Incognito

[clear-thinker.livejournal.com]

It's a lovely evening in Opal City. Wearing modern Terran clothing, Lyle transported down to the city several hours ago, and has been taking in the sights, sounds and smells of one of America's most distinctive cities.

He's lost in thought as he wanders near the observatory - Opal City's heart, in some ways.

"I can't exactly just knock on the door and say 'Hello, I'm from your future.' I don't want to give the greatest scientist of the 20th century a heart attack.. on the other hand, he had to have heard stranger stories in the Justice Society..."

Comments

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

There's an odd electric crackle in the air, when suddenly a half-dozen soldiers in black garb, sporting futuristic rifles, appear.

Futuristic literally. These are laser rifles that shouldn't exist for another two centuries ... manufactured by a company to supply troops in a series of wars on Rann and Thanagar.

Target: Invisible Kid located says a mechanical voice over an open com unit. Engage.

The soldiers pull their rifles, falling into a poitn formation. The two at the front fire.

[clear-thinker.livejournal.com]

"Grife!"

Special forces training takes over, and with the aid of his flight ring, he dives for cover, turning invisible as he does so.

Nobody should know I'm here..

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

They're off balance for a moment, but only just. Even invisible, their eyes begin to track him. Infrared? Whatever it is, they know where he is.

Begin strafing fire. Neutralize.

The soldiers begin trying to knock The Invisible Kid out of the sky.

[clear-thinker.livejournal.com]

Lyle's smart enough to know that if they know his name, they know his powers, and came reasonably prepared. He's using trees and statuary as hard cover, trying to stay out of the line of fire and look for a way out of this mess.

He could call for an emergency evacuation, and if Triad or Brainy was available, that might get him out of this - but things aren't so desperate yet that he can't try to find out who's after him.

"Listen, whoever you are - I don't know who you work for, but I guarantee you're barking up the wrong tree.."

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

Passersby in the park have noticed, and begun to panic. The soldiers don't seem to care, nor do they respons to Lyle's appeals. They move with steady deliberation as the fire continues, laser beams strafing trees and statues.

They close in on the hero from the future, and the beams come dangerously close. These soldiers -- whomever they are -- are deadly serious.

[clear-thinker.livejournal.com]

A beam hits a statue - which then explodes into flying stone shrapnel. Lyle is struck a glancing blow by one of the shattered pieces, and makes an ungraceful landing as he strives to recover his senses, rubbing the back of his skull.

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

The soldiers cautiously move forward.

"Target disabled. Elimination?"

"Negative" says the mechanical voice. "Bring him in for interrogation."

The soldier nods, and begins to step forward to finsih the job, when suddnely the sky darkens. Startled, the soldiers look up.

Against the sun, a silhouette of wings spread wide, a bird of prey diving.

"Hawkman?" stutters a soldier, confused.

[jla-forgotten.livejournal.com]

"No," says the newcomer, swooping into view as she scatters the startled soldiers beneath the force of her wings and fists.

A beautiful woman with wings ... and a Legion flight ring on her finger.

[clear-thinker.livejournal.com]

He's still dazed, but the glint of gold on her hand catches his eye.

"Who in the world are you?"

Leaping to his feet, he faces his assailants again.

[jla-forgotten.livejournal.com]

"A friend," she says levelly, as her foot smashes into a soldier's face. The attackers are off balance, but begin to shake off their surprise. Her face pulls into a thin smile. "You going to gawk, or you going to fight?"

The winged woman handles hand-to hand combat well, considering her wingspan. She recovers from her kick and drags one of the soldiers into the air, tossing him into another.

[clear-thinker.livejournal.com]

"I want to know where you got that ring, but you can tell me later."

Lyle leaps into the air, grabbing one of the attackers in a joint-lock, and forcing the man's gun to fire at one of his colleagues.

[jla-forgotten.livejournal.com]

The soldier screams and falls as the ray hits him. The one in the joint lock struggles, but to no avail. With InvisibleKid engaged, another soldier tries to fire on him, but finds the winged woman descending on him like a bird of prey.

"I got mine the same place you got yours, Lyle," she says. "You've just forgotten. Everyone has."

Scenario window closing says the voice. Probability of off-limits subject Ted Knight becoming involved too great to risk. Disengage.

And with that, the soldiers disappear.

Leaving the hero from the future and the winged woman alone, questions between them. Her face is stoic, inscrutible. But even then, there's a pain evident. A sadness.

[clear-thinker.livejournal.com]

Lyle is only slightly perturbed by the abrupt exit of his assailants - it's no more surprising than their arrival, after all.

"Are you from some alternate Legion? Brainy said that the rewritten future of this timeline had new versions of us.."

[jla-forgotten.livejournal.com]

The woman just smiles.

"I can say no more. Goodbye, Lyle. It was good to see you, after all this time."

And then she, too, vanishes.

[clear-thinker.livejournal.com]

"Wait! You - " Lyle sighs as the woman vanishes, brow furrowed in frustation.

What the hell is going on here?

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

"Excuse me, young man," says a kindly voice from behind him. "If you don't mind me saying, you should probably get soem medical attention."

[clear-thinker.livejournal.com]

Lyle turns to face the concerned voice, but the reply on his lips is eradicated by momentary surprise.

"You're Ted Knight." he manages, after a moment.

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

The old man smiles.

"I am," he says, shrugging. "And you're a younf man who can fly and, if I was observing correctly, turn invisible. And who's taken a nasty blow. Shoudl I call you an ambulance?"

Something in his tone of voice says he already knows the answer to that question.

[clear-thinker.livejournal.com]

He can't help but chuckle - the irony is a little too much.

