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Chapter 23
Soli and Tony had enjoyed breakfast together and could be found in Tony's shop on the ship, looking over the Time Jumper that Soli had overloaded.
"So, the power comes from you?" Tony asked and rubbed his sore shoulder. He was still wearing the sling.
"Yes." Soli pointed at some of the exposed circuits. "This is where the current comes in and feeds to the display."
Tony nodded his head. "These components are …..where did they come from?"
"You probably got them where you got the watch things. Plentitude? Rians? I think?"
"What watch things?"
Soli pulled a silver bracelet to Tony that he had tossed on another table. "This is a watch. Well, a bracelet. All of us wear them because they have a personal self-defense shield on them. We can also pop anywhere on a sphere-"
"Like a planet."
Soli nodded, "Most of them. Yes. I overloaded this one."
Tony took it apart and pulled it under a large magnifying glass. "How old is this?"
"Oh, that one is one I made recently. It's maybe, twelve years old? I don't know. Time is hard for me."
"Do you travel a lot?" Tony asked. "Using this?"
"Honestly, it was only my third time using it before we crashed here."
Tony nodded and continued to look it over. "This is so fucking cool. These components are tiny. Hand me some tools, kid."
Soli turned around and grabbed a box of tools. He sat them on the table between himself and Tony.
Tony handed one bit of the bracelet to him, "Pop that open and let me see it."
Soli took one of the odd tools and did as Tony asked.
Tony sat down on the stool and rubbed his shoulder.
"Shoulder aching?" Soli asked without looking at him.
He shook his head. "It's not bad."
"When is Sammy planning the surgery?"
"About a week." Tony said, "He said he needed to grow some tissue to help bind, something. I don't know."
"He's doing a similar treatment to my lungs. It's something he's been playing with. Interesting stuff."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. Something about how genetics being taken out of tissue, of….have Sam explain it to you. It's, pretty far gone."
"Out there." Tony corrected him. "How long has it been since you spoke English this much?"
"A while." Soli laughed and handed Tony the pieces.
He held it under a microscopic viewer and smiled, "This is so fucking cool."
Soli sat on the stool next to Tony and watched him. He couldn't help but smile. He had forgotten how much he enjoyed watching him work.
"I feel like I'm a kid again."
Tony chuckled. "Hanging with the old man, huh?"
"Yeah."
Tony didn't look away from the bracelet and the Time Jumper. Using the tools, he quickly sorted out how to use them, and began to move components from one to another. "So, kid. How are you feeling today?"
"Fine. Why?"
Tony grinned, "It's my second day of being a Dad. I'm trying."
Soli laughed. "I'm alright. I don't breathe oxygen as you do. But, I'm able to have the right mix pushed into my lungs with the device I'm wearing."
"How do you not short it out?"
"It has a grounding device on it. I trip it a lot and have to reset it. It's a pain in the ass."
Tony continued to work. "So, these don't do that?"
"No, they just break."
"Leave it to my son."
"Yeah. You always say that."
Tony laughed under his breath. "So, can you tell me if it's just you, or do I adopt anymore strays?"
"Several." Soli leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. "But, that's all you wanted me to tell you about that."
"Several, huh?"
"Yeah. Mostly 'Cess's idea."
"I am beginning to think I like this 'Cess. What's that short for?"
"Princess." Soli smiled.
Tony smiled, "She's a Princess, huh?"
"To only you and I. But, you told me not to tell you who she is, either. However, she told me to let you know. As she put it, you need all the help you can get."
Tony laughed under his breath. "Sounds like a redhead I know."
Soli chuckled. "You always had a thing for a redhead."
Tony smiled. "I knew it."
Soli knew he had figured it out. "See, this is still a natural progression of time. Although, I don't understand it like Sammy does."
Tony continued to work on the bracelet. "It's probably in that branch of Physics that slept through in school."
"I know it is in that branch of Physics that you are responsible for."
Tony didn't look up from his work and grinned, "Oh, the future is bright."
"Actually, Tony. I have questions about that."
"Shoot." He continued to work.
"So, Sammy says we can't return to the point we left, but then he told me it is possible."
"How far in the future was it?"
