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It's been a couple days since the run in with the Leader, and Billy has spent the time sort of brooding, at least when Teddy isn't being distracting. At the moment, brooding takes the form of him in a tank top and shorts in Narnia, facing off with the punching bag hung in the exercise area. It wasn't that long ago that the punching bag would have won the bout, but he's slowly but steadily been increasing his skill with the hand to hand combat, courtesy of SHIELD training. So. He bounds around with imperfect but not bad form, punching.
The door to the latest wardrobe opens and Noh-Varr steps out of it, pushing the door shut behind him. "I wish I knew how you do that." he says as he sees Billy. "Well, I know how since you're a Kirby Engine but I don't know you became one or just how you're manipulating space. Also, you're doing that wrong. You're putting too much weight on your heels. Move it forward so you can move more quickly. Also, your shirt is on."
"The space-time continuum is like fabric, and we're on the surface; all I do to make the wormholes is fold it so two parts of the fabric touch, so that two places become next to eachother. It's basically an Einstein-Rosen bridge…" Pause, "…which means nothing to you, I expect, since you aren't likely familiar with earth scientists. As to *how*… I want it to happen and concentrate hard enough that reality makes it happen." Billy shrugs, having no better explanation for how his power works. As to the correction to his form, he takes the criticism without blinking, adjusting his posture. He's used to instruction. "Wait, what's my shirt have to do with anything?"
"So you're doing it using scientific principles." Noh-Varr notes, nodding to himself. "Though your understanding of astrophysics is surprising." Yeah, Earth scientists mean nothing to him. "It's a well known fact that being shirtless while you're training is better." For someone. "Though I don't think that bag poses much of a challenge for you."
"I'm from the future." explains Billy with a casual shrug, "My understanding of science is that of a student my age, but from oh… a lot of years ahead. In science, in particular, I can match a lot of people who are older and more expert. That said, the Einstein-Rosen bridge was theorized awhile ago. Or at least the theory that allows for it to exist was." Billy considers for a moment, "But yes, my … magic … doesn't work like my Dad's. I don't channel mystical energies and use arcane dynamics. I think of the problems like science. I see magic as algorithms and formulae." He eyes Noh-Varr a moment, shrugs, and peels off his shirt, "The bag isn't meant to fight back, to be a challenge; the bag is meant to practice forms. Obviously just the offensive ones. I spar at work with other trainees for defensive forms and more active challenges."
Noh-Varr grins as the shirt comes off and leans back against the wall. "Need some furniture in here." he notes idly. "So you're from the future?" he asks curiously, taking Billy at face value. "How did that happen? Even if I get my ship working, I can't take you there. It only works for realities not time."
"I don't want to go back." Billy's voice is serious, "I have my family here, my friends, my Teddy. For awhile I wanted to go back, but I don't think its possible— I'm pretty sure that timeline collapsed, or at least is completely split off from this one." He considers for a long moment, "We aren't entirely sure how it happened. There was a… hellmouth, which I'll describe as a sort of dimensional portal through which eldritch horrors were coming through. My mom— who has a power similar to mine— was involved in sealing it. In the future, I was doing something… big. Something important. I don't remember precisely what— my memory of the future is fragmented— but… Somehow, her power and my power intersected across spacetime and my whole life got torn out of the future and stitched into the now. It was some sort of metaphysical accident that we don't fully understnd. But no, I don't want to go back."
Noh-Varr nods, taking everything Billy says seriously. Realities do branch off. Dimensional portals do open. And one man's eldritch horror is just another man's native denizen of another dimension. "Keep training." he reminds. "Well, you might have done something that required a transference of energy." he muses as he considers the situation. "Maybe whatever you did to close the portal pulled something from this time and it pulled you back to equalize things." He shrugs. "Probably never know."
Lifting his fists, Billy faces the punching bag again and begins a series of punches and knees. He's focused on his form so isn't as fast as he could be in the practice. "It could be, but yeah, there's no way to know. Partly because the effect rewrote this reality so that as far as this world was concerned, I was always here. Including my parents— not the magic ones, but my adoptive parents from the future— who don't remember the future at all. The only two who remember are me and my twin brother, but our memories are… fragmented. I remember both lives, sorta overlapping, with gaps. Its kinda annoying." Punch, punch, knee. Punch, punch, knee. "Why were you flying across realities to begin with, before your ship got stuck? Why weren't you staying in your own?"
"It's possible you /were/ always here." Noh-Varr points out. "You might have switched realities instead of times and supplanted the Billy who was native to here, who either ended up in your reality or just disappeared from existence. That actually sounds more likely since Kirby Engines cross realities and not times." Which assumes Billy is one, of course. "Oh, it wasn't our choice. We had just finalized the peace treaty with the Skrulls when we picked up a distress signal. We went to answer it but it was a trap. We won but ended up being lost among the realities."
