Let's Get Phys-- I mean, Philosophical.

[telekinesis_kills]

Danny is sitting cross-legged, rather solidly settled into one of the beanbag chairs scattered around the Plaza. He's watching people go about their business, just observing the ebb and flow of the foot traffic around him. At a certain angle, one might be able to see a faint pink glow around his body, which occasionally seems to sink a little deeper into his skin, and then back out again.

"I know what I ought to do," he says aloud. "Find a way back home, report on this new discovery, kick the actual decision-making upstairs to the higher ups, and wait for new orders."

Danny sighs, and it's almost like his body is pressed into his seat a bit more, as though by some large unseen hand. "Nobody knows that I'm here. And if it's true that we can come and go as we please... is anything stopping me from just... going a little later?"

He's probably going to do what he ought to do, all his training and experience tells him so, and yet...

He looks up, with a thoughtful frown on his face. "Is it selfish to want some time for myself?"

Comments

[desertpowered]

This young man seems interesting, so Paul emerges fully from the place where he was resting, fully engaged.

Paul notices the pink glow, but doesn't comment just yet. People's powers are a personal business - he hardly advertises his own here, if partly because it's more in his interests if people don't know exactly what he's capable of.

"Besides," Paul says with a quirk of the lip, "I do appreciate the breather. I haven't seen you around before, so I'm assuming you're a newcomer - though I haven't been in the Nexus so long myself. I'm a visitor, not a resident."

[telekinesis_kills]

Despite his first instinct to hold his telekinesis at the ready for an attack, Danny forces himself to release the energy. The residents of the Nexus were quite clear that violence was looked down upon here. So the pink glow around him fades away.

He nods at Paul's next comment, "Yes, I'm a visitor, too. Though that does sound a bit more intentional than what happened to get me here. I should have known better, really -- you never know what you will find in the abandoned lair of a mad scientist."

And... finally, his manners catch up with the rest of his brain. Danny blushes a little when he realizes that he let Paul's introduction go unacknowledged so far, and sticks out his hand for a handshake. "Pleased to meet you, Paul. I'm Danny Chase."

[desertpowered]

"I found my portal, though I keep the location secret and travel using a PINpoint. I suggest getting your hands on one if you haven't already. They're invaluable here, especially if you don't know how stable the portal you came through is and want to make return visits."

As for Paul, while he doesn't go looking for fights Danny might notice a sheathed knife at his side - not obvious, but within easy reach if it's ever needed in a hurry. It's more like a dagger, though not of any familiar kind that's found on Earth, and there's something almost organic.

Paul accepts the handshake, formal but friendly. "Hello, Danny. If that's how you prefer to be called." He has a few names by this point himself, but he's Paul here and he prefers to keep things simple until he knows people better. "That glow around you. You don't have to tell me unless you want to, but you aren't the only one here with special powers."

[telekinesis_kills]

"A PINpoint?" Danny repeats. He thinks for a moment -- Paul likened it to a portal, but it's distinct, so -- he guesses, "Is that a device to enable transport to this place?"

Perhaps it's a good thing that he didn't go running back to the Central Bureau of Intelligence at first chance. They might approach it like some undiscovered territory to be stripped of resources, but if the people here have sophisticated transport technology, that sort of incursion could lead to the CBI sparking an interdimensional incident. (First off, not good. Secondly, imagine the paperwork!)

Danny makes note of Paul's unusual knife, but he won't begrudge another person their self defense measures. He smiles slightly when Paul shakes his hand and says, "Danny is easier to go with. No explanation needed."

If Paul was expecting his mention of Danny's powers to evoke a negative reaction, that's not the case. Danny shrugs casually and says, in a tone that might easily be read as arrogant, "I'm not the only one with special powers at home, either. I was born with an active metagene -- which expresses itself primarily with telekinesis."

(He doesn't mean to brag, really. But his bluntness can rub people the wrong way.)

[[OOC: Player, I know what he's like and I'm sorry. XD Feel free to take offense if that would fit your character. I'm cool with it.]]

[desertpowered]

Paul nods. "Yes. I suggest guarding it closely in your home world. As for me, I hacked into mine, locking it so that nobody can use it besides me. I would like to prevent cross-pollination to the best of my ability. If you don't have one, they're sold in machines. Don't worry about the price, it's ridiculously cheap for how valuable these things are. It should take any currency, and if you don't have any you can take a few coins on me."

