Future-Shock: Escaping Fate

One last set of strikes. This time it would be two champions with a very special purpose. they would land on a very tainted ground. the ground was black, tarnished and covered in a very thick smog. unlike the smog of their time, the champions would find breathing only more difficult rather than deadly. This was Africa. The beginning of the Blight that struck this world was on this very grounds. It was here where it was a testimony of just how much this world had lost. For this region was where a man lost in time, and a dragon of the seas would witness the total devastation of the future.

Two intense flashes touching down on the broken and barren earth. From these lights were born the tall Chinese dragon, and with her was the time-traveler Solomon. The sands were cold to the touch, clouds stayed overhead and the rain, unlike other areas refused to stop. there were whispers in the wind, able to be heard by all. The murmurs indistinguishable from a hushed chorus of souls. All metaphorical speaking aside, a feeling of darkness loomed over this god-forsaken area that was getting the first rain it had seen in decades, if not centuries.

There was an enemy here that could not be beaten. In the belly of the beast the champions are stranded. Their only job.... to survive.

"...So like, does Turkey taste like just a bigger roast chicken?" June Young, The Dragon Girl, finished her sentence to the person she was speaking to just a moment ago. The alien environment registers a second later, and June was struck with an expression of bewilderment, of surprise and horror as she realized she wasn't in the safe, warm gym anymore.

"Where..." She muttered the obvious question, and glanced about. She was holding her gym bag and wore her new scale mail armor for testing, just as she was standing in the facility a second ago. Well, it seemed it was going to get tested now.

Her other senses began to take in the world. She heard an unearthly, ephemereal sound all around her- like the screeching of those alien terror borgs when their imprisoned souls were revealed to her the first time. No matter how many times, it was never a feeling one could never get used to. Even the rain clouds, which normally brought her comfort, rank of corruption, of wrongness. That ozone smell was replaced by something else entirely, as if the earth itself was choking. She produced a grey raincoat from her bag- which came with quite a few other useful things, a result of her mentor's preparation training. She wears it just in time for the rain to fall around her.

Next she retrieved her mobile device. No signal, no satellite internet, no nearby W.Industries signal found, and the weather's interference prevented the GPS App from taking other means to give her information. She sighs... it seemed she'd have to look for places to be, and places to avoid. She scans the horizon for any feature, her natural night vision enhancing the landscape for her. She also has her device search for radio signals, if any.

The expunged energy from The Timestream embraced Solomon like a warm blanket...but the trip was all too brief. No sooner had he entered its flowing essence then he was spat back out into a harsh environ. There was no crash of times waves against his suit, swirl of its raging rapids, just a cold and instant transportation. Honestly it left Solomon a little disappointed. He greatly enjoyed the thrill of riding The Timestream, too be robbed of it was just a major letdown. But of course there were more pressing matters at hand.

Like the fact that the Atmospheric Holo-Helm had automatically activated the second he landed in this new time period. Scanning his environment it was clear that something was very wrong. A black ichor clung to the soil and death seemed to permeate the entire area. Not exactly in Kansas anymore am I? Solomon jested as he lifted a boot only to see the black gunk plop lazily from its underside.

Might as well observe when I am he asserted non-nonchalantly. Pulling up his right hand he'd activate the Temporal Overlay Synchronizer. A faint but colored hologram would surround his immediate area of what we know today as current day Africa, somewhere in the Savannah it would seem. But what about time? Tuning the device he would wind forward the synchronized time, it finally coming to a stop with an exact overaly of his current surroundings. With that done, he'd check the date.

To his surprise he was currently roughly 300 years into the future of his most recent timeline. At least it sent me forward in the right direction he thought, once more lifting his head to scan his surroundings but horizontally not so much. it was clear to Solomon that this was not the path to the future that he came from but in fact a divergent timeline, an alternate reality possibility from the current events of the day from which he was sent. Interesting was all he could say as he once more rewound the Temporal Overlay Device to what we know as modern day until projected in the hologram was a couple on a private african safari in an offroad jeep. Reaching out, he would touch the hologram and synchronize the device, duplicating the jeep and its occupants into the current timeline.

