[Waits a second after Newt asks all that, just to be sure there's not more...] Do I have a word in edgewise here? All right. [He loves ya Newt but please...]
It's a little of both, public opinion is. When we were first getting started, nobody knew what to make of us, and yes, people were suspicious. Part of our goal in founding the Paradigm was to show people we're on their side, that they can trust us. The no-kill policy ties in with that. It's a matter of accountability. We hold ourselves to the highest moral standards at all times, both to prove our own merit and to set an example for supers not affiliated with us.
As for the villains... it does present a bit of a problem, for exactly the reasons you mentioned. Jailing them's often the best option, just to get them off the streets, and we do have some facilities to that effect, but it's all experimental at this point. And as you said, they're remarkably good at circumventing whatever measures we take. It's a problem we're still working to address.
No, you don't get a word in edgewise. You know this is how I operate.
And okay. So, this is kind of what you'd like to do with your squad here? The same thing? Showing people we're on their side, we're good imPorts, holding us to a high standard and accountability? ...Sounds good, really. You know you have my support.
What were your guys like? I mean, besides their powers?
They're some of the finest people I've ever had the honor of working with. Where do I even begin...?
There's the Plutonian - Tony. He was the first one to make a public debut. The team was his idea, as a matter of fact. He's easily the most powerful force for good that the Earth's ever seen, and I don't say that lightly.
A better question would be "what didn't he do." He's saved too many lives to count, including mine, many times over. Never hesitates to answer a cry for help. He's the kind of man who will turn his back on an enemy to protect someone's dog.
[That actually happened! And the more he thinks about it, the more convinced he becomes. Modeus was lying. I'd never do anything to harm him. Never.]
As a matter of fact - did you ever get to meet Superman, while he was here? They're uncannily similar. I about had a heart attack the first time I saw him.
[Newt's a bit skeptical of those kinds of guys, but okay, he guesses Tony sounds awesome.]
I didn't. I met Steve Rogers, who wasn't an alien, so far as I know, but seems to be the same kind of personality: good guy, rescues people, cats from trees, etc. A golden retriever, and nice on the eyes, too. The kind of guy you want to be rescued by.
[This slips out before Newt can catch himself.] So, what happened to him?
[Well, now it's bugging him. Because something did happen to Tony. He squeezes his eyes shut, rubs his forehead with a couple of fingers, trying to think. What happened... to...
The man I murdered is you.
His eyes snap open, wide with horror.]
Oh, my God.
[He remembers now. He remembers everything. The last he saw of Tony... a withered, irradiated husk of a man, six-fingered hands scrabbling pathetically in the dust... wisps of life, once part of him, scattering to every corner of the multiverse... Tony, brought low for the first time in his life, hateful and afraid. Tony, dying.
Qubit's stomach turns, and he stands abruptly, taking his face out of frame. His leg bumps the table, and the comm falls face-up, providing a lovely view of the ceiling.]
[He doesn't know WHAT is wrong, only that something clearly is and he stands, as if that will do any good, as if he can actually go after Qubit and check on him or try to make right whatever he did that upset him and SHIT. There was a reason Qubit didn't talk about his teammates, wasn't there. Whatever spell or change had come over Qubit had now broken, and Newt had ruined it further with that horrible wakeup call.]
Hey! Oh, fuck. Qubit? Man, I'm sorry. I was just-- You okay?
[Qubit does call back, eventually. It takes him about 10 minutes to feel like he's regained his composure sufficiently, although inside he still feels pretty wrecked. He does audio instead of video this time, and his voice almost sounds... heavier than a few minutes ago. Like he just went through eight-odd months of character development all at once.]
Sorry about that. Sabriel's people must have found what they were looking for.
[It's still sooner than Newt expected, and he jumps at the call when the phone jingles with his Qubit ringtone. The tone puts Qubit closer to where Newt's used to hearing him, if all the way at the other end of enthusiasm spectrum, and it's making him regret asking.]
Right.
[Regret doesn't, however, stop him from asking:] So... what happened?
[He chooses to interpret that question in probably a different way than it was meant.]
I don't know for sure. That's more her wheelhouse. But there was a spell someone cast a week ago, that's why so many people were acting oddly... They must have managed to dispel it, but it was very sudden. I wasn't expecting that.
[One of the nice things about logic: it allows him to distance himself from his emotions. They're still there, but he can put them aside for a while.
