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Billy stands dutifully outside the Sanctum Sanctorum, dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that is Very Fitted. "Now, there's some ground-rules." he says to Noh-Varr, "Don't think of this so much as a house as a very, very well defended military prison, and _don't_touch_anything_ unless Dad— Doctor Strange— like, tells you that you can. Just to be safe this should be considered to apply up to and including the tea set that he will very likely offer you tea from." And with that, he knocks.
"And I want to step into this prison why?" Noh-Varr asks as he glances upward at the house and around at the grounds. "I don't like prisons, even ones with tea being served. He's obviously giving the whole 'meet Billy's father' a second thought.
The knock summons the wards, those silvery-sylph guardian spells, and off they go to seek out the Master of the Mansion. Not a minute later, the front door opens and there's Strange himself in the storm-blues of his mantle.
"Ah, Billy." His smile is still a thing of formality save for a faint dimple in one corner — that's where they come from in Billy, after all. "I see you have a guest. Come in. We'll have tea." He walks away into the smaller foyer of the Sanctum and adds over his shoulder, "And close the door behind you, please."
In the living room, tea is already brewed. It seems he was about to indulge in a cup himself, likely to jolt his system with a little caffeine. It's a darker blend, something summery, with blackberries and warmer spices such as cinnamon and cardamom. Even as he departs of the tea tray by the fireplace, his own cup in-hand, he gestures with his free hand at it. "Have tea if you'd like. There's honey as well as cream, if you're inclined to it." Once ensconced in his personal chair, he looks expectantly at Billy.
"Because you hopped into our reality from another one, and so sooner or later you'll run across Dad." Billy says in a reasonable tone of voice, "Better over tea where there's no misunderstandings. Besides, its not _really_ a prison, there's just certain eldritch horrors that have been …contained. Touching their containment could be… bad. Not to mention there's other things that aren't what they appear to be." He ushers Noh in, closing the door behind them, and then heads to pour tea since its been offered. "This is Noh-Varr, he's an alien from another reality. I'm reasonably certain he does not work for any transdimensional media conglomerates, he totally has a spine— don't tell Teddy I was looking— and since you said if I run into anything that hops around realities or dimensions or whatever…" He waves a hand vaguely, unclear on the precise difference, "…its your business."
Noh-Varr doesn't look convinced but he allows himself to be ushered. He's wearing jeans and a tank top that is Very Fitted, unsurprising since Billy made them. In addition, there's a golden band set with some red stone on each wrist. As he follows them further in, he looks around curiously but Doesn't Touch. "Not whatever." he corrects with a roll of his eyes. "Realities are completely different from dimensions." Taking a seat, he eyes the tea service a moment but pours himself some, adding a fair amount of honey and then a little cream. "Captain Noh-Varr of the 18th Kree Diplomatic Gestalt."
Strange's eyes flick from Billy to Noh-Varr as each speaks, his brows having risen to display interest in such proceedings.
"Well-met, Captain. How did you end up here, in our world then? Technology? Or another manner entirely, like the Mystical Arts?" he asks mildly before sipping at his tea. "And for what reason? Diplomacy alone?"
Billy's tea might have more honey then actual tea, so absurd is the amount of honey he pours into i, so it takes awhile to stir; instead of using a spoon, he spins his finger over the top, spinspinspin, as he uses his TK to stir it up. He leans over and asides to Strange, "Did you know Kree came in not-blue?" he asks of Pops, "And not threateningly glower-faced?"
"No reason at all." Noh-Varr answers. "It wasn't intentional. My ship had been damaged in another reality. I was trying to get home when I ended up in this one, except underground. Not a place a ship should be, especially not one that size. It's rather fused into the rock now."
A glance over at Billy and it heralds the reappearance of that subtle smirk of amusement.
"I did, actually. Kamar-Taj keeps excellent records," Strange murmurs before he nods to Noh-Varr. "Accident then. Yes, these things happen when the veils between the worlds are thin. I wonder if your technology brought you too close to one of these points during your travels." His own tea, stirred through twice with honey, is sipped at once more before he sets it aside on the small table next to his chair. "Are you looking to return to your own place in reality at this point? Or are you intending to stay for a time?"
