[008]

[grip_on_reality]

[today there is a nine-year-old girl on the Astral Plane who, perhaps surprisingly, doesn't seem that bothered about her sudden presence in a multi-dimensional nexus. she has long brown hair and is wearing a plain T-shirt and jeans that are a little tattered and dirty, as though they've seen quite a bit of exploring. but her hair is neat and she doesn't look like she's been in anything particularly dirty today. being a curious child, though, she's made for the most interesting place she could spot--the black hole. currently, she has a hand in the gravity field around it and is attempting to see how far she can reach into that]

That feels weird! [she pushes her hand a little farther in, making a face at the sensation of the gravity fighting back] What is this thing?

[anyone listening might notice that the girl has a clear Mancunian accent. in fact, she may even look a bit familiar. but on her end, she's too busy poking at the field to notice anyone who might be approaching]

[ooc: Menzies is currently under her first experiment! For the time being, she has been regressed to when she was nine.]

Comments

[grip_on_reality]

[she nods again, relaxing a little as she gets into the conversation] I felt it! But 'ow's it a black hole if it doesn't do what a black hole does?

[curious] Are you like...the space police?

[she pouts disbelievingly] "North" doesn't sound like a name. [but, though she looks a bit uncertain, she says:] I'm Patricia.

[betrayedtwin]

[he shrugs] Don't know. Then again...we aren't exactly in normal space. [he gestures all around them]

[now, North wouldn't be the high-class super soldier he is without his incredibly sharp observational skills. the biggest reason why he let her ask her questions, aside from the fact that he doesn't mind answering them in the first place and thinks they'll help relax her, is that she looks pretty familiar to him, and her accent is as well. by this point? he has a pretty good idea who this is. but still, he sounds mildly surprised.]

Patricia, huh? Really. [hearing her name does seem to prove that nutty medic right about the experiments.] Wouldn't happen to have a last name, would you?

[grip_on_reality]

[curious] Do you know where we are?

Yeah. [she gives him a look, wondering why he's so interested in her name] Patricia Menzies. [pointedly] What's your real name?

[betrayedtwin]

Yeah. This is the Astral Plane. It's like this place between worlds that kinda links them all together in a way. I don't know how it came to be or anything, but it's just here.

[he smiles, shaking his head to himself. softly under his breath, he mutters] It really is. Son of a bitch... [in his normal voice] Nice to meet you--[he hesitates to say her name for a brief second. he's so used to just "Detective" with her.]--Patricia. But my real name doesn't matter. I go by "North Dakota" now. It goes back to the whole fighting bad guys thing. If anyone ever knew what my real name was? They just might go and hunt down any relatives or old friends of mine just to get at me.

[grip_on_reality]

[that catches her interest] So you can go to lots of worlds from 'ere?

[her curiosity is getting the better of her. she takes a few steps toward him, though she's watching him warily while she does it] Then you're undercover?

[betrayedtwin]

Only if you go back with that person. Otherwise, you can only go home to your own world.

[he chuckles, gesturing vaguely with one hand] Yeah, something like that. I work for a pretty secretive group back home.

[grip_on_reality]

Oh. [that is comforting, though. at least it sounds like there's an easy way to leave] How do you go 'ome?

Who do you fight? Like...evil space aliens? [she has her eyes on his armour now. she really wants to touch it, but she's not sure if she should. even though he's being nice, he's nearly twice her size]

[betrayedtwin]

You just have to think about home. Sometimes taking a step helps. You do the same exact thing to come here again, except you think about the Plane instead. Just watch me. [he takes a step forward and drops from the Plane. when he returns a second later, he takes a step back]

[he laughs] Some do, but not us. We kinda deal with other humans giving people a lot of trouble. [and train and do all sorts of different exercises/missions--but that isn't part of the question.]

[grip_on_reality]

Oh, like the Wizard of Oz!

[she closes her eyes and steps forward, copying him--but while she does drop from the Plane and return, her expression is troubled when she gets back] Ah, North? That wasn't my home. [nervously] Is there something else you 'ave to do?

So you are like the space police! [she sounds rather happy to hear that, really]

[betrayedtwin]

[you're lucky that movie is still a classic when he's from, Menzies] Kinda like it, but you don't need any ruby slippers.

[that...isn't good news] No? Were...you home before you came here?

Yeah, I guess I am! [and he's very glad he didn't have to answer questions about the American-centric naming scheme of the Freelancer program this time around.]

[grip_on_reality]

[she nods] But that was somebody else's flat! How do I get to the right one?

[but she grins at him at that and declares proudly:] I'm gonna be a policeman when I grow up!

[betrayedtwin]

[from what he knows about the Plane, you can only come and go from the place you were last in, so something tells him that she really is in her home--but her older self's home.] I don't know... Do you think you can show me? You'd have to bring me there yourself.

[he smiles warmly] You know, I can see that. Something tells me you'd be one hell of a cop.

[grip_on_reality]

[she looks up at him, still a little uncertain, but nods. she has to find a way home, after all] How do I do that?

[she grins back at him] I'm gonna be!

[betrayedtwin]

[slowly, he holds his hand out to her] You have to hold on to me, and then do what you did before to go home. That's it.

