MISSION: GRAB THE EYEBALLTAUR

[initiates]

Date & Time: March 7th, 1994
Location: The MICA campus: Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Characters: Everyone
Summary: All transports are shipped back to 1994 to steal art from art students. Also, some of them arrive bodyswapped.

The Initiative has timed the incoming waves of Transports to the MICA campus for Freshmen Orientation, but even so, the flood of newcomers gets a few surprised glances. Looks like MICA's up for a major boom in attendance next year, wow. But do some of those freshman look a little old to you? …And do some of them seem to be freaking out a lot more than usual about being in Baltimore?

The cloaking devices, with holograms visible only to the natives, will be blending everyone in with the native 90s fashion senses, and all non-humans will find themselves getting much more tame curious glances than they might back on Exsilium, as they project a human appearance to natives around them. So at least there's that. Just try not to get arrested, hit by cars, or challenged to any break dance competitions as you grab and run off with bizarre works of art, alright? The weirder it looks, the more likely it probably is to be the power source the Initiative needs for the Transporter.

Oh, yeah, and sorry about the body-swap-around. Just deal with that as best you can, because the mission really must go on. Any harried and worried Initiative employee along on the mission that you might be able to find will just sputter a hasty not-really-explanative explanation and hurry away, trading frantic messages with the headquarters in Exsilium. They'll get this all sorted out by the time you get back, don't worry.

Comments

Steph as herself | Open

[controlledvariable]

Despite the whole nineties thing - a fact which she is trying steadfastly to ignore, the nineties were terrible - being on a college campus is the first time in a while she's felt at ease. It's not the right campus, or even the right universe, but it's still familiar, in a way that sort of aches with homesickness if she thinks about it too hard.

She tries not to think about it too hard.

The mission could go fuck itself, for all she cares, but her curiosity leads her to the art rooms anyway, and she spends some time poking around all the different projects, occasionally with her batcomputer-disguised-as-an-iPhone in hand, trying to see if she can pick up any interesting readings.

When she's not in the art rooms, she's wandering about the rest of the campus, looking for all the world like she belongs there, aside from the fact her clothes don't really match the fashion of the time (she turned the hologram off anyway, the nineties were terrible). It hadn't taken her long to figure out the whole body swap situation, so she's watching everyone a little more carefully than she usually would, making sure no one's about to accidentally injure a body that isn't theirs.

Mostly, though, she's just disappointed this mission isn't going to last longer.

[implying]

[ For, like, five minutes, Vanadi has decided to give the actual mission part of this mission a shot. Sure, why not, as long as he's here. He just happens to poke his head into a classroom that Steph is currently in, and — oh, what luck. He smiles, stepping more fully into the doorway. ]

Do I have the pleasure of addressing a one Stephanie, or is this merely someone that looks as gorgeously as she usually does?

[controlledvariable]

[His question is probably answered when Steph rolls her eyes at him]

If someone else was in my body, they'd currently be tied up somewhere so they couldn't break anything.

[The idea of someone in her body is horrifying but it hasn't happened, so she's just going to joke about it instead of freaking out.]

[implying]

Lovely! [ He invites himself into the room, slipping in to glance around with interest. ]

Not, of course, that I would object to meeting someone new, but I'm rather fond of you as you.

[controlledvariable]

[She slips her phone back into her pocket, because Vanadi doesn't need to see her fancy Bat-tech, and just hops up to sit on one of the desks. She doesn't think there's anything here worth taking back to the Initiative.]

I'm flattered. [a hand to her chest, just to demonstrate exactly how flattered she is] That's two compliments in as many minutes, so at least I know for sure it's you in there, too.

[Not that she wouldn't be able to pick someone in the wrong body, but still, it's a little reasurring that Vanadi is still himself.]

[antitactical]

How much trouble could one person get into in a matter of less than seven hours? Collette wasn't sure, but she did think it was some kind of bizarre personal record to have managed to get the entire ski and snowboard team chasing after her when she'd commented in passing that if they wanted a real challenge, they'd best be considering getting out west to the Rockies. Maybe she shouldn't have mentioned anything about tiny hills out this way, but hey, they should know! Hadn't the Olympics just happened six years back in the Sierra Nevadas?

That might explain why it was that Collette rolled out of the bushes and propped herself up on her hands and knees, brushing leaves off her shirt as she sat up. "Phew! I think I lost them." She pulled a face, climbing back up to her feet. She had no idea about the twig sticking out of her thick, red hair, or just how ridiculously disheveled she really looked as she stood and peered back the way she'd come. "Who knew they'd get so touchy over a mountain range?"

