Missing Time (Alchemist / Thalia Trimble One-shot)

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Thalia Trimble (Kinesic)

Moonbeam Inactive forever!

Dec 7, 2020 10:48 pm

Re: Missing Time (Alchemist / Thalia Trimble One-s

Irrational anger rises up inside Thalia. "Of course you want to do it! That's exactly how he engineered it, don't you see? I don't know how, but this clown has power over... over everything, or almost. He's only showing himself now because he's been expecting you to find your own way to becoming The Alchemist, but you haven't done it yet. It... Shit!"

She slaps her forehead with one hand. "It's so obvious! He probably set all of this up. The mystery, the people tailing you, probably even the car crash. Don't you get it? This whole tragedy was intended to be your origin story."

Dr. Langford Thomason

78RPMLife Inactive forever!

Dec 8, 2020 6:01 pm

Re: Missing Time (Alchemist / Thalia Trimble One-s

The complex series of reactions that play out on Lang's face are echoed in his response.

"What? That's crazy," he scoffs. But that's not the end of it. "Isn't it? I mean, how could anyone have that much power to make all that happen? No one does. Right?"

His eyes traverse the dining room, from the old man sitting at the booth and smiling blandly, to the door where the bomb threat victim has just left. He thinks of his best friend just outside, sitting and waving at him with that awful, vacant smile that carries none of Alicia's no-nonsense verve. He looks to Thalia, who watches him intently, waiting for the war of reactions in his head to play out. He thinks of the sudden split Thalias, one near death with a defeated illness, the other well enough to somehow pass him a note through extradimensional space and...

"What the ACTUAL FUCK?!"

Oh, he's pissed. When his usual curse du jour is 'fiddlesticks', you know that something hasn't just snapped inside him, it's exploded into tiny, needle-sharp Lang bits.

He turns and stomps toward Mortimer, hands clenched in fists so tight his knuckles are turning white.

"Was it you? Did you do it?" he shouts. "Did you cause the accident?!"

griffrpg Inactive forever!

Dec 9, 2020 12:36 am

Re: Missing Time (Alchemist / Thalia Trimble One-s

Mortimer calmly lets Lang shout at him. Once he is sure that he is finished, he motions for the two of you to have a seat. When neither of you actually take a seat, Mortimer stands up and faces Lang. "Indirectly, perhaps. Reality is a very complicated thing. I may play god, but I am far from the genuine article."

He pauses to let what he has said sink in while he studies both of your faces. Mortimer casts a disapproving look in Thalia’s direction before returning his focus to Lang. "I am a very powerful man, but I am far from omnipotent. It took the help of powers beyond my own to weave into existence the rules that govern our shared reality. Rules that can no longer be changed. Not by me or by anyone. I can alter almost anything in my immediate surroundings but things get a bit tricky when you try to extend beyond that.

"If you want to put blame on me for what happened to your family, I will accept it. No, I did not orchestrate a grand elaborate scheme to create the perfect hero. I did, however, design the rules that lead to their deaths. For that, I am sorry.

"You’re a man of science. I am sure you will understand how unseen variables can snowball into disaster during a promising experiment. In hindsight it is easy to see your mistakes. You can easily recognize that, of course evil will be more ready to accept their role. They are much more ambitious. Real go-getters that bunch. I did not anticipate the mind of a hero. The reluctance. The hesitance. The lack of confidence that you all seem to have. I don’t understand it, but for the sake of the whole system I have to do my best to combat it.

"Hence, this whole little show here today. The heroes are badly outnumbered. Everyone one wants to be a superhero until the time comes for them to actually step up and do it. Then it seems they will do just about anything to get out of it. I will never understand you people.

"For what it is worth, Lang, I am sorry. For what happened to your family. For what I put you through today. The world needs you out there fighting for it and you now realize that you are capable of doing just that. You are capable of preventing the next tragedy. Capable of buying me more time to find others like you before an--" he briefly looks to Thalia with a displeased expression on his face, "origin story is forced upon them. What happened to your family was a preventable tragedy. You would have been a hero whether it had happened or not. I wish I had found you earlier."

Thalia watches Mortimer closely during his speech. She looks deep and leans heavily on her powers to find the truth behind what he is actually saying. At no point does she get any indication that he is being anything but truthful. It doesn't make it easier to shake the feeling she has that Mortimer is a snake oil salesman only telling Lang what he thinks he wants to hear.

Thalia Trimble (Kinesic)

Moonbeam Inactive forever!

Dec 9, 2020 1:24 am

Re: Missing Time (Alchemist / Thalia Trimble One-s

Thalia meets Mortimer's gaze, and all it contains, every time he deigns to glance at her, unfazed. She takes in what he says about playing God, filing it away to a later question. Similarly, she finds what he says about the "rules" he'd designed and about the nature of their reality intriguing, and more than a little disturbing.