Hello fellow travelers! he would shout excitedly to the beyond confused trio. Please move over as I wish to use your vehicle. The Tour guide was so full of shock that he did as Solomon commanded, moving over into the passenger's seat of the jeep allowing Solomon to take the wheel. You three are in for a special treat he'd say with the enthusiasm of a first day tour guide. Welcome to the twenty fourth century, please keep all arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times and enjoy the ride. With that, he'd rev up the engine and start to drive in a direction. Hopefully with a little luck, he'd find someone else who might be a little more use to him than the bewildered tourists in his temporally displaced vehicle.

June hadn't taken more than a dozen steps when she picked up on the familiar sound of a car engine. She turned to the direction of it and picked up the sight of a safari jeep. She turns around and waves, her otherwise dull gray raincoat's yellow accent acting as a reflector. "Hey. Going my way?" She called out.

And over here you'll see...um...more desolate wasteland that at some point in the past would have been teeming with life. Solomon kept up the tour guide gag, right now it was his best coping method, not admitting that he may very well have put himself in an even more sticky situation than he had been in the year 2020. Luckily though it seemed he was not alone. Well okay so he was technically not alone anyway as he was traveling with three terrified tourists. But he was not alone in the sense of another individual clearly displaced here from one of the temporal lightening bolts.

An petite girl of some Asian descent stood in a grey rain coat waving at Solomon and his approaching jeep. Hey, going my way? she'd ask as Solomon would stop the jeep, throwing it into park. Sure he'd reply, giving the man in the passenger seat a look that said get in the back or else. The man complied as Solomon offered out a hand to help the girl into the passenger seat. My name's Solomon miss. You weren't by any chance struck by a bolt of expunged energy from the Timestream before being brought here were you?

June felt relief at the sight of a vehicle from her time, but also concern for the terrified tourists who seemed out of place, unlike the man who greeted her. He definitely had a peculiar scent, human but not of her time at all.

"...I'm June. Thanks for stopping." June said, grateful. She climbed into the car, her bag of essential supplies resting at the passengers' feet. The drive would continue once June adjusted the seat for her ginormousness, especially in the leg room.

June thought about that moment back in Ellie's facility. "Timestream?" He asked, and June contemplated on the possibility. which would explain why her devices wouldn't work. "I... I think so... I was talking with my teacher about Thanksgiving one second. And now I'm here the next. Where... are you from?" She asked.

As the girl entered and situated herself, Solomon once more put his foot to the pedal and began to drive across the barren plains. Though he had to laugh as she questioned the Timestream. Sometimes he forgot just how alone he was in his knowledge. But of course this didn't bother him. In fact it often gave him quite a bit of pleasure, as it did now as June asked where he was from.

Where I'm from is of less consequence as when he'd chuckle, his eyes drifting between the woman and the expanse before him. I come from the 32nd century he would then pause, contemplating his predicament before the lightening strike though I was transported here from the year 2020 which if I am correct is when you come from, yes? It was an assumption on his part, though if the other lightening bolt he had seen had worked as his had Solomon was fairly certain that this woman had been taken to this place mere minutes before he had.

Solomon traversed the horribly dead wasteland on the vehicle with the dragon girl and their other "guests". These guests were less than happy with the sudden transition to be sure, not used to having such events as this transpire. The woman was hysterical and the man was as silent as the dead, trying to process and understand what had just happened. Though when they picked up the really tall Asian girl the woman made a comment that stuck out. "What in the-? What's going on here!? Someone please explain what's going on here and not act like we're not here or you've forgotten about us!" Of course she said this finally having settled herself a bit. "I'm being serious, because right now it just feels like we're being kidnapped by Doc Brown and Yao Defen!" She snapped before leaning back on her seat with her husband, hoping someone could make sense of this.