She can't claim that she's too aware of her surroundings, since it takes longer to register anyone else is there. When she does, she looks surprised -- though she smiles. "Hey! Just checking out the bushes. They're lovely this time of year, wouldn't you say? All big and..." she glances back toward them. "Bush like."

[controlledvariable]

Steph watches the preceedings with bemusement, arms crossed loosely over her chest as she waits for the person - she doesn't recognize them, but she thinks they're someone in the wrong body - to register her presence. The attempt at an excuse just gets a quiet laugh. She wonders if they realize she's another Transport.

"Just pretend you're hungover next time, no one will question it," They're on a college campus, I was drunk and/or hungover is a foolproof explanation.

[antitactical]

"I did that with Drift earlier," she confesses with an amused grin. "My... friend." Collette squinted at Steph, trying to figure out if for all the world this was someone she'd seen on the network at some point. There's a certain element that doesn't matter one way or another.

That in mind, she shrugs, straightening her shirt. "With how I walk, people probably think that's true too! Though I've managed to run just fine. Jog, too! I think the momentum really keeps you going." Largely out of a wish to not faceplant on God's most paved over and distinctly stained Earth.

[controlledvariable]

Well that just confirms her suspicion about this person being another victim of the bodyswap nonsense. The whole thing doesn't make her any more willing to trust the Initiative to know what they're doing.

"They do say that about learning to ride a bike, I suppose the theory could apply to bodies as well," This is not something she ever thought she'd have to consider, but it seems somewhat logical (no it doesn't).

[akillingfrost]

She likes the nineties. It's nostalgic, closer to home, even if it's the wrong country. Even if she hasn't listened to music in an age, and if what passed for fashion in Wirrawee was a stretch compared to this place. She wishes she could enjoy it and the familiarity, if not for the fact that she's in the wrong fucking body.

They weren't lying when they said this place could get crazier during missions.

And she hadn't been wanting to see anyone, either. She wanted to be alone, removed, enjoy her isolation and not even that could go smoothly. That's forgotten when she sees Steph - exactly one of the people she has been avoiding - and promptly smacks her head on a low-hanging branch. Being five inches taller than usual is not easy to manage.

"Bloody Hell!"

The accent remains the same, at least, and without thinking she lashes at the tree with her foot. (She'll have to apologise to Snow for all these bruises, later.)

[controlledvariable]

It's the swearing that catches her attention, and she stops in her tracks to look for the source of it, frowning a little when she sees Snow. The woman is somewhat familiar, Steph thinks she's seen her on the network, one of the people that replied to Rita's bullshit newstory, but bloody hell doesn't seem like the sort of thing she'd say.

She can tell that someone else is in the body, and it doesn't take her long to figure out how could be in there, and then she's closing the remaining distance between the two of them, "Ellie?"

[akillingfrost]

"Shut up." She's just waiting for the mockery, fingertips brushing the bruise appearing, hot enough that her skin feels like it's glowing. (She's pretty sure it isn't, but you never know, with Exsilium related rubbish.) "Forget it."

Talking to people was just turning out to be a bad idea. She doesn't want to find art, or be in Baltimore, even if it is a release from the rain. Her fingers press the bruise a little too hard, and she hisses at herself. "Jesus."

[controlledvariable]

It's enough to make her pause while she's still a few feet away, instead of getting up close and reaching out like she wants to. Her conversation with Vanadi is still fresh in her mind, the suggestion she'd made that she was going to yell at Ellie, but now really isn't the time for it, so she just feels sort of - lost as to what to do.

"I wasn't gonna say anything," Well, maybe are you alright? but she has a feeling that's not the sort of thing Ellie was pre-emptively trying to avoid.

[redheadcarrier]

Asuka's in very much the same boat when it comes to "fuck this mission and fuck this body swap". Fortunately, she's avoided switching bodies with anyone, but it's still an irritant she could do without. The only plus side is that people here are relatively normal, even if they all look at her funny when she speaks in accented English.

She can't really agree about the nineties, though because her series is basically the nineties only in the future with giant robots. It's a vague era she's only read about, considering that this entire place is basically her world, only pre-Apocalypse/giant asteroid impact. Plus it's a chance to do some shopping - mostly small things, but she's tempted to get some clothes while she's here.

She's cutting across campus for the umpteenth time when she spots a familiar face (well, kind of familiar). She hadn't talked to the other girl since Black Rock, but it's someone to harass or reminisce with, so she alters course and breezes over to Steph with a little wave.

"Heeeey - Stephanie, right? Long time no see!"

She's actually being charming for once instead of a giant sourpuss.