But there's one thing he says that brings her blood to an instant boil.

griffrpg says:

"Everyone one wants to be a superhero until the time comes for them to actually step up and do it. Then it seems they will do just about anything to get out of it. I will never understand you people."

"You.. you.." She can't think of a word that adequately sums up her rage, so she just moves on. "How dare you talk about someone failing to step up. This man has been through hell, buried in guilt and grief and struggling to keep finding meaning in his life, but when a jackass with godlike powers and a stupid hat showed up and put innocent people in deadly jeopardy, he didn't hesitate. He didn't 'try to get out of it.' He plunged right in and did the impossible."

She turns to look at Lang, opening her mouth, but she can't even think of what to say to him, so she turns back to Mortimer. "You came here to get Lang to choose to become a superhero. What you don't seem to realize is... he already is one."

Dr. Langford Thomason

78RPMLife Inactive forever!

Dec 9, 2020 10:11 pm

Re: Missing Time (Alchemist / Thalia Trimble One-s

Lang is unmoved by any protestations of innocence, apology or lack of responsibility. "Yes, all very Machiavellian of you," he snarls. "Being a demi-god, I'm sure you've heard the phrase that absolute power corrupts absolutely, even if it seems you've failed to heed the warning along the way."

Through the tightened jaw and hard glare, he nods in response to Thalia. "You're damned right I am. Because not seeking out the kind of power you seem to think should be thrown around, not happily considering yourself better than everyone around, using it only when it becomes necessary, with responsibility and honesty... that's a superhero. This... this manipulation, these stupid tests, trying to force people to accept this burden? Every comic book I've ever read says the same thing. That makes a villain."

griffrpg Inactive forever!

Dec 10, 2020 1:04 am

Re: Missing Time (Alchemist / Thalia Trimble One-s

Mortimer listens to Thalia with a blank expression on his face up until she insults his hat. He honestly looks hurt at this comment. He briefly takes it from his head to examine. Seemingly satisfied, he places it back upon his head.

Langs jumps into the ring next and throws his own verbal jabs at Mortimer. He listens closely, a small but perceptible smile spreads across his lips. Mortimer waits a moment after everyone is done speaking. He doesn’t want to interrupt anyone. When he is sure that both of you are finished, he clears his throat and responds.

"I do not believe I ever pretended to be anything but a villain. I wear the title proudly. Sadly the days of being nothing more than a trickster god are gone. Some might say that I’m more of a well intentioned extremist now. Either way, villain suits me just fine."

Mortimer claps his hands together and smiles widely. "Alright lady and gentleman. It looks like we’re done here." Mortimer turns toward the door but suddenly stops. He spins back around and looks to Thalia. "I promised you some straight answers, didn’t I? Aw shucks." He holds out a hand toward the booth where the playing cards still rest. Thalia feels compelled to sit down.

Mortimer doesn’t join her just yet. He wraps an arm around Lang’s shoulder and he is powerless to stop him. Mortimer starts walking him toward the front door. "Villain I may be, but I still feel a bit bad about how I treated you today. It may not be the real thing, but I have a feeling that doesn’t really matter right now."

He points your attention outside where the rain has stopped. Bright sun shines down on the parking lot where Alicia has exited the vehicle. She appears to be in conversation with Lang’s late wife. His son stands next to her with a bored expression on his face as the two adults chit chat.

"I’ll leave it up to you whether you want to have a chance to say goodbye while I wrap up a little business with Thalia." Mortimer slaps Lang on the back and returns to the booth.

"So. Three questions is what I agreed to, yes? What do you want to know?" he asks Thalia.

Thalia Trimble (Kinesic)

Moonbeam Inactive forever!

Dec 10, 2020 1:44 am

Re: Missing Time (Alchemist / Thalia Trimble One-s

Once again, Thalia feels her free will overwritten by Mortimer's, and she finds herself moving to sit down in the booth. She's seething inside, but she doesn't bother trying to fight him. If she's learned anything from this experience, it's that she's no match for this guy's power.

While she waits for him to finish setting up whatever fresh torment he's got prepared for Lang, she stares at the playing cards and the questions they ask.

Who am I?
Why am I doing this?
How do I know Lang’s destiny?
How do I control everything?
Why are you letting me play a part in this weird drama?

After a moment, she starts pulling some of the cards away. She doesn't need to ask who he is anymore, and the next three questions can all be answered by one more properly expansive one. She leaves the last one in place.

Then she tears out a page from her notebook, folds it, then carefully tears it in half, and writes a new question on each, placing them above the remaining playing card, resulting in:

What is the nature of our shared reality?
Who made the rules that govern that reality?
Why are you letting me play a part in this weird drama?