[Well, he can appreciate logic and analysis to divert you from the problems at hand.]
So, what DID you experience, exactly? A change in timeline? You didn't de-age significantly, if it was like that one that turned Hermann and I into nasty 20-somethings again. It was obviously significantly different somehow or it wouldn't have been so jarring to return. But you didn't change your identity completely, either, like Riku or Miles.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
How can ye have any pudding if you don't eat yer meat?!
It's a little of both, public opinion is. When we were first getting started, nobody knew what to make of us, and yes, people were suspicious. Part of our goal in founding the Paradigm was to show people we're on their side, that they can trust us. The no-kill policy ties in with that. It's a matter of accountability. We hold ourselves to the highest moral standards at all times, both to prove our own merit and to set an example for supers not affiliated with us.
As for the villains... it does present a bit of a problem, for exactly the reasons you mentioned. Jailing them's often the best option, just to get them off the streets, and we do have some facilities to that effect, but it's all experimental at this point. And as you said, they're remarkably good at circumventing whatever measures we take. It's a problem we're still working to address.
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And okay. So, this is kind of what you'd like to do with your squad here? The same thing? Showing people we're on their side, we're good imPorts, holding us to a high standard and accountability? ...Sounds good, really. You know you have my support.
What were your guys like? I mean, besides their powers?
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... You keep using past tense. They're still alive, Newt.
[Aren't they?]
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What ARE they like? Happy?
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They're some of the finest people I've ever had the honor of working with. Where do I even begin...?
There's the Plutonian - Tony. He was the first one to make a public debut. The team was his idea, as a matter of fact. He's easily the most powerful force for good that the Earth's ever seen, and I don't say that lightly.
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[That actually happened! And the more he thinks about it, the more convinced he becomes. Modeus was lying. I'd never do anything to harm him. Never.]
As a matter of fact - did you ever get to meet Superman, while he was here? They're uncannily similar. I about had a heart attack the first time I saw him.
no subject
I didn't. I met Steve Rogers, who wasn't an alien, so far as I know, but seems to be the same kind of personality: good guy, rescues people, cats from trees, etc. A golden retriever, and nice on the eyes, too. The kind of guy you want to be rescued by.
[This slips out before Newt can catch himself.] So, what happened to him?
1/2
2/2
Qubit stops mid-sentence, his eyes glazing over for a second. He blinks a few times and shakes his head clear, but still seems mildly disoriented.]
... Sorry. What was the question?
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[Well, now it's bugging him. Because something did happen to Tony. He squeezes his eyes shut, rubs his forehead with a couple of fingers, trying to think. What happened... to...
The man I murdered is you.
His eyes snap open, wide with horror.]
Oh, my God.
[He remembers now. He remembers everything. The last he saw of Tony... a withered, irradiated husk of a man, six-fingered hands scrabbling pathetically in the dust... wisps of life, once part of him, scattering to every corner of the multiverse... Tony, brought low for the first time in his life, hateful and afraid. Tony, dying.
Qubit's stomach turns, and he stands abruptly, taking his face out of frame. His leg bumps the table, and the comm falls face-up, providing a lovely view of the ceiling.]
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Hey! Oh, fuck. Qubit? Man, I'm sorry. I was just--
You okay?
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I'll call you back.
[His thumb has to fumble with the display a bit (is his hand shaking?) before the feed goes dead.]
Pt 1 of idk
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Offended aka worried
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Wait. Where DO you live? Why do I still not know this?
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audio
Sorry about that. Sabriel's people must have found what they were looking for.
audio
Right.
[Regret doesn't, however, stop him from asking:] So... what happened?
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I don't know for sure. That's more her wheelhouse. But there was a spell someone cast a week ago, that's why so many people were acting oddly... They must have managed to dispel it, but it was very sudden. I wasn't expecting that.
[One of the nice things about logic: it allows him to distance himself from his emotions. They're still there, but he can put them aside for a while.
Long enough to run damage control, at least.]
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[Well, he can appreciate logic and analysis to divert you from the problems at hand.]
So, what DID you experience, exactly? A change in timeline? You didn't de-age significantly, if it was like that one that turned Hermann and I into nasty 20-somethings again. It was obviously significantly different somehow or it wouldn't have been so jarring to return. But you didn't change your identity completely, either, like Riku or Miles.
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