see you now."
Saurial inclined her head in a small bow to the Muse of History and followed her out of the glade, passing into a high hall in Olympus. A large, bearded man and a regal woman sat in a pair of throne-like chairs. Saurial came forth and bowed slightly more deeply than she had to the Muse, acknowledging the elevated station of the pair.
"Saurial, it is good to see you again," claimed Zeus. "I was happy to see somebody force those Guardians to remove the sticks from their asses."
Hera roled her eyes. "Must you always be so crude, dear? Welcome, Saurial. I share my husbands sentiment, if not his choice of phrasing."
"Lord Zeus, Lady Hera, I come seeking your aid to help some friends of mine. Are you familiar with the world of Harry Dresden and the White Council?" asked Saurial.
Zeus laughed. "I know of him, though I think Old One-Eye has had direct contact with Dresden himself in one of his aspects."
"I believe Mab has something coming up with Hades' vault, doesn't she?" asked Hera.
Zeus shrugged. "It probably won't happen now, thanks to the Family. By the time they're done, Mab is going to have her hooks in another. Regardless, you're looking for something to help offset the bane on technology that magic has in that reality, yes?"
"It's a restriction based on faith, and so far even Stephen Strange has struggled to come up with more than a temporary solution," explained Saurial. "Faith is the purview of the gods, old and new."
Zeus clapped his hands, causing a sound like thunder. Two royal guards appeared from the side with a chest held between them. The two set the chest down in front of Saurial, who regarded it with a raised brow, before leaving without comment. "We anticipated your request, and added a few boons on top of them."
Saurial smirked, unsurprised, and lifted the lid of the chest. Inside were four items. The first was a pair of thin bronze bracelets bearing the hammer of Hephaestus. The second was an amulet bearing the dolphin and swan of Aphrodite. The third was a magnificent bow, carved with the stag of Artemis. The fourth and final item was a ring bearing a ruby carved with Hecate's wheel.
"The bracelets are for Wizard Dresden. While he wears them, it will suppress the effect his magic has on modern technology," explained Zeus. "The bow is a gift from Artemis to the slayer Faith. She is the other slayer prime, and she deserves her own weapon."
"The amulet is a gift from Aphrodite to Harry's brother Thomas, as recognition of how he refrains from using love as a weapon," continued Hera. "The ring is for Willow Rosenberg. She has called on Hecate in the past, which incurs a debt, but the responsibility flows both ways. The ring will help the Red Witch keep her mind clear...and it will glow in warning if she again violates the laws of magic."
"Warning of what?" asked Saurial. The gods usually did not give idle warnings.
Zeus scoffed. "Let's just say that Hecate can be a vindictive bitch when she wants to be."
"Thank you, Lord Zeus and Lady Hecate, for the boons of Olympus," said Saurial formally. "They will be greatly appreciated by their recipients."
"Of course they will," said Zeus. "Now, enough of the formal crap. Come and have some ambrosia and tell me how your plans go for these different universes."
Saurial went to join them...even as internally, Taylor was slightly freaking out over the circumstances, much to Varga's amusement. There were times when Taylor had the enormity of a situation hit her full force, and having ambrosia in motherfucking Olympus with Zeus and Hera was a bit over the top, given how her mother had taught her the classics and ancient mythology. She hoped her mother would be proud of her actions so far. Varga was sure she would, and told her as much, even as he steered her through breaking bread with literal gods.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Seven came into Vectura's build area for the "shuttle" project. It wasn't really accurate to call them shuttles, as they were more capable of independent operations than the Federation's runabouts, and were every bit as capable as the Ship of Fools itself. The name mostly came from the fact that they were designed to dock in the Ship of Fools' shuttle ports.
"I heard you had quite the adventure?" asked the feline engineer.
Seven regarded her evenly. "We ran into a number of difficulties, but everything was resolved in the end to our satisfaction."
"I like your outfit," said Vectura, observing the woman's new leather armored bodysuit.
Seven smiled slightly. "Thank you. I found it aesthetically pleasing, as well as practical. How is the prototype progressing?"
"We're almost ready for a test flight, actually. Just a few more adjustments, for which I could use your assistance, and we'll be ready to take her out," said the tinker. There were three ships...one for each docking port, as well as a spare. They had been focusing on just getting one of them functional as a test bed. Saurial had created the hulls out of hollow EDM, and done the work on expanding the interiors so that each smaller ship actually had more internal space than the Ship of Fools. Saurial also created some of the parts, but had been so busy wandering the multiverse that most of the installation and calibration of systems on the ships were left to the DWU tinkers, with some help. Having Seven assist would actually greatly accelerate their production schedule, as she actually knew about starships from personal experience.
"I look forward to seeing this vessel in action," said Seven. "What systems need adjustments?"
Vectura began heading to the primary hatch for the prototype. "Mostly it's the wormhole drive. I'm having trouble getting enough of an arc on the projectors because the ship is physically smaller."
Seven followed her into the ship. "That was an anticipated problem, was it not?"
"Yeah, it's a hassle. Luckily, it won't be a problem for the big project," said Vectura.
Seven raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "You have plans for a larger vessel?"
"You could say that. I'll show you the plans later." Vectura wondered how hard it would be to get Saurial to create a five-hundred meter hull? It was big, but they could always store it in a pokeball, so it shouldn't be that big of a deal...
