A Crossroads Between Realities

"Ew," Marty says, wrinkling his nose. "Good enough reason for me to avoid the cheesy cat food if we ever end up with a cat." Not that he currently thinks they will, but -- hey. Could happen.

"Guess it's like everything else -- depends on the dog and the cat." Marty glances at Erdammeru. "Don't suppose you have any strong opinions on cats unless they're trying to claw her up," he says, jerking his head toward Stephie.

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The void hound makes a very human-like paw-wiggle at that. It depended on the cat. Threats were to be dealt with. The ones on the island weren't to be chased, no matter how potentially entertaining they looked... and they were small and warm and purry, which made them... entertaining in other ways.

"I caught him disguising himself as a cat bed once to get a closer look at some of Selina's cats. but he won't hurt any of them," Stephie says.

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Marty does his best to bite back a grin, but it's hard. "Oh. Okay then." Almost sounds like the Void Hound's got a soft spot for cats.

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"They amuse him, and they're not threats," Stephie says. "But they're not pack because they're Selina's. I think that makes them something like toys he has to play careful with."

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"I gotcha. Well, better that he knows to be careful than not." Marty has a few more licks of ice cream, catching some drips around the edge of the cone. "How are you liking the new reality you guys have got so far?"

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"A whole damned lot more than the old one," Stephie says, "And that's even with the lack of public utilities, infrastructure, internet, or any major signs of civilization unless I come here. Though I'm still not sure how much I trust all of this."

"I think people who aren't still waiting for the other shoe to drop are a minority right now," Jokester says. "In more than one way, since they're usually under the age of ten."

"And I'm sure we'll have TV back eventually," Duela consoles. "Or at least public movie theaters, if Mr, Karlo has anything to say about it."

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"Can't blame you -- if I'd been through some of the shit you guys have, I'd be constantly waiting for the rug to be yanked out from under me," Marty admits, starting in on the actual cone. After a moment's chewing, he adds, "The Nexus is good for at least getting out and talking with people. And yeah, I don't think you guys will be lacking for long, at least in the tech department. Too many scientists running around." He doesn't know how good Mr. Freeze would be with the internet, but designing good refrigerators? Those are important too.

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"Yeah, but it could still take a few years," Stephie says. "Right now, we're just kind of squatting in this really weird old castle, and the adults are all talking about setting up some kind of school for us." She rolls her eyes at that. School as she remembered it was boring. "We've got generators and stuff for electric, but that's about it. And rebuilding things from scratch gets hard - You can't go raid a Radio Shack for parts when there isn't one. Erdammeru keeps having to make pieces for things, like they think he's some kind of 3d printer with paws."

"Hey,"Jokester says, trying to look serious, "If you don't have school, you have nowhere to play hooky from. .... Wait, that was probably bad advice."

Duela just laughs, then manages to add, "I think it'll get easier when we have more people who know how to do all the little things nobody thinks of until nobody's doing it. Well, and it'll get a little harder too, because the only ones who know how to grow food are Aunt Pammy and her kids, and they don't do animals..."

"Lobster's easy to catch on the beach," Stephie comments, "but I think I'm going to be sick of it by the time this is over... and by 'over' I mean whenever we have grocery stores again. The Nexus is good at filling in holes like that, but no one wants to use it as too much of a crutch."

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"I can think of a bunch of kids, eight-year-old me included, who'd think that squatting in a weird old castle sounds like living the dream," Marty responds, smirking. "Though yeah, my tune would have changed too once the adults started talking about school. . .and I bet it's rough. I wouldn't know where to start if I had to build my own -- well, everything, I guess. The pocket reality I live in right now is kinda weird, but I guess I should just be grateful it comes with buildings and groceries and all that." He glances at Erdammeru. "So you've been keeping them supplied, huh?"

"Yeaaaah, that sounds like a good place to start -- the food here's safer than it once was, but you never know when you might get hit with a LOL," Marty says, wrinkling his nose. "I don't remember farming being big in Gotham -- unless you were Poison Ivy, like you said -- but there had to be some people making the food." He just wishes that the first people who came to mind on that front weren't the Kents. He's not sure how anybody here feels about the Big Blue Farmboy.

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Stephie snerks. "Yeah, it's great until you realize just what old castles were like. They weren't exactly designed for modern conveniences. Though at least we're on an island and we shouldn't have to put up with a Gotham winter in the place." And something about that has her curious. "So, the food in the grocery stores just comes back and stays fresh without anyone doing any of the work? Lucky... I would definitely be raiding the nearest mall if there were empty self-replenishing stores."