Meanwhile, while Solomon drove there was a rather strange buzzing noise, prominent in the area, a strange noise like the fluttering of wings as a strange cloud of darkness formed on the horizon, looming with a perilous look and a foreboding air. There was a thickness to the air, an unusual humidity without fog.

"Look... from what I understand you... we... were all taken from the 21st Century and brought to... whenever this place is. We'll find a way back to our time, I swear." Dragon Girl explained the gist of the situation despite her relatively modest science fiction exposure. Her heroic nature eventually got her to making tall promises that were difficult to keep.

She then looked at Solomon after making the solemn promise. "...Any idea how we can send ourselves back?"

"Do you hear that?" June's heightened hearing would soon pick up on the buzzing, but could not place what it was.

Solomon would look back to the woman, making some sort of reference that he simply did not understand. Don't worry he'd explain you will be fine. Stopping for a second he would revise his statement. Well, when I say you I mean you back in 2020. That version of you will be perfectly fine and will live through life never knowing what is happening to this now displaced version of you. This version though, by that I mean you, I can't speak for. He clearly wasn't once for comforting speeches, though that seemed to be all that people wanted from him, including the large Asian sitting next to him.

Of course I know how to send us back Solomon would say with the utmost confidence. The real question is, do I have the materials necessary to make that happen...the answer to that question is no. But of course Solomon being Solomon, there was no despair or such in his voice. This was all an adventure to him, not a situation to worry about. No, the thing that would cause some worry was the buzzing and shadow rapidly approaching. Yes he would say, already turning the jeep in the opposite direction of the encroaching shadow and I don't intend to find out what its coming from.

Pillars of a smoke and ink flew past the jeep, smashing onto the ground before jumping and arching through the air, only to crash upon it again and repeat the process. Akin to dolphins, the ink blots and pillars of smoke danced , changing their arching projections like the projected amps on an audio receptor. It was rather interesting as the wind picked up, blowing longer hair and actually shifting the weight of the vehicle itself a bit. Thankfully there were so many passengers, any less and the vehicle would have flipped.

From the smoke clouds strange locusts appeared, these locusts were not your traditional locusts however. These creatures were a strange, unknown breed with tiny maws that looked akin to a piranha, armed with sharp white teeth, only scaled down to the insect's size. The fearsome maw was also fully equipped with a secondary maxillae akin to that of a dragonfly nymph. Though these locusts were looming and quite obviously surrounding the jeep, they did not strike. Not yet. But the time was soon, and if nothing were done the looming insects would likely follow their own intuitions while the ominous chasing substances were ever in toe.

June did not like how Solomon assured their passengers, no matter their quasi-real nature. Whether living or just projections, she assured them repeatedly she'd do what she could to keep them safe. Such was the way of the hero!

June gripped the door from startled fright, crumpling the metal and tearing the cushion. She looked at the evil smog that was encircling them, leaping around. Then the demonic locusts had to show up. Oh, Why did it have to be demonic locusts?

"Everybody duck and cover." June stood up with one foot on her seat, and took a deep breath. She timed it with the largest clump of locust closest to the jeep, and breathed out heavily, her eyes aglow with energy, as well as lines in her neck. Her breath rapidly freezes the very air and the locusts, slowing down whatever foul energy drove them on.

Impressive was all Solomon could think as his compatriot rose from her seat to deal with the strange and alien locust swarm that surrounded them. At least it explained the buzzing noise that they had heard earlier. Unfortunately what it did not explain was the ever encroaching darkness. And the little creature's snapping jaws indicated that should this chase drag on, the whole lot of them would be in trouble.

Solomon needed to act. Clearly his friend was capable of at least fending off a portion of the locusts but it would not prove to be enough. And the Jeep, well the Jeep was vulnerable, both in its open design and for the fact that its speed was sorely outclassed by the encroaching swarm. What they needed was a speedy getaway now and Solomon felt confident that he had the solution.