"The problem with that theory is my mom is like, 20-ish. I'm 19. That's definitive proof that there couldn't have been a Billy in this time, since she's couldn't have had me at like 3." Billy points out right back, continuing to work on the punching bag, "And I get you think I'm like a Kirby Engine, and I might be, but like isn't is. I'm a living person, and not everything I do is reality manipulation." He pauses, lifting a hand, and electricity arcs between his fingers. "So you were lost and trying to get back? I'm not sure why someone would make an engine to cross realities. It seems…messy. Staying in your own reality seems like a good idea."
"Because there's so much to learn." Noh-Varr points out as he continues to watch Billy exert himself. "Do you want an opponent to practice against? I can make one for you that would give you a challenge but is close to your level of skill.
Billy pauses, and looks back to Noh-Varr, "But what do other realities teach you? They're… other realities. I don't know." But then he rolls his shouldes and furrows his brow, "Well, sure. How? I mean since you're Kree you'd likely kill me on accident if you challenged me, at least assuming I didn't use any telekinesis or electrokinesis. Which I'm trying not to do so I can train up my hand-to-hand skills in case someone finds a way to disable my powers."
Noh-Varr reaches into his jeans pocket and pulls out a pink cube no bigger than an inch on a side. "I call it the pocket battlefield. It's a portable though much less powerful version of my ship's training area." Pressings his fingers to three of the sides simultaneously, it expands to three times its previous size. "So, let's see… Human normal strength…" Pausing, he looks Billy over before continuing. "A bit taller." Some most opponents would be. "Skilled but still learning the basics." As he talks, he's doing something to the cube, pressing in spots and rotating it until he sort of 'aims' one face of it next to Billy. The cube emits some energy which coalesces in that spot, forming into the shape of a muscular, young human wearing just a pair of tight shorts.
Billy peers with a curious expression, looking not skeptical, but… uncertain what to expect. When there's suddenly a dude in front of him, he blinks. "The shorts are a nice touch." he remarks dryly, sizing the figure up and falling into a fighting stance. But he looks at it with the sight, and seeing no magic, shakes his head, "I'm awful curious how that works." He reaches forward to poke the dude in the chest testingly.
Billy's opponent is quite solid and says 'Ow.' when poked then grin and gets into a fighting stance. "Solid light holograms." Noh-Varr answers. "Computer controlled of course. This unit isn't very powerful so what it can produce is limited."
"Solid light, huh. You have your own personal holodeck." Billy says with some admiration, "But portable." Still, in stance, he goes in for a quick one-two punch, and when the man comes to counter, his fist hits a solid wall of force. That makes Billy wince, "Wait." He pads over towards the his wardrobe, and is gone for a minute before he returns with a watch which he slips on, "This will disable my telekinesis. I use it pretty much on pure instinct."
The hologram just waits patiently as he's programmed to do. "The one on my ship is much more impressive. It's capable of simulating almost any environment you can think of, any opponent you can imagine. You could wander in it lost for days."
"Okay so that *is* a holodeck. Is hard light anything like forcefields? Or is this guy more then a shell?" With that, Billy falls into a fighting stance again, and goes in for another series of punches. He lands only one, but unfortunately takes a hit himself, which has him backing off and circling for a bit, "Huh, ow."
"Oh, he's very solid." Noh-Varr assures Billy. "Cut him and you'll see organs and blood. Or you would in the main one. That level of detail isn't necessary for the portable. The portable also has built in safety measures that can't be removed. It just takes too much computing power to produce actually lethal effects."
Billy glances back over to Noh-Varr, surprised a bit by the level of detail, and that distraction gets him clocked in the jaw. Stepping back, he rubs at said jaw with a wince, "Ow. Okay, it is real. Huh, you know, this is pretty cool. This will be useful for the team, my… day job… has me learning to fight, and I've been trying to teach that to the others who aren't naturally fighters. But since I'm not so good— Teddy's better— I'm not the best teacher."
Noh-Varr grins. "Very real." he agrees. "Your day job. As a SHIELD agent? I should probably mention, now that we're teammates, I have excellent hearing. I could hear you very well when you were telling the others on the roof. Have you told them about me yet?"
Billy blinks and frowns, "Whoa, that's like… top secret. You can't really tell anyone about that. And no, I haven't told them yet. I haven't decided if I should or not. I… compartmentalize my jobs. I'm loyal to SHIELD mostly, but I'm also loyal to my dad, and loyal to this team. Not every one of those groups needs to know everything I know about everything."
"Who would I tell? And why?" Noh-Varr asks with a shrug. "I have no reason to do so and won't. I haven't had a good experience with your SHIELD before but that was another reality so I suppose I shouldn't blame them here."