"His ship is pretty seriously borked." supplies Billy helpfully with a dimpled grin, and then begins to sip his tea, and nods with satisfaction over it. "I don't think I could skywalker it out of the mess its in no matter how hard I tried. I think he's pretty stuck."
Noh-Varr shakes his head. "Nothing was thin. My ship is designed to travel between realities as well as stars. We had answered some distress calls which turned out to be traps. We dealt with the ones who set them but ended up lost in the multiverse. We were trying to get home when the ship was shot down and its engines damaged beyond repair. The Kirby drive was still working though, and while it's dangerous to traverse realities at ground level, I didn't realize I was passing through so many at once that the topography of the planet would be so different." So, underground. Glancing at Billy, he shrugs. "I intend to get home. But it might take a while. I might be able to transfer the Kirby drive to another vessel but first I have to figure out what's wrong with it. Then try to get it to work with primitive technology and whatever I can salvage."
"Seriously borked," Strange mouths to himself with a small and bemused frown. Borked. He files that particular slang away for later consideration. The Skywalker reference goes right over his head.
"It sounds like your landing did a number on it," he says aloud, in regards to the status of the ship. Between the two young men, he can hazard a guess at how badly it's damaged — especially in terms of appearing directly within the ground itself. "I'm not certain that I can point you in the direction of any particularly advanced technology either. My demesne is the Mystical Arts, not gears and plasma."
"Oh, I didn't bring him expecting you'd be able to help fix his ship." Billy grins a moment, "You just said if I ever run into things that are not from our neighborhood to bring it to your attention." He sips some more of his tea, "I'd offer to try to wormhole you back to your reality but I wouldn't know where to begin with pinpointing the right one."
"The last Earth I was one didn't have the technology to fix it. This one is even more primitive than that one by about fifty years." Noh-Varr tells Strange. "So it seems unlikely. I might be able to improvise something given enough time but…" He shrugs. "I suppose I'm in no hurry. I'm here, I might as well enjoy it. There's lots of things to see that are appealing."
The Sorcerer looks over at Billy again and nods. "I appreciate you following through on this, Billy. It makes my job easier. Plus, we avoid the element of surprise entirely. Never wise to surprise a student of the Arts." That's Dad Helpful Tip of the Day, right there.
To Noh-Varr, he smiles faintly and his expression waxes more pensive. "I'm not surprised to hear my suspicions confirmed in regards to the technology of the future. Humankind is ever striving to reach the stars and beyond. We're no longer content with simple fire and crop rotations," he murmurs before huffing a silent and wry laugh. "You've arrived at an interesting time in our society's development, Captain. I hope you enjoy it. Have faith in us. We aren't as terrible as we look." The thin-lipped smile has a jaded aspect to it.
Billy nods his head quickly to Strange, then squints a moment, "Man, the tech of now is _primitive_, Dad. It's going to be so amazing in not too long." Internet Porn is COMING. "I wish I had more information on, so I'd invest and be a bajiilionaire, but, stupid memory." Billy shrugs and huffs, "So yeah. Stark or Richards are your best bet, Noh-Varr. They have the advantage of being like… out, as superheros, so are sorta more likely to be open maybe."
"You didn't reach the stars in fifty years either." Noh-Varr corrects. But the fate of humanity's future isn't of much interest to him so he leaves it at that. "In any case, the realities are very different so who knows how this one will develop. You do have very good music though. Stark." There's no love lost there. "The technology involved is beyond him though he might have the raw resources that would let me jury rig something that could work. Maybe once I'm done exploring your world."
Strange attempts to hide a little smirk behind his cup of tea. Wouldn't that be a tidbit to throw at Stark the next time he's mouthing off, that the Sorcerer has confirmation that technology hasn't sent a human beyond the moon? He dismisses away his mental musings in lieu of the present conversation at hand.