[controlledvariable]

Steph slows her pace when she spots Asuka, greeting her with a smile, "That's me," Which could be a casual confirmation that Asuka has her name right, but consider recent events, it's also a way to tell her that she's currently in her right body.

She's going to Asuka is still - herself, considering the fact she's moving the same way she was when they last met, "How've you been?"

[redheadcarrier]

"OK, I guess," Asuka shrugs and falls in next to the older girl. These she can do - the superficial chit-chat gives a sense of normalcy.

"Dealing with being stuck here, you know how it goes. What about you? Punch out any more creeps?"

[controlledvariable]

Steph, on the other hand, tends to struggle a bit with chit-chat, because talking to people outside of a vigilante context is hard, but she'll make an effort.

"Not recently," That is, of course, a complete lie, considering punching out creeps is essentially what she does for a living. She's just trying to be a little more careful with the whole secret identity thing, especially considering she's now accepted the fact she might be in this for the long haul, "I've been checking out the Outlands a little, but there's not a whole lot out there."

And no one was surprised.

[superwonder]

[ Man he's almost 100% sure he's never been happier to see anyone than he is to Stephanie, right at this moment. Finally someone - probably the only someone - here who knows him by name. She'll understand, if he can just explain what happened. She'll know right away how urgent the situation is, right?

He's crouched in the shadow of one of the rooftops nearby, balancing on a ledge that's probably straining a little under the 100-odd extra pounds of extra weight he's carrying. How to get her attention without tipping off anyone else around? ]

Psst! Hey. Psst!

[controlledvariable]

[It's a combination between Dick's attempt at getting her attention, and the simple fact that Bats are a little more aware of their surroundings, that has her turning to look toward the rooftop.

There's a shape up there within the shadows, and Steph nods towards it before disappearing into the building. It doesn't take her long to find an appropriate window near the top floor that she can slip out of, climbing to the rooftop with ease. She pauses there, near the opposite edge from where she saw the figure, taking in her surroundings, just in case there's someone unfriendly up here.]

Who's here?

[Even in normal circumstances, this would be a reasonable question, but considering how things are right now, she also wants to know who's in whatever body might be here.]

[superwonder]

That was fast. [ With Batman the nod would have been a come here, across the board. It's good to know the instinct to go for the opposite reading with Stephanie actually paid off this time.

He moves out of the shadow with as much grace as he can, holding his hands out and open so she'll see he isn't holding anything too incriminating. ]

Okay, listen. This is going is going to sound weird no matter how I say it, but I'm not this Conner guy, even though I look like him.

[controlledvariable]

[It's Superboy.

Something shifts in her posture, a defensive reaction that isn't because she does recognize the person, but rather that she does, and she remembers their last encounter. She remembers nothing but Superboy'd hand between her and a long drop.

But then he talks and she cocks her head to the side, because, yes, all the body swapping nonsense. So it isn't Conner, but it's someone who a) wanted her attention and b) likes to hang around on rooftops. Jason has left the city, which really only leaves one suspect.]

Dick?

[kneecaptain]

[ While you probably wouldn't guess it from the long-haired Liefeldian makeover, Bucky had skipped the nineties.

Entirely. In a tube the whole time. But it was closer to something he knew than a lot of the places these machines stuck him. He'd never gone to college and he didn't "get" art, but walking around and looking, that was something he could do.

He didn't recognize Stephanie because she wasn't in the costume, but he could tell she was someone from Exsilium by dint of her clothes. ]

You're not gonna steal anything, are you?

[ It's a small thing, said half-joking. Lord knows Bucky'd thought about it, knows he's got no place to tell any petty larceny that he's too good for it. But damnit, Bucky actually likes to talk. ]

[controlledvariable]

[Her first though is, rather uncharitably, goddammit. It's not really Bucky's fault, she just knows she's not great at the whole secret identity thing (the mess with Nick back home just made that clear), and doesn't want anyone to be able to make the connection between her and Batgirl.

Which is why she smiles wryly, instead of letting any concern show on her face.]

I dunno, I was thinking this might look good in my roommate's bedroom, liven the place up a bit.

[She pokes at the "work of art" in front of her, wondering why there are so many eyeballs on it.

She's not actually going to steal it, but she enjoys imagining the look on Kirk's face if he came in to find it sitting on his bed.]

[kneecaptain]

[ No one is as bad at secret identities as Bucky Barnes. Consider: he once chose Bucky as his codename. ]

You think it'd fit? A thing like that kinda takes a place over.

[controlledvariable]

I'm sure I could make it work, you know, for the sake of good art.

[No that's the opposite of what it is.

And because she is supposed to not have met this guy before, she adds:] You're a Transport right?

[Secret identity skills.]