Continuing his bout with the hologram, Billy is clearly outclassed, but he's not completely lost. He's clearly got the basics of form and control down fairly well, its mostly his reading the opponent that is the problem. "Do you have a preference about me telling them or not? Since you joined the team if you would rather me not I wouldn't, even if it might get me in trouble if it comes out later."
Noh-Varr considers the question silently for a few moments. "I don't see what the advantage to me would be if you did." he says eventually. "Watch how he shifts his weight. That's a clear indication of his intentions. Whether he's going to attack or move and which way."
"Is that a yes or a no?" Billy tries to watch for the weight, and he does a little better, but it is a skill that will take practice before he will do it well. He trades a few blows, getting hit but landing a couple of his own as he gets into his groove. Then, curious what will happen, as he swings his last swing electricity arcs through his hand and on impact he unleashes a lightning bolt into the hologram.
"Is there an advantage in it for me?" Noh-Varr asks. The hologram reacts just like a person would: crying out in pain as the electricity courses through him and then collapsing. "You win." The hologram shimmers then disappears as he collapses the cube and slips it back into his pocket. "Come show me what you've got." he suggests, walking over and pulling his shirt off. "Physically I mean. I won't attack back."
"Huh, I was wondering how sophisticated it was, if it could take into account something like lightning or if it was just programmed for physical training." Then Noh goes all shirtless and wants to be punched? Billy blinks. He shrugs, then moves over to swing a punch at Noh's gut. He's not at all peak human strength, though he's not weak by any measure. "I don't know if there's an advantage or not."
Noh-Varr's arm sweeps down to deflect the punch. "Got to do better than that." he says. "I can't think of one. Unless there is, I don't see why they need to know. It's not like I'm declaring war on humanity." Here.
"Fair enough." But, Billy swings again, though this time he concentrates to up his speed. It's a bit better, but nowhere near top human, let alone highly skilled agent. It'll take awhile before he really gets better.
Noh-Varr lets this one hit, merely tensing up his abs to take the blow though he really doesn't need to. "Better. You're telegraphing your attacks though. You need to spend some time in front of a mirror and feinting so you can see it for yourself."
Billy shakes his head, backing away and going to grab his shirt and slip it on, "Okay, I'm done with training for today. So, how sophisticated a simulation can your holodeck in your ship do? Can we set up complex scenarios and have the team play them out?"
Noh-Varr walks back over to where he tossed his shirt then pulls it on. "Of course. It just needs to be programmed in. Do you have something specific in mind or was it just a general question?"
"General question, just trying to evaluate what resources we have now that we didn't before you joined up. Is it programmed with voice commands like your little box was?" asks Billy with a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Oh, those weren't voice commands. I was just letting you know what I was inputting." Noh-Varr answers. "Certain things are voice activated but if you want a custom scenario, it'll require inputting the parameters. Technically, you could tell Plex and he could program it."
"Oh, hey, Plex." Billy blinks a moment, looking thoughtful, "I want to make a standing spell to defend against telepathy so I can't be controlled again, I was going to go to the mutant sanctuary and find one of them to practice on, but maybe I can just sit in your ship and keep trying until Plex can't read my mind anymore. Could he tell me when it works— if I can get it to work?"
"Of course. And he agrees to it." Noh-Varr tells Billy then looks thoughtful. "I wonder if he could shield my mind from the green guy. We don't have a large number of telepaths so it's not really a situation that comes up often."
Billy nods his head, grinning dimples, "Okay, cool. Yeah that will work out real well. We do *not* want to go chase after this guy if he can take my mind over again. That he could make me cast a spell was super alarming to me and my dad as well. It seems my lack of wanting it to happen blunts the spells effects, but even that is alarming."
"If you have a watch that negates your abilities, why can't you make one that shields your mind?" Noh-Varr asks. "Imagine it, believe it'll happen, and it will. That's how it works right?"
"Dad made the watch. The only standing spells I've ever done are the wardrobes, I'm still new to it. I can make a mind ward but spells cast on people aren't permanent or even that long lasting— they wear off, I'm not entirely sure why. If I go after this guy, I'll put a mind ward up, that's no problem. But he knew my name, Noh-Varr." Billy looks deeply troubled by that, "There's only so many Billy Kaplans in this city, and that I live in my apartment and where that is, is a matter of public record. What if *he* comes to find *me*, and catches me off guard? That's what I want to make a standing spell to keep a ward up. That's why I need a telepath to practice on, because I've never done it, and the first time I do something … things go weird sometimes."
Noh-Varr nods his understanding. "Alright. Let me know when you want to go to the ship and we will. If you want to start setting up a training scenario, we can do that too. Now, I could eat. You want to come?"