It's not enough - not nearly. But he'd only agreed to answer three, and she's not even sure the answers will matter anyway, in the long run. She has a fourth that she should probably substitute for the third one, but even as pragmatic as Thalia is, she really needs to understand why he involved her in this bizarre endeavor.

Dr. Langford Thomason

78RPMLife Inactive forever!

Dec 10, 2020 9:09 pm

Re: Missing Time (Alchemist / Thalia Trimble One-s

All Lang's anger, the fire filling him up from the inside, extinguishes in an instant as he looks outside.

It's everything he's dreamed of in all of these interminably, excruciatingly long and empty days since the accident. Just one more chance to let them know... well, everything.

He starts to push open the door, his eyes welling up with tears, and... stops.

"I can't. It's not really them," he says in a strangled whisper. "No one can bring the dead back to life. Not even a self-professed trickster god."

He finds that he can't even look at them, chatting away with Alicia as if nothing was out of the ordinary, when they're just going to disappear and leave only the yawning pit of their absence behind.

"They knew everything I would say," he says, and he does an admirable job of making it sound like he really believes it. "They knew. They did."

And here comes the anger again, tiny spurts of flame at first. As they begin to grow, though, Lang imagines himself as a bar of steel. The fire becomes the hammering heat of a forge, waiting to shape him into the form he has to become if he's going to put an end to this sort of nonsense. If he's really going to be a superhero and not just someone who's read too many textbooks.

griffrpg Inactive forever!

Dec 11, 2020 12:35 am

Re: Missing Time (Alchemist / Thalia Trimble One-s

Dr. Langford Thomason is able to visualize everything now. The costume he is going to create. The mutagens he will develop. The miraculous abilities that will allow him to not only save lives, but obtain justice for his family.

His wife and son are gone when he looks back out at the parking lot. Alicia gets into the car and pulls it around to the front of the diner. She gives Lang a smile and a wave. He gives one last look to Thalia, and one last glare at Mortimer, before walking out the door of the diner and getting into Alicia’s car.

Back in the booth, Mortimer watches Thalia with amused curiosity. When she is finished writing her questions, Mortimer reaches across the table and turns it around so he can read it. "This is what you want to know? Alright then.

"What is the nature of our shared reality? A fair question. I created this version of reality to continue a life that was lost. I wanted to live in a world that made sense, and more importantly, a world that would never stop making sense. A world where good battles evil for all eternity.

"Who made the rules that govern that reality? That would be me... and the Warden. Does that fill you with goosebumps? The discovery that the world’s greatest hero is in fact an ally to the monster that sits before you?

"And finally: Why are you letting me play a part in this weird drama? Do you really not know? Has the great detective not figured it out? I did it because you are the only person who could convince Lang to accept his destiny. He needed to hear words of encouragement directly from his wife."

Mortimer smiles wide as he soaks in the look on Thalia’s face. What he just said makes no sense and yet her powers do not pick up on any attempt at deception. She has never read someone as being so honest before. It makes no sense.

Alicia drops Lang off at his house. He absentmindedly waves goodbye and he hustles inside. Ideas have been racing through his head on the drive home and he wants to get them on paper before he forgets. Scratch that. He wants to get to work on mixing these concoctions as soon as possible.

He hasn’t felt like this in ages. So full of excitement and passion. All memories of the past few hours have been erased from his mind. As far as he knows, he went and had lunch with Alicia. Nothing eventful happened except for the epiphany he had regarding the creation of his mutagens.

He takes a seat at the desk in his lab. There is a glass jar he doesn’t remember being there before. A post-it note is attached to the front that reads "swear jar." He doesn’t remember putting this here. No matter. He pushes the jar aside. He has work to do.

In a few short hours he will ingest the first batch of mutagens and will be well on the way to becoming the Alchemist.

Mortimer cannot stop smiling as Thalia starts to question everything he has said. It is now clear that he is entirely immune to her superpower. He can say whatever he likes and she may not be able to tell if it is the truth.

Mortimer gets up and tips his hat to Thalia. He walks out the front door while Thalia is forced to walk back to the booth where she met Lang earlier today.

Customers start to enter the diner again as the world returns to normal and Mortimer vanishes from sight, along with Thalia's memories of the events of the last few hours.

Theo walks over to the booth and takes a seat opposite of Thalia. He looks embarrassed as he thanks her for coming out here to meet with him. Thalia takes out a pen and gets ready to take notes as Theo starts to fill her in on the details of the scam artists who conned him out of thousands of dollars.

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Index > Game Forums > The Daily Legacy: Heroes Wanted > Timeline and Completed Story Arcs

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Missing Time (Alchemist / Thalia Trimble One-shot)

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