His reasons are similar to Danny's, superficially - Paul wishes to keep the political situation in his universe contained there, which he's decided would be best for everyone involved. That means keeping knowledge of the Nexus strictly to himself.

"Mmmm." Paul doesn't seem bothered by the tone in the least, instead mulling over the . "I was born with some of mine, I think, but there are also triggers that activate them or make them stronger. Some came about through special training - though I imagine that's the case with most powers, even if you're born with them. Practice helps most skills reach their full potential."

He's curious. It sounds as if Danny's powers have a biological origin, though from the way Danny explained them metagenes can express themselves in different ways.

[telekinesis_kills]

"That's good advice," Danny responds, about the PINpoint. "There are plenty of people in my world that I wouldn't want running around a nexus of the multiverse." He listens to the rest of Paul's explanation for acquiring his own, then comments, "I've got some currency on hand. I should be all right, but thank you for the offer."

When Paul mentions 'special training', Danny's mouth twists into a wry, darkly amused smile. "Oh, yes. One must be molded into something useful, when one is a finite resource." He looks away, and down, and flexes one hand into a fist a few times. Then his hand relaxes and he looks up again.

Since Paul didn't tell him to stop talking, Danny continues to explain, "I have two cousins, but only one of them has powers. The grandfather that we share is the one whose genetic makeup was changed initially. We -- well, scientists in my world -- still don't know a lot about which genes cause which powers. Most of the people I trained with... their abilities were a surprise to their families."

[desertpowered]

"I'd imagine that's the case with all universes. The Nexus isn't able to keep out everyone who comes with the intention of starting trouble, but it's been quiet for at least as long as I've been here." If there was a situation, Paul thinks, he'd have to decide whether to step in and help - and there would be several factors going into whichever choice he makes. "I'm going to have a baby sister. She might have abilities similar to mine. These things do sometimes run in families."

Paul nods glumly, with an expression that suggests that he has a better understanding of what Danny is talking about than he's currently letting on. He certainly knows what being molded to fit a specific purpose feels like.

"I don't live here, but I do have a base of operations, so to speak - since I have friends and interests here to protect. Good to know you're able to get a PINpoint without any trouble. I'd suggest seeing Captain Rogers' PSA and grabbing some of the pamphlets. The Nexus doesn't have many rules, but there are some things to keep in mind."

[telekinesis_kills]

"Quiet is good," Danny muses. Quiet is rare, on his world and in his line of work. And if there was a situation... Danny would probably be among the first to jump in and help.

Danny thinks that maybe Paul looks worried about his baby sister, and asks (rather bluntly), "If your sister has powers like yours, will she have to be trained like you were?"

Danny looks a little embarrassed at the reminder that he hasn't exactly been thorough in his information gathering just yet. "Ah, yeah... the guy who kinda looks like Commander Steel..? I saw that video playing, but I should probably slow down and grab some reading material. Most of the information I picked up so far was from... eavesdropping. And I think it was mostly the residents."

[desertpowered]

Paul doesn't disagree that quiet is good, though he's more cynical about whether things will stay that way. Some people will always want to start trouble or have interests at odds with peace in the Nexus.

There's another nod. "We have to learn fast, where I come from. Luckily I'm good at adapting to new situations, but I like to hang back until I've properly assessed things. I hope she will be, too."

He notices Danny's embarrassment. "I don't know who Commander Steel is, but I didn't really know what America was either. I'm...well, I wasn't born on Earth." Paul's found that humans are common, but non-Earthborn humans are rarer, and he's one of the few. "There isn't anything too serious. You have to be more careful in the Underbelly and the Wilds, because some of the residents aren't so friendly and the anti-violence field won't always protect you. If there's anything else you want to know, feel free to ask."

[telekinesis_kills]

"She'll have you to learn from, right?" Danny asks, because while he has no firsthand knowledge of how siblings are supposed to work, that's what he hears about big brothers. "So she'll have an advantage."

"Oh!" Danny smiles when Paul says he wasn't born of Earth, and says confidently, "Don't even worry about that, Paul. I don't expect you to understand my references just because of the different universes thing, and it's not like I haven't met -- or worked with -- aliens before. When I was a kid, I teamed up with a half demon girl for a while. Before she tried to kill me."

Danny has a very strange history, but sometimes he forgets about how strange it can sound to other people.