Remember
Here’s the weekly refresher on our daring group of supers, last seen in Aeropolis. (Also, there are references to Celebrate! in this story, in case you want to refresh that story.)
(Check out all the Stories here)
Conduit - established hero, energy absorption and reflection
Blink - trainee, teleporter
Awareness - trainee, telepath - able to sense and send images and feelings
Reset - trainee, able to send himself back in time and change his actions, healing ability
Reset appreciated that his team simply folded him back in when he awoke from his coma. It wasn’t like he had much to tell them - he was with them in that creepy fairground, then he was awake in the hospital bed. He knew they wanted to know why he let himself get so grievously injured - and how long he’d known about his healing capability.
That was especially irksome to Conduit as he felt he was missing out on some important tactical information. But Reset had explained that he and the scientists were still testing the limits, which calmed Conduit down. The testing was certainly going faster now, of course! Reset did have a good long discussion with Conduit about some of the failed tactics in the amusement park fight, but there were a few results that were too traumatic to recall in detail. At least out loud.
Awareness had, of course, offered to help him process some of the more traumatic memories. But, despite the nature of her powers, she was not a trained therapist. Reset was seeing one provided by the Agency, but he mostly refused to talk to the team in greater detail. For them, the events never happened, and it didn’t feel right to burden them.
And Blink, ever the gym rat, was quick to realize why Reset had stopped his strength training - his muscles would always heal back to his current state. He would never get stronger, or weaker for that matter. Reset still participated in sparring and grappling as he knew those skills would grow. He was thankful his power still allowed him to learn and form memories. One of the scientists had suggested that could have been an issue. The powers in this world always seemed a mix of the fantastical and magic, and continued to baffle most scientists.
Reset shook his head to break out of his musings. The incident commander was briefing Conduit, and by extension Awareness, on the newest portal. It had appeared in the mountains to the north and west of Calgary. The majestic alpine backdrop enhancing the stately scene on the other side of the glowing portal. The consensus impression was that of a gigantic museum, with diffused lighting, smooth floors, and what appeared to be evenly spaced displays. Reset smothered a smirk as he thought of Blink rampaging through a museum. Blink was a lot more controlled than that, but his boisterous nature and long limbs made him the type of presence that would cause docents to follow him closely.
Conduit gave Reset the nod, and he moved up to begin their Portal breach procedure. Reset reflected on the comfort that came from routine as he noted the time on his watch and stepped through. And stepped through again. Checked his watch and looked to the left. Looked up from his watch again and checked to the right. Conduit was standing on his right, as always, so Reset nodded and confirmed his powers were unaffected.
As Conduit pulled out his lighter to test his own power, Reset looked around the vast room. As always, the two-dimensional view through the Portal couldn’t truly convey the full setting. Now that he could turn around and look, the room seemed to stretch an eternity in all directions. But, there was clearly a ceiling far above, and that implied it was some sort of structure. The lighting wasn’t uniform either, some areas appeared darker, one area appeared to be a cube absent any light. These were the moments Reset envied Blink’s power, there was going to be a lot of walking!
Blink did show remarkable restraint on his initial power test, merely teleporting back through the Portal, and then a few meters away. But Reset could see the impatience in his eyes as he checked in with Conduit. That’s when he noticed how the men’s voices sounded. They spoke in their normal hushed tones, a tactical choice of course, but it really suited the museum-like feel of the place. He noted that the conversation was further muffled by something akin to a white noise hum. The kind that open plan offices used so you didn’t hear every single keystroke on your cube-mate’s keyboard.
As Awareness stepped through and began her own Portal breach procedure, Reset moved to one of the nearby displays. And they were displays, the containment team had absolutely been correct about that. Large and small pedestals, sculptures or artifacts surrounded by velvet ropes, or more exotic looking barriers. Things that could be kindly described as knick-knacks, and things that seemed so intricately designed just looking at them evoked emotions. All with little glowing placards. He was chagrinned to see that the labels were not in any recognizable alphabet. He returned to the group and awaited Conduit’s decisions.
“We’ll have to split up and document. Earpieces in and active at all times. Awareness says she senses a single mind, but can’t sense the direction, so be alert. And hands off, just pictures and scans.”
“You don’t have to look directly at me when you say ‘hands off’” Blink replied with mock indignation.
Reset wasn’t sure if Blink intentionally cracked the joke to lighten the mood, but it helped. Something about a silent museum seemed to invite hushed whispers and hunched shoulders. The moment of levity reminded them this was another mission, their job was to scout for the unexpected and report back. They weren’t scholars cataloging the artifacts, that was for the Containment team once Conduit’s team sounded the all-clear.
