You are now Jade Harley.
That's silly though, isn't it, because you've always been Jade Harley. Something just feels different this time, you suppose. Actually, a lot of things feel different in this place. But that doesn't matter right now because you are talking to a human who isn't John or Davesprite (he's human enough for you, at least, so shoosh) for the first time in three years! Well, talking at him. You haven't really given him much room to comment other than his assurance that he's human. You're just so excited!
Your canine ears twitch to and fro, picking up the whirring of plane engines and the crashing of the waves below you and the commotion you've caused on the now-baseball-sized planets and the smaller motors in the man's metal suit-
Hold on. You haven't really read much or watched too many movies that aren't John's (or really any movies at all after John denounced Nicolas Cage) for a while, but as all three of you lower onto the little landing area in the jet's cargo hold, your mind is whirring and trying to remember why he seems so familiar to you. You've definitely never met him before, but-
"Iron Man!" A blond man in a patriotic suit -so you're in the United States- calls out when you land. His blue cowl has been pushed back to reveal a head of blond hair, and if your brain had actually been functioning at the moment, you probably would have deemed him cute, considering your soft spot for blondes. However, your brain is currently preoccupied with completing the jigsaw puzzle that is this man's identity. Panels of comic books that you received when you were twelve all rush through your head like a slideshow; you remember reading all about this man, curled up next to Bec in your gardens on sunny Saturday afternoons. And sure, Sburb was beyond strange, but you certainly don't recall it bringing your favorite fictional inventors to life before!
And so, despite the plethora of intelligent questions swirling around your thoughts, the best you can manage is an incredulous "You're Iron Man?"
Iron Man releases you and John, whom the blond man steps forward to support, and raises an eyebrow. "So does every alien know who I am, or just the humanoid ones? I don't remember beaming my image out into space or anything, so I'm thinking there's just some giant billboard out there off the side of the intergalactic highway with my face plastered on it. It was probably Loki, that b-"
"Tony," the other man interrupts before the curse slips out, casting a pointed look to you and John. You think back on your conversations with Karkat and giggle. Jeez, this guy is going to be in for a bit of a shock!
"Oh, I can carry John," you say when you notice the man starting to shift John into a more comfortable position to hold. Without waiting for a reply, you close your eyes and picture John's room, sending him to his bed after a moment's concentration. He lets out a sigh and curls up in his sheets and you remove his glasses before he gets poked with them. When you open your eyes again, both men are staring at you. You smile. "You probably have some questions, huh?"
Questions are definitely a thing that they have. Since landing on the jet, you have been introduced to Iron Man and the rest of his team (Superheroes! How cool is that?) and relocated to a really cool hovercraft that can turn invisible and everything! The bustling personnel inside glance up at you as you pass by with the Avengers, then glance up again as they notice the small solar system orbiting around you. You think you probably look a bit dumb with the amount of head-swiveling you're doing, but you've always loved science and inventing things; if this isn't heaven, you don't know what is.
Now, though, you're sitting at a long, steel table across from the Director of this program, surrounded by clear blue skies through wall-to-wall windows. The Avengers are here, too; Black Widow and Hawkeye are standing as guards by the door, looking quite stern, while Captain America converses with an agent in a smart suit, and Iron Man and Doctor Banner seat themselves to Fury's left. Apparently there's another member of this team, but you have yet to meet him.
The Director, a serious man with a black eyepatch, is the one who begins the questioning after a few terse introductions. "Let's start with the basics here, since everybody I've contacted seems to know jack squat. Who or what are you, and why did you come here?" The others quiet down and turn to you as well, so you decide that now would probably be the time to make a good impression. After all, you know these people will help you- they're the good guys!
"My name's Jade Harley! I'm mostly human, I think. Like, ninety percent human, ten percent dog? That sounds about right. I'm also a fully realized Witch of Space, though, so I'm not sure if my definition of human is the same as yours, but I don't really think you guys are very normal either." Iron Man, now clad in more casual jeans and a tee shirt, nods his head as if to say 'fair point.' "And as for why we're here... I don't really know! We were on a straight course for the Alpha Universe, but for some reason this universe pulled us in. There wasn't really anything I could do to stop it, and it didn't seem too dangerous, so John and I just made sure we were prepared to carry out our emergency plans."
It seems that your introduction has only added to their list of questions. Before Director Fury is able to continue, though, Captain America exclaims, "I thought you looked a bit like the Wicked Witch of the East! Your shoes and stockings, at least." A few of the other adults laugh a bit, but Captain ignores them. "But what do you mean by 'Witch of Space'?"
You ponder that for a minute, wondering which definition they might understand without you having to explain everything just yet. "Our titles are supposed to challenge us. I was given 'Witch of Space' partly because of my firm entrenchment in science, and partly because I was raised alone on a small island; my world was really small. But since I've ascended, I have access to a number of space-related abilities such as the creation of wormholes, the manipulation of energy, and control over the amount of space something takes up."