Duela nods. "Yeah, Gotham wasn't really big on green places, unless they were painted that color. There was pretty much just the park, and everyone knew that was Aunt Pammy's turf."

"The big problem is," the Jokester points out, "not a lot of 'average simple peasant farmers' make it into comic book stories - with a few exceptions related to a guy I know who's notorious for wearing his underoos on the outside of his tights. Among other things." Yeah, Superman crossed his mind, too. "Mad geniuses we'll have plenty of. People who do all the little everyday things everyone takes for granted? Just not interesting enough to get published."

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"Yeaaah, good point -- bet it's drafty as hell," Marty admits, making a face. "And basically -- where my folks and I are living now mirrors a bigger reality, so all the stuff changes from day to day to reflect what happened in the other world. The only thing it didn't bring over was the people -- we're the only ones in there. Got no clue why, but it works for us." His expression goes thoughtful. "So, you know, if you guys need extra supplies -- it's just the five of us, we're never gonna use it all."

"Right, and nobody wanted to get in her way," he nods back.

He snorts. "Yeah, what is with that red bit that looks like underwear? I know it's a classic costume, but come on." He sobers up as Jokester continues. "But yeah, good point. Bet you the writers weren't even thinking about where the food in the grocery stores or anything came from. You just kinda take it for granted if you don't do the actual work."

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laughing_girl

Stephie grins. "Hey, maybe I'll have to stop over, then. We can't keep asking Aunt Jeannie to pull things out of nowhere because we didn't arrive with luggage."

"Do you know if it echos the other way at all?" Duela says. "I mean, do the things you take disappear from stores, or... I dunno, if you put giant sunglasses on a statue in a public place will they somehow end up in the next day's newspaper?" Because that would be strange and weird, and it would probably be better if it didn't go that way no matter how funny it could be, but it was always best to know what the repercussions could be.

"The whole thing shifts priorities a bit," Jokester says. "Once the rest of the old crowd's around, we'll need to focus on trying to find people who have whatever skills are needed to basically put things back together again."

"Maybe some of the other timelines will have more farmers and stuff," Duela ponders.

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"Right -- not fair on her," Marty says, then looks over at the Void Hound. "Or him either. At the very least, I can guarantee you there's a grocery store not far from where we're living right now, and it definitely has more than lobster and veggies."

"Doc doesn't think so -- he and Dee have done some poking around, and according to Dee, everything feels like it flows one way. She's got this talent for sensing different timelines and multiple reality stuff," he explains. "Comes with being a time machine, I guess. . . We can't really be sure, though. The entrance to the main reality vanished a while back. We're not sure what happened." He chews a piece of cone. "I mean, given our home hasn't gone kaput, it's gotta still be around somewhere, but either it lost its grip on the Nexus or the Nexus lost its grip on it." He's not really mourning -- from what Doc and Victor told him, Chicago in the main reality verged a little too much on "potential war zone" for his tastes -- but yeah, questions like this make him wish he could check.

"Probably depends on the timeline," Marty says. "I dunno all the worlds you're gonna be yanking into this new 'verse. But yeah, somebody's gotta have some farmers. And architects. And -- sanitation guys." Don't forget someone needs to make sure the toilets all work too.

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"That sounds great," Stephie admits. "One of the reasons I'm here is that it doesn't take long to start getting sick of the seafood and salad diet."

There's a slight nod at the mention of Dee's senses before Duela comments, almost offhand, "It's still weird to me other people don't do that. I mean, would you even know you walked into the wrong timeline? Or would you have to see a lot of things that proved it. And maybe the Nexus just doesn't think holding on to the main one is important any more, since all the people that visit it are living where you do. I dunno about that, though, because there seem to be a lot more portals than regular visitors, so they can't all be because of that."

Jokester nods. "I know Batman's idea of 'taking out the trash' is to beat it unconscious and drag it to jail, and all I know about plumbing comes from that video game with the mushrooms and turtles... As for architecture, I do know what a bearing wall is, but usually more for demolition reasons. And the only way I know a two-by-four from a four-by-four is that the second one has tires. ... Pretty sure I've been hit with both, before, though."

Edited Date: 2018-12-22 09:26 am (UTC)

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"Yeah, don't blame you," Marty says. "My cousin grew up the heir to some fish-canning empire back in his own world, and now he won't touch seafood at all. Well, except for lobster -- didn't have that quite so much."