With that thought, Reset remarked, “Pete’s going to love this place, the writing is definitely not English.”
Conduit nodded, instantly assimilating that nugget of information. “Good to know. Team, keep an eye out for some sort of key… maybe an audio tour booth.” Another chuckle, “and Blink, see if you can get an idea of how big this place really is - but don’t overextend.”
Hard to imagine a single room overextending the range of someone who was now routinely teleporting hundreds of kilometers, but Blink regarded one sculpture that appeared to simply be a nine meter long thumb and nodded.
The team engaged their earpieces and bodycams, decided that the upthrust thumb would be “north of the portal”, and headed out. Reset started the “spread out” protocol he and Conduit devised to minimize risk. He’d note the time more frequently and periodically confirm his ability was still working. Should something catastrophic occur with one of his teammates, Reset would have a time reference that would help. Because these test jumps were only a couple of minutes a piece, and only involved one or two possibilities, the pain and impact was minimal.
And, he had to admit, wandering through a massive museum was probably an optimal time to experiment! He imagined it would be like having an hour to visit the Louvre and still being able to see everything. He’d head down an aisle and look at what appeared to be living plants of some alien origin, do a quick reset, and spend that same time regarding a crystal orb that throbbed in time with his heartbeat. He supposed his only regret was that the body cam footage would only show one path.
With the earpieces active, he could tell he wasn’t the only one astounded by the variety of displays. Assorted gasps or blurts of wonder kept breaking the silence. Even when Conduit exhorted them to “just document and keep moving” the hushed awe in his voice made it unclear whether he was talking to the team, or himself.
As Reset was meandering through a group of holographic displays that seemed to show styles of architecture he’d never imagined, Blink reported he’d found an edge to the room. The edge seemed to stretch off in both directions. He thought he could sense a curve, so was currently working parallel to it. He did report that the edge was populated with paintings and displays, no doors or openings, however. Blink was under strict orders to not attempt a blind ‘port to the other side of any wall, and he was certainly not eager to take his chances.
The others reported free-standing walls used to hold artwork, and the occasional room that seemed to be lit specifically for the artifacts within.
Reset was the first to stumble across evidence of an inhabitant. He was investigating a cube that was about three meters a side. He initially thought it was an artifact on its own, but realized it was functioning similar to the free standing walls, the sides were covered in haphazardly arranged artwork. As he rounded a corner of the cube he spotted an easel with assorted painting implements laid out on a nearby table. The easel held a partially completed oil painting and the scene caused Reset to gasp.
He recognized the forming scene immediately. The midway games and the patrons with the eerie smiles were still being formed, but the heart of the painting was the figures battling in the middle. Awareness’ back arching in agony as her body lit up with electricity. Blink dodging a gout of flame as he tried to teleport the teenage boy away from the gang’s leader. Conduit charging the giant man holding the helpless girl. In the foreground, a hand reaching forward, helplessly. His hand.
Reset quickly turned and recognized the scene again in watercolor on the wall. Same fairground and patrons, but in this scene the giant was swinging the helpless girl at the boy in the wheelchair. Reset knew it was a heartbeat before both their bodies were crushed by the giant’s immense strength.
To the other side of the easel a … diorama? Intricately carved wooden figures showed the fairground scene again, this time Blink suffering from the full effects of the electricity manipulator. The electric bolts… folded tinfoil?
Reset instinctively started to reach for his earpiece, momentarily forgetting that they had an open channel. But he felt a different hand tap his ear. He twisted away and spun in to a fighting stance. He looked up in to his own grey eyes looking back at him with a bemused expression.
“Do you want to guess how many resets it took for me to finally turn that thing off?” the man asked him.
No, not ‘the man’. Reset was looking at himself.
Albeit an immaculately dressed version of himself. He was wearing a light blue tweed suit, complete with a double breasted waistcoat, and honest to goodness elbow patches. There was even a golden watch chain at the waist and the dark blue handkerchief matched the tie. But the same steel grey eyes and black hair, his father’s nose and his mother’s chin.
“Even knowing exactly where you’d be, and what you’d be doing,” the man continued, “it still took six attempts! I’d forgotten that it was the diorama that finally stopped me in my tracks… it’s not my best work.”
“Me?” Reset asked, surprised at how many questions were held by that single syllable.
“Well, technically ‘you’ now.” The man replied, “I mean, they are my memories, but this is definitely a ‘you and me’ situation now. Not the abstract ‘me and my recollections’ I’ve been dealing with today.”