"No, sir, I'll be allright. I apologize - I hadn't intended to bring any trouble to your doorstep when I stopped by to visit."

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

"Well, it would hardly be the first time trouble's showed up at my door," says Knight. "But it seemed pretty clear that you were the attacked party, so we'll let it slide."

He chuckles lightly.

"But since you're reluctant, for whatever reason, to go see a doctor, at least let me have take a look and make sure you don't have a concussion before I let you wander back into the world. I have a fair-to-middling medical set-up upstairs."

[clear-thinker.livejournal.com]

Lyle grins.

"I think that will work. And I have something to discuss with you in any case."

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

"Well come on in, then," he says. "We'll patch you up, and you cna talk to me about strange soldiers on familiar-looking antigravity devices, young women with wings who aren't this new Hawkgirl flying around, and whatever else is on your mind."

Sharp as a tack? Sharper. Ted Knight doesn't miss much, and can't resist a mystery.

A Little Later..

[clear-thinker.livejournal.com]

Lyle doesn't seem to have suffered a concussion - though he's a little dazed by all the items and memorabilia in the room. His eyes hold a hundred questions as they wander from piece to piece. Finally, he refocuses on the man, the legend, before him.

"In any case, Mr. Knight, it's an incredible honor to meet you. The greatest scientist of the era."

Re: A Little Later..

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

"Of the age, eh," he says, arching an eyebrow at the young man. "That's a mighty big statement. But thank you."

As the young man seems all right, he puts on a kettle for some tea.

"And what should I call you?"

Re: A Little Later..

[clear-thinker.livejournal.com]

"My name's Lyle, sir. Lyle Norg. I'm a scientist, as well."

Re: A Little Later..

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

"Pleased to meet you, Lyle. What's your specialty."

He pulls a cell phone from his pocket after he gets the kettle going.

"And do you mind if I call my old friends in the Justice Society? There was some details of the soldiers' technology that was familiar to me."

From his tone, it's clear he's going to make the call in any case. What he's really asking is if Lyle wants to be left out of what he tells them.

Re: A Little Later..

[clear-thinker.livejournal.com]

"If I had to pick a favorite field, it would be chemistry, but I've dabbled in just about everything. From nanophysics to xenogenetics.."

Lyle nods in response to the question. "That might be a good idea. I haven't had a chance to call in to my associates yet, I'm sure they'll want to know as well. The JSA should remember me from my assistance with the prenatal care of Lois Lane.."

Re: A Little Later..

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

That one also gets him a raised eyebrow. Of course, Lois Lane's baby was big news.

"Sounds like you're an intersting person to meet," he says. "Just give me one second."

He calls the Justice Society, and relays the information to Mr. Terrific. There's a whistfulness in his eyes, a glint that says that part of him would gladly be off on soem mad adventure.

Instead, he hangs up the phone, and pours Lyle a cup of tea.

"So then. What brings you to Opal?"

Re: A Little Later..

[clear-thinker.livejournal.com]

Lyle clears his throat, taking a second or two to decide how to begin. "Well, sir - I've come to consult with you on a few projects. But maybe I should give you a little background, first."

"I was born on Earth almost a thousand years from now. There, I am a part of a group of young superpowered individuals called the Legion of Super-Heroes."

"The temporal distortions you all experienced last year affected us as well - as a result, three of us are stranded in your time."

Re: A Little Later..

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

There's a look in Ted's eye. It's not disbelief, exactly, but it's long and penetrating. It's like he's solving a math problem reflecting in the young man's eyes.

When he speaks, it's long and slow.

"Some time ago, I met a young man who claimed ... and I have no reason to doubt him ... to be my descendant from one million years in the future. It was ... well, it was a bit of an experience. Tragic end."

He pours Lyle a cup of tea, and then sits down across from him.

"Point beign, I've heard stranger. Mr. Terrific knew full well who you are, so I have no reason to doubt you. So any assistance an old scientist can give, well, it's yours for the taking."

Re: A Little Later..

[clear-thinker.livejournal.com]

Lyle smiles, taking up the tea and nodding gratefully.

"I'm very glad to hear you say that, sir. We - the Legion - persuaded the Justice League to let us use their old satellite to construct a new base of operations here. Something that keeps us separated from most of the terrestrial troubles, but leaves us available to assist in emergencies."

"I and one of my Legion colleagues are both scientists with extensive education and knowledge regarding 31st century technology, but one of the challenges we face is bootstrapping. Simply put, I know how to build wondrous things - and I can even build the tools to build those things - and so on, but at a certain point, we're left with limitations on what we can do in finite time based on the technology of the day."

"I had envisioned a new power core for the satellite, based on your technology - and I thought we might be able to put our heads together. With your knowledge of the resources of the modern era, and my knowledge of the centuries of expansion of your work - I think we might be able to concoct a truly marvelous power source."

Re: A Little Later..

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

"Hmmm," says Ted, taking a sip of his tea. "Containment's going to be your paramount issue. We can generate the kind of power you'll need -- no question about that -- but cosmic energy in those amounts is volatile. Hmmm ..."

He seems to ponder into his tea.

"Yes ... Yes, I think I can help you ..."

Re: A Little Later..

[clear-thinker.livejournal.com]

"We'd be grateful for your time, and it would be a privilege to work with you. My aforementioned colleague is an expert on force field technology, so I think we'll have no trouble with containment."

Lyle grins. "I can't wait to get started."

Re: A Little Later..

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

Ted Knight flashes a sly grin, his eyes lit up like small stars.

"Me neither. Finish your tea, and then let's draw up some plans."