"I think that's more a question for Doc than me," he confesses, licking a stray drip as it runs toward his hand. "He's the one who's studied how multiverses work and time travel and all that. But judging by the movies that we were supposedly supposed to star in, no, you gotta see the differences first. I mean, it would be handy to just know, but--" He shrugs. "Maybe you gotta be attuned to the multiverse or something?" He takes another bite of cone. "And maybe. . .I'm not even gonna try to guess at how the Nexus works." That way lies only madness.

"Yeah, I'm familiar with the Mario and Luigi brand of plumbing too," Marty says with a smile. "The real stuff? Not so much. And Doc can fix a leak, but I don't think he could plumb a house from scratch. Maybe you guys oughta make a list of all the different kinds of people you think you might need?" Be a pretty long list, sure, but it would be a place to start.

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"If you ever want lobster and want to arrange a trade, I can pick some up for you," Stephie says. "Literally. Those things swarm the beach like some ocean version of cockroaches in a cheap motel."

"I think the Nexus works however the Nexus wants to work," Duela says, going back to her ice cream. She's already mad, at least in her own opinion, so maybe that helps.

"I'm pretty sure if you suddenly had a fire-breathing carnivorous plant pop up in the bathroom, it'd take more than a call to the local plumber and a couple hundred bucks to deal with... ... though Poison Ivy might know that one better than me!" Jokester nods. "We'll have to, sooner or later. Like I said before, we might already have to track down someone in the timesoup who's qualified to conduct a marriage. And it really wouldn't hurt to have someone around who's used to cooking for large groups. Start with what comes up, and then kind of work backwards down the supply chain until we're not having to cover for infrastructure holes."

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"Makes 'em sound really appetizing," Marty deadpans, though he can't help a grin. "I'll talk with the rest of the family -- see what they're up for. But seriously, whatever groceries you need, go for it."

"I think you hit the nail on the head there," he agrees. "We're just all along for the ride." Fortunately, for him at least, it's been a good one so far. Hoping it stays that way!

Marty chuckles. "Probably! Mostly because she'd likely be the one who stuck it in there. . ." He nods back. "Right -- gotta get that covered. And yeah, definitely -- how many of you guys are out now? Like, got any idea of a total headcount?"

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laughing_girl

"They're getting there," Stephie grumbles.

"Aww, it's only been a week for you," Duela counters with a snicker.

And then it gets into the total population.

"Total total, or just displaced Gothamites?" Jokester asks. "And total as in wandering around living, or... well, there are some other cases too, and I don't just mean dead people."

"A hundred and fifty-nine," Stephie says, almost absently - the answer relayed from Erdammeru. "If you count everyone that technically exists in some way."

"But ten of those are off in the quiet place with all the fog where dead people go now," Duela says. "Because six of the Pokémon were ghosty kinds that went there, so they could be something other than ghosts later. And mom's got four patients that were really messed up..." She bites her lip briefly and quickly changes topic. "And two more are... um... you'd have to fall asleep to meet them. It be rude to say they're imaginary, because they're real too... just maybe not the same kind of real." She likes the Nightmaren, really. "I wonder if they could visit the Nexus..."

"So that makes a hundred and forty-seven people on the island." Stephie nods as she updates her count.

"That's counting all the ones that came out of those carnival balls, including the spiders," Jack says.

Edited Date: 2019-01-04 09:31 am (UTC)

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"Hey, if I was chowing down on the exact same thing for a week, I'd start getting sick of it too," Marty replies, finishing off his cone.

Marty looks between Jokester, Duela, and Stephie as they give him the totals. "I was thinking mostly the guys from DC, but that's just because I didn't know if anybody else from another reality had already gotten out. Almost forgot about the Pokemon -- which is kinda stupid, given that's how Victor got Nibbles," he adds, rolling his eyes at himself. "So you've technically got dead people hanging around? And imaginary but real? Sounds kinda like Alice's Wonderland friends, though she and Victor would know a lot more about that. . ."

He grins playfully at Jokester's comment. "Okay, but does it include Selina's cats?"

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"I thought we were just talking about 'mostly sure they're people', because none of Selina's cats have tried talking to me," Jokester replies. "Though given some of the others, I wouldn't be that surprised if they did."

"Um, we don't have dead people hanging around, because they're dead," Duela points out. "It's just that there's a lot of difference between dead and still-in-the-timesoup."

"Fourty-eight," Stephie updates in between bites of her glowing vanilla-and-orange treat.

Duela nods. "Because Wonderland is kind of like a dream place, even if she might have gone there while awake sometimes, am I right? Yeah, they be kind of like that. Or maybe like that and like non-evil Freddy Krueger, because they aren't just in one person's dreams."

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