"I believe you both that we'll advance further. I'm still invited to the various seminars involving biosciences research," he off-handedly explains, almost as a reminder of sorts. "Billy is correct, however. Stark would be the one to speak with if you're looking for any sort of appropriate advancements in technology these days. Richards? The name isn't nearly as familiar." His eyes slide to Billy, since he offered up the name initially.
"Reed Richards, the bendy guy from the Fantastic Four? Baxter Building. Supposedly big sciency types, they have that flying car and everything." Billy shrugs quickly, finishing off his tea and setting the cup back to the tray.
"I doubt their input will be needed." Noh-Varr casually dismisses the so-called geniuses. "If I had everything I need, I could fix it. The problem is, what I need probably doesn't exist here. It would be like trying to… build an orbital space station before you've even left the atmosphere." But then he glances at Billy. "You though. You might manage it. Remember I said you're like a Kirby engine."
"Ah, yes, Reed. I've read enough about him and his group," Strange responds to Billy before sipping at his tea again. Noh-Varr, however, earns himself a sudden and pointed sharpening of attention in his direction. "Precisely how is he like a Kirby engine then…?"
Yeah, on this topic, Billy's a little unclear himself so he defers that question over to Noh-Varr. "Something about imagination and belief, but I dunno."
"I watched him create a wormhole between two points." Noh-Varr tells Strange. "To a destination he had never been to or even knew where it was and only had something that served a similar function to one that was on the ship. Kirby engines are imagination engines and sparked by belief. He imagines what he wants to have happen then repeats the words till he believes it's going to happen. And then it does."
One dark eyebrow inches upwards and Strange's gaze briefly rolls over to Billy.
"Did he now?" Still, it seems that Dad isn't going to harp on it — not in front of guests, at least. "Yes, he has that ability. It runs in the family, albeit in another guise entirely." Then he falls silent, running a finger down one line of his goatee as he stares off into the fire, seeming to be deep in thought. "Billy?" He then glances over at the young man again. "It's your decision to make. Just make it wisely."
"I didn't want to climb through the sewer to get to his ship." explains Billy with a helpless shrug, seeming not to be himself that impressed with the act. "So I got a piece of equipment from the ship and used its similarity to target the exit aperture. Sympathy isn't perfect but I've been practicing with using a sympathetic connection…" He looks between the pair of them, bewildered, "Wait, what? What decision am I making wisely?" Deer in the headlights his expression says.
"I'm in no hurry to leave. My friends and family are dead so nothing draws me back immediately." Noh-Varr tells Strange. "I think he could do it though. The wormhole, creating things from nothing… He is a Kirby engine. He could move through the realities at will." After a brief pause, he adds "Finding the way home is the hard part." Much harder.
Strange continues giving Noh-Varr that thoughtful, sharp look.
Finally, he replies, "My sympathies for your loss. And yes, if Billy can indeed enact the same creative warpings of reality that your engine could, consider him a living form of it. The decision may be attempting to help the Captain here with his ship, specifically by imprinting your will upon reality proper." He looks over at Billy. "I ask that you act wisely if you choose to do so."
"What? No, no, no no no no no." Billy's hackles rise at the very thought, which means strands of telekinetic force enfold him and lift him a few inches off the seat, "I don't know _nearly_ enough about the cosmology of the multiverse to even consider imposing my will on the manifold that holds realities apart; time seems to be involved in your trip, too, and what if I was crossing and didn't take that into account properly and caused a damage to the causal line? I might inadvertantly collapse an entire reality-line if I did something wrong. Dude, you have this theory that what I do might be like what this engine of yours does but engines are *machines* and machines are at least moderately reliable. I'm as reliable as my knowledge is, and here, no." He shakes his head firmly, "No. Absolutely not. Sorry you're stuck but I'm not touching that deep into the core of the cosmos. I'm not god and have no ambitions to be one."
Noh-Varr shakes his head at Billy's words. "No, I doubt there was any time travel involved. That's not how it works." he tells him, glancing at Strange as well to include him in the explanation. "Picture an infinite spiral, like half a strand of DNA. That is the multiverse. Each reality is a point on that spiral. Adjacent points are very similar, maybe similar enough that you would never be able to tell the difference between them. The further apart, the more different they are. As you spiral downward or upward, things get very different. Go far enough and humans will have never existed. Further and your solar system never formed. We're not that far from my reality, of course. And the least Earth I was on might be fifty years in the future but many of the same people existed just as they do here. That's not a function of time but of reality, just like what was surface level there is underground here."