"Ascended?" Fury asks. You shift a bit in your leather chair and avert your eyes. You're not sure if you want to explain your ascension just yet. They probably wouldn't think of you the same (as almost human), and you've kind of enjoyed their company thus far. Because, when you think about it, a lot of the things you and your friends take in stride would sound really weird if you tried explaining them to non-players.
Fortunately, Doctor Banner notices your discomfort and gracefully changes the subject. "If you don't know how you got here, we know a researcher who specializes in the field of astrophysics. We can contact her later if you think she could help. And I'm sure she'd love to study your wormhole ability."
You look back up and grin thankfully. "That sounds wonderful, actually. We have somewhere we really need to be, and there are people waiting for us."
"One of those people wouldn't happen to be a girl named Rose Lalonde, would they?" Your eyes widen as you turn to Iron Man, who is casually checking his phone as he waits for your response. How did he...? He puts his phone on the table and smiles at your shocked expression. "She contacted me earlier today. Her instructions are for you guys to wait with us until they arrive later this week."
"They?" you whisper disbelievingly.
"Rose, her twin brother, and four others. That's all she- Hey!" Superhero status be damned, there was no way he could have avoided this hug! You'd flown over the table and tackled him in your excitement and there is absolutely zero embarrassment to be found on your part because your friends are coming and this is the greatest thing you've heard in a long time! "Jeez, guys, calm down," Iron Man is saying. Still hovering over the table, you pull back and realize he isn't talking to you, but rather the agents whose hands have moved to their holsters. You realize your mistake a bit too late.
"I'm sorry! I promise I would never hurt you, any of you, you're heroes, and I'm a firm believer in pacifism, anyway! It's just I am so so so happy because I haven't seen Dave since we were frog breeding on LOFAF and goodness, have I even met Rose before outside of dream bubbles? And I'll finally get to meet Karkat and the rest in person, too! But can we really wait here? Is it safe? Will you let us?"
If there is one thing you learned from being raised by a dog, it is puppy eyes. Bec was a master of puppy eyes, despite his actual lack of eyes. You think that that just made him even better at it. As a result, you learned from the best, and when the Avengers start shuffling around and trying to look in different directions, you know it. You even make your ears droop a bit for maximum potency.
Captain America is the first to melt. "Of course. There's way too much room in the Tower anyway- Oh, come on," he says to the others, some of whom are beginning to give him strange looks. "You can't actually keep two kids in the Quinjet's holding cells! Where else were you going to let them stay?"
"If it's any help in deciding," you chirp, "we wouldn't really stay put in a place we don't like, anyway."
Fury sighs at the lack of control they actually have over the situation before seeming to concede to their logic. "Fine. Stark, they're your responsibility. Now let's get back to the questioning."
You settle back into your chair and start working out just how much you should explain. Kids with superpowers? Fine. Immortal teenage gods? That story can wait. As the onslaught of questions begins, you feel almost giddy. You're out of mortal danger, but back in action. Back on some alternate version of Earth, even! And when Rose and Dave arrive, there will finally be time to regroup and strategize and discuss everything that's happened, which is an opportunity you haven't had since your adventure started. Things are really looking up, you think!
One week earlier
Translucent red wings fluttered as two figures touched down in a narrow alley. "Is this the right place?" the fairy-like girl asked. "It was hard pinning this timeline down after we split from the dream bubbles. You're right, though, it doesn't seem doomed at all!"
The boy accompanying her smiled, revealing a sharp, symmetrical set of fangs. "You did great, AA. This place is definitely the source of the distress signals I've been picking up. Whatever it is, it doesn't seem to have happened yet, though, so it's definitely not Lord English. Actually, I'm pretty sure that threat doesn't even exist here."
Entirely used to it, the girl is completely unperturbed by his lisp. "For now, I we should just skip around in time a bit and gather some more information. Do you think the signal's going to pull in the others? Should we be looking for them?"
The boy looked up to the unfamiliar sky in thought and adjusted his odd red and blue glasses. "KK and them will be fine, but I have a feeling they're not the only ones we need to be on the lookout for."
"What do you mean?"
The boy turned away from the sky to his companion and smiled again. "You probably didn't notice because you're god tier, but when we entered this universe, it seems to have given us a one-up. A bonus life. I can think of a number of people who are desperately in need of a bonus life."
"You think they're all going to show up here?"
"No doubt about it."
The girl's cheeks dimpled as she smiled widely before taking the boy's hand. "Better start looking, then." A glowing red cog shape appeared under her red boots and his mismatched shoes just before a flash of red light enveloped them both. By the time a pedestrian walked by, there was no evidence that they'd ever visited.
A bit of a shorter chapter, but I just needed to get these intros over with. I tried experimenting with second person/present tense, and although not every chapter will be like this, if it's focusing on a Homestuck character it will probably follow this format. Additonally, some chapters will only be drabbles, but others will actually revolve around the plot I'm beginning to figure out.
Also wow who might these two mysterious time-and-doom-oriented characters be I wonder