"A couple of years. I think."
Tony continued to work and shook his head. "We need to work on your time management, son. It would be helpful to know. This rounding shit isn't helpful."
Soli looked at Tony in surprise. "That's so not what I'm used to hearing from you."
Tony looked over at him and grinned. "There's a reason I'm asking, kid."
"Okay, maybe. A year-"
"But, less than three years?"
"Yes. What does that have to do with it?"
"The ripple of time spins, it's not a straight line. You're still on the turn."
Soli looked at Tony in confusion. "What?"
Tony shook his head. "But, that's one theory."
"And that it's a new timeline that Doc Brown talks about?"
Tony stopped working and looked up at Soli. "Are you talking about Back to the Future?"
"I watched it last night. I thought it would help."
Tony laughed under his breath.
Rhodey walked into the room. "There you are!"
"Here I am." Tony replied and pressed the Time Jumper's case back together. "So, that should work."
Soli looked at him in surprise, "What do you mean that should work?"
"As in, you can put it on and pop someplace else."
Soli was sure he misheard. "Pada, that was completely burnt up."
"Yeah, we probably need to test it."
Soli grinned and attached it to his wrist. "Alright. Hang on."
Tony and Rhodey watched as Soli closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Suddenly, the device on his wrist came to life.
Soli smiled in excitement.
"You can tell you haven't seen me in a while." Tony mocked, "Does it work?"
Soli glanced up and him and grinned.
Tony pointed at him. "Test first. See you in 90 seconds."
Soli typed something in on the device. "See you then."
He pressed a button and disappeared.
Rhodey put his hands on his hips. "Well, that's fucking cool."
"Time travel. One I've only thought of."
Rhodey looked around the room. It was long and narrow with white lights against the brushed silver walls. Several metal suits sat lined against the wall, but one, in particular, had caught Rhodey's attention. The large, silver one that Tony had built to escape the cave where he had been held.
He stood in front of it, looking at the damage. One entire side was removed and lay on the floor. Wires were exposed from the chest and hung out with a device attached to them. It was displaying a reading that Rhodey wasn't sure about.
"Man, this thing is creepy."
"It's not a Cyberman."
"Looks like one. Are you sure it isn't?"
"It's not. Soli made them from my designs. Apparently, I have an army of suits in the future."
"That's not going to help me sleep well at night."
"They aren't Cybermen."
Rhodey shook his head. "You've clearly never been in a firefight with one of those damn things. I lost fifteen before we could even locate it. No, man. You need to forget this suit project. Just go ahead and delete it from your database."
"Rhodes. It's not a Cyberman."
"I hear what you're saying, but no one is going to believe you, man. Hang on, are you repairing this?"
Tony turned on the stool he sat on, "Nah. The kid was working on it."
Rhodey nodded, "So, you're sure he's telling you the truth?"
"Every word." Tony put a tool back in the box.
Rhodey walked over to join Tony, "Man, you with a kid? Maybe you should run one of those tests."
Tony grinned, "What's the matter, Rhodey? Don't think I can spot my son in a crowd?"
"Come on, man. I mean…you? With a kid?"
"It's not that unbelievable-"
"I disagree. Tony, what has he said that has convinced you?"
Tony grinned, "I trust what he says."
"Well, I don't."
"You don't?-"
"No! Tony, he could be working you to….I don't know… start an invasion."
Tony laughed, "Because he's an alien, he's going to invade?"
"He's an alien?"
Tony rolled his eyes. "You ask as we sit on his ship. Clearly, you aren't Spock on this cruise-"
"So, does that mean…you…and an alien woman…"
"I have an open mind."
Rhodey rolled his eyes. "Okay, I'm believing this now."
Suddenly a loud pop of blue electricity appeared with Soli inside of it.
"And welcome back." Tony celebrated. "Do I know what I'm doing, or what?"
Soli quickly gasped and put his hand up his shirt to reset his life support for his lungs. He gave him a thumbs-up as he caught his breath.
Tony leaned over and slapped him proudly on the shoulder. "Back in business, Sparky. Now what?"
Soli typed in something on the Time Jumper and grinned. "Tell Sammy I'll