With a sigh, Strange leans further back into his chair, his brows seemingly fixed in a mildly-concerned quirk.
"And no one needs to be galavanting about, pretending they're some specialized mRNA and attempting to further edit the strand itself," he says quietly and firmly. "Humankind manipulates this 'spiral' regularly of their own accord, in such minute way as rarely to be noticed by anyone but those who stand outside of Time itself." The warding spells flicker out into view to check on Billy, what with his telekinetic strands, but they merely snuffle at him in their own way before disappearing back into the woodwork of the Sanctum. "I'm in agreement with Billy. As Sorcerer Supreme of this world, I would rather its reality not be warped further, if it can be managed."
"You don't understand, man. My power is frightening not for what I can when I want to do it but for what I might do if I don't *know* exactly what will happen. I'll already bent time and likely forked off this reality from another on sheer *accident* before. You said the last Earth you were on was fifty years ahead, it might have nothing to do with reality but instead because I scrambled this world's timeline." Billy settles back down into the chair, willing the TK away, and rubbing at his face. "If there's a Billy in every one of those realities, what happens if as my power forms a bridge between your reality and ours, what if it intersects any of his? We've seen my power interact with my mom's before so its possible it might interact with Alt-Billy's. My power must be contained."
"If you're native to this reality then whatever you do can't be considered warping but the natural progression." Noh-Varr points out. "For better or worse." he adds, as Billy goes on about it. "But as I said, I'm in no hurry to leave and don't want Billy to try taking me home. I have a feeling there's a lot of fun to be had here. Especially now." He gives the Kirby engine under discussion a grin.
The Sorcerer allows himself a quiet sigh of relief.
"I'm glad we're in agreement then, in regards to playing with the skein of reality here." That look's for you, Billy, tinged with just a hint of Dad in it. "Still, I profess myself intrigued, Captain. This future you saw, in fifty years — we should discuss it at some point. All knowledge is worth having, after all." He smiles, the mild expression still somehow containing a twinkle of the devious.
Billy settles down, looking a little more relaxed now that there's not talk of him being a reality hopper-tearer-destroyer-of-worlds. "Hopefully your knowledge of the future is more useful then mine. My memories got scrambled with the timeline." He sighs, long-suffering.
"The reality I saw." Noh-Varr corrects. "It isn't your future." Still, he has no objection to talking about it. When there's an infinite number of realities, what's it matter if one deviates slightly. "So, I've decided to join your team after all, Billy."
"It doesn't make the concept of a future seen any less intriguing," Strange opines quietly before glancing over at his son.
"Another member? Hmm. And who composes your roster at this point?" He shifts in his chair and sips at his tea, finishing off what remains of the tempid brew before setting the cup with its dregs aside. A little shifting about and he's comfortable, with hands steepled at a broader angle before his chest.
"Have you met Kaleb and Kellan? They're twins and mutants. Kellan duplicates himself, Kaleb controls sound. Its Teddy, me, Tommy, Vic and them…" Billy nods over to Noh-Varr, "And our resident Kree diplomat, apparently. We're still small as a team, but we're working together pretty well."
"Kree warrior." Noh-Varr corrects. "Our mission was just diplomatic. But now I've joined, we'll have to make use of the training room on board the ship so I can see what you all do and how well you work together." Glancing down into the tea cup, he refills it and prepares it with honey and cream.
"I do remember meeting Kaleb and Kellan, briefly. The Captain will be an advantage to your team." He inclines his head minutely to Noh-Varr, a gesture of respect, archaic as it may seem in this day and age. "He brings his individual wisdom in turn. And wisdom is a terribly important thing these days. Would that more humanity shared it." Strange waves a dismissive hand, shooing away the momentary morose. "But never mind this. Welcome to our reality, Captain." With that, he smiles, the truest one yet.