…
Reset’s mind whirled. He knew Awareness had likely already picked up on his confusion so he forced himself to picture the Rockies towering over the western Prairies. The team’s new signal for calm, an acknowledgement that things were under control. She would respect his privacy and not pry.
“You remember today?” And with a wave at the fairground art pieces, “You remember all of this?”
The man smiled, “Yes. In fact, my current colleagues call me ‘Remember’, so you can introduce me to the team as that. To avoid confusion.”
“We still use code names?”
“Well… English really isn’t a… thing… anymore.” Remember answered softly, “So I took it as my name, since it’s fitting.”
“Any… more?”
“Yes. I know you don’t need it spelled out, and at the same time, you do need to hear it. This isn’t some alternate reality. This is one of your possible futures.”
“Possible?”
“Well, yes, I don’t want to jinx myself, but I do have to accept that there’s a chance you make a decision I didn’t. Not sure how. But I’ve definitely learned not to think of past and future in absolute terms.”
Reset nodded. “And we… you… out lived English?”
Remember sighed. The sound was the same that Reset made on occasion, but this came with a subtle change in posture, and a look in Remember’s eyes that conveyed eons.
“You’ve figured out by now,” Remember began, “ that we won’t age, we won’t physically change. We’ll die. A lot. But we can’t, really. We outlast so many things. So many… good people. But we’ll learn amazing things. See wonders you can’t yet imagine. Meet beings that will boggle your mind. We’re eternal. Well… so far...”
A twinkle returned to his eyes. “Go ahead and call the team. It will be good to see them again, and I’ve been waiting to frustrate the heck out of Blink for ages!”
Reset smiled, “I hesitate to ask, but I’d be remiss… any advice?”
“Try the muffaletta salad at the small bar by Blink’s place… it’s amazing!”
Reset and Remember moved to the opposite side of what turned out to be the access to Remember’s living quarters. Both of them unwilling to let the team see what could have befallen them in that fight at the fairground.
Remember remained composed, but they could all sense his joy at seeing them again, tinged with sadness. With his permission, Awareness did try to gather an image from his thoughts, but she likened it to putting your head in the ocean and trying to discern a drop of water.
Conduit, ever cognizant of their mission, finally asked, “What is this place? A collection of things you’ve seen?”
Remember chuckled and explained, “No. This ship… and yes, it’s a literal space ship… is one of a fleet. They aren’t all set up the same, I like to keep mine like a museum, but their purposes are the same. To preserve what we find on dead worlds, celebrate what is donated by the living, and to display it to all who want to see it.”
“Like… school tours?” Blink blurted.
“Essentially, yes.” Remember smiled.
“Is that why you’re dressed like a professor?”
Remember looked down at his tweed suit as if he’d forgotten, and then laughed. “This isn’t how I normally dress. But, I knew this is what I’d be wearing when I met you. It’s basically a practical joke I played on myself!”
The team looked at each other and shook their heads. Timey-wimey stuff is weird.
“Ok, Blink, you’ve started your questions…” He clapped his hands and rubbed them together in anticipation. “Let’s go for it!”
“How old are you?”
“45”
“No… how long have you been alive?”
“Counting all my time loops? Or just linear time?”
“Uh… counting your time loops?”
“No way to tell…”
“Fine… linear time.”
“I’m not going to tell you.”
“… are you going to tell me anything?”
“Depends what you ask.”
“… errrr… what should I ask?”
“Anything you like! I’ve got the time.”
“…” Blink’s eyes narrowed.
Remember brushed some non-existent fluff from his jacket sleeve and shot Reset a wink.
“Is the thumb part of a larger sculpture, or…”
Awareness, Conduit and Reset all chuckled and started wandering through the displays again.
The battle of unlimited curiosity versus eternal patience had begun…
This is for the Indie Ink Fund’s Week 9 Portal Prompt
The timing on this prompt was very fortuitous. If you haven’t noticed, I am trying to rotate the “main” character of each of these stories as a way to flesh out their powers and personalities. This week happened to be Reset’s turn, and this prompt played exactly in to the reveal I wanted to do regarding his functional immortality. I really like that it gave me a setting to go with the opportunity. That is to say, seeing the future Reset in a good situation versus… “You’re going to live forever… bom bom bom…”
Now, he’s certainly not going to have an easy ride to get here, and I foresee some really dark times for Reset. But this helped. I imagine it helped him, too.
I hope you enjoyed!
Dave
An infinite number of resets. I hadn’t thought about that at all.
I wonder how it will affect Reset, realizing that he is immortal… or maybe he always knew that.
Are all of these Supers immortal? Do they know?