Just keep doing what you're doing, he'd shout to the now partially glowing human refrigerator standing next to him. Things are about to get weird! With that he'd pull two devices off of his suit, one being the ChronoP3 Player and the other, one of his specialized grenades. In theory, what he was about to do should give them ample time to escape from the swarm and get out of harms way of whatever else might e chasing them. Then again, all of Solomon's planned work beautifully...in theory.

Inputting four-dimensional codes into both devices, one in each hand, he had no way of holding the steering wheel. Instead he gunned the gas, hoping that the speed would keep them on a relatively straight path. On the ChronoP3 Player he would input the code for STOP and on the grenade he would input the code for FAST FORWARD. If it worked, general time around them would be stopped while the grenade accelerated time in a small radius, putting miles of distance between them in literally no time. But when he hit the activate button on both devices, that was clearly no the outcome.

You stupid...aaaaaaah Solomon would cruse as he realized what had happened. The ChronoP3 Player had decided to accelerate general time, making everything around them move faster while the grenade was reversing time. From inside his exclusion suit, Solomon lurched as the Jeep slammed into full reverse with no warning. His ice breathing friend sitting back down as she seemed to inhale her icy breath. At this point there was nothing he could do as he watched the swarm zip by them around their small blue bubble of reversed time. Above them, he watched the locusts reversing inside the bubble collide with the intersection of two opposite Timestream currents and be ripped asunder across time. Not to self, never get caught between two opposing currents he'd say as the girl beside him began to speak backwards .revoc dna kcud ydobyrevE. All the while he helplessly watched as their little bubble of reversed time plunged straight into the heart of the locust swarm, blocking out the light above them. Wow did I screw up... he finally say as the effects of the strange time warp wore off.

Warped backwards. Propelled into the very carrion swarm that threatened to engulf them. A personal accomplishment for Soloman to be sure. He most certainly found the most creative way for them to die. But not yet....

As darkness consumed them time would seem to crawl, and then suddenly there was nothing but the dim lighting of little amber light pouches in the ceiling of a dome-like construct that they found themselves in. Time, for Soloman and for the jeep were restored to their regular flow, as the dragon-girl returned to her regular alignment and shot out her icey breath, after saying "Everybody duck and cover." for the third time. There was the faintest buzzing. The flapping of wings as the creatures seemed to still exist here, though where were they? No manner of GPS worked here, and the car would no longer kick over. What was going on here?

There was a strong silence within the area, only one that would be broken by the trespassers pulled into this domain. The smell of iron filled lingered in the air, the pungent stench of blood quite pronounced. There were chatters, clicks and other noises that filled the air. The first thing to make itself seen within this place spawned from an amber pouch. A sickly slicing as fluorescent, amber fluids fell to the ground. Humanoid in shape, appearing to be covered in a black coat of some kind. The man began to try and stand, though it seemed to have great difficulty.

Groaning the man tried, but failed to move. Dropping almost in futility.

"E-E. Eve-Everyb...Every baaaah.... Everybody." he began to speak. Weakly. Quietly. A whisper in a dark place with the echoes of chattering and clicks.

Dragon Girl was unawares of the temporal distortion caused by Solomon's device, and couldn't help but lose her balance when her vision went from blasting apocalyptic future locusts with ice breath, to the the dark interior of some kind of alien domain.

*SPLAT* Dragon Girl lost her balance from the jeep and fell face first into the maple-syrup like muck. Judging from the very ripe organic smell, June preferred to close her mouth shut, but she let out an audible "EWWW" when she got a little in her mouth. Definitely not maple syrup. She struggles to get up, but in this viscous terrain she only ended up sitting on her ass in the knee deep muck.

"PPFFFT PFFFFT PFFFFT!" She vehemently spits out the vile goo, wiping her face with her dirty hands, trying to get herself cleaned in this incredibly gooey dark future.

"This is. The worst. Future. Ever." She said, looking to see if the Jeep was alright, aside from the strong possibility that it would be axle deep in the goop.