[grip_on_reality]

Okay. [she puts her hand in his gigantic one and closes her eyes, thinking of home]

[she and North drop from the Plane, arriving in the main room of a flat. there's a living area with a sofa just in front of them, and past that is a table and a somewhat-old television set. the walls are lined with several cases containing books and one for DVDs. the books are a mix of classics and sci-fi stories, but the DVDs are mostly sci-fi related. in fact, on the table in front of the TV, there's currently a copy of Back to the Future lying out]

[behind them, the living area segues into a small kitchen. the entire flat is rather plain, with white walls, tan and brown furniture and carpet, and white tile in the kitchen. there isn't much by way of decoration, although a window in the kitchen is covered by rather hideous lacy drapes that look out of place enough to indicate they probably belonged to a prior occupant. in fact, aside from the books and DVDs and a few kitchen implements lying about, the only real personal touch is a few plants--flowers by the kitchen window and a fern by a window in the living area. there is also one framed photo next to the fern, showing Menzies in her early 20s, standing in uniform and smiling proudly. a woman, perhaps in her 40s, is standing next to her, with short brown hair and the same dark eyes. she has a hand on Menzies' shoulder and looks quite as proud herself]

[in general, the flat is plain but neat--and, other than North and Patricia, very much deserted. there's a corridor leading back to several more rooms, but there's no sound to indicate that anyone is there either]

[Patricia looks up at North worriedly, gesturing with her free hand] See! This isn't where I live.

[betrayedtwin]

[his hold on her hand is gentle yet firm enough to hopefully be reassuring to her. he looks around a bit, surprised at first by the sudden change in surroundings. he's getting used to going back and forth from home, but considering this is his first cross-reality trip? it's gonna take a little getting used to.

he doesn't immediately move; instead, he looks around carefully, absorbing the details of the rooms that he can see, and mentally notes things he wants to look at. and for some reason, just from what he knows about the good Detective, this does seem like her place, all right. he didn't think she'd be one to have a place filled with flowers and all that. actually, if anything, this is close to what he thinks his sister's place would look like if she were a civilian (with 26th century tech, of course).

there is one big detail that he spots that she hopefully has seen yet.]

Hey, let's start looking around. How about you and me play detective? I'll start here, and you hit up the kitchen.

[grip_on_reality]

[she nods, perking up a little at that suggestion. really, North, using knowledge of her future self to manipulate her!] Okay. What are we looking for? Maybe...something with the address?

[she tugs her hand away from his, heading for the kitchen]

[betrayedtwin]

[it's not manipulating when she herself just expressed wanting to be a cop~ he heads right over to the window and that fern.]

Yeah, anything that'll help give us an idea about where this place is.

[discreetly, he picks up the photo, turning his body just enough that little Patricia shouldn't be able to see what he's doing. when he sees who's in the picture, he can't help smiling and thinking that she looks a lot like her mom. he also wonders if this was taken when she graduated from police training or some other similar occasion.

but since he's by the window, he can't help taking a look outside. after all, he is in a place that's about 500 years before his own time, and even though she's from a different reality, he doubts it'd be that much different from his own reality's version. he doesn't want to spend too much time looking around--the last thing he wants is to draw unwanted attention to his presence there--so he takes a good look around down into the street and up around everywhere else he can see, snapping screenshots to share with South later. it's...a bit different than he expected, but then again surviving movies and shows only show so much, and it's a filtered view of the world as well.

he steals a quick glance back at Patricia, then moves along to the nearest book shelf. surprisingly, he recognizes a few of the book and DVD titles, but that's not why he's there. he reaches up to pull a book off the top shelf, and while he does that, he slips the picture frame up between the top of the books and shelf, pushing it back far enough that it won't be seen from kid's perspective of the world. once he's done that, he turns around, the book in hand, and asks:]

Hey, any luck over there?

[grip_on_reality]

[pulling the detective card is totally manipulation!]

Okay! [Patricia doesn't see his antics with the photo, thankfully, as she's taking this detective business seriously and is too busy poking about in the kitchen. she starts out looking for mail, but thankfully there isn't any lying about (or she may have been in for a shock). mostly, she finds utensils, food, and dishes in the drawers and cabinets. the kitchen also lacks new appliances, and while some are perhaps from later than Patricia's time, they don't look too out-of-place to her. but one detail does catch her eye--and she gasps] North! North, look! It says 2011! [she points at a calendar held to the refrigerator with a magnet]

[betrayedtwin]

[he whirls around when he hears her gasp] Really? [starts walking over, joining her in front of the fridge.] Huh. Well what d'you know! [but that gasp...] Patricia, what year are you supposed to be from?

[grip_on_reality]

[she gives him a look at that because that is a very strange question] It's 1987. That's like...um... [she pauses, taking a moment to count. she uses her fingers a bit and mumbles numbers out loud. don't mind her, North; she wants to work this out herself] 24 years! Almost. It's the wrong month, too.

North... [she gives him a slightly suspicious look] Are you a time traveller?

[betrayedtwin]

[yeah, it was pretty strange to ask too, but 2011 is when the Menzies he knows is from; he doesn't know about her younger self] Wow really? So how old does that make you?

[he sees that look and mock-rubs his head] See, I'm not usually, but if I come here with you? It kinda makes me one by default. In reality, I'm from the 26th century.

[grip_on_reality]

I'm nine! How old are you? [the look on her face clearly says that if you're going to ask nosy questions, that gives her the right to ask nosy questions back]

[her eyes widen to the size of saucers at that shocking revelation] The twenty-sixth century? Really!?

[betrayedtwin]

[amused by that look, he gives her an answer that he's in his mid-twenties] That answer your question?

[he nods] Yep. You wouldn't exactly see this armor in your time, you know?

[grip_on_reality]

Mmm. [she nods, looking appeased]

[she shakes her head at that] I don't know! I've never met anybody from space before. Do you always wear armour, or is that just 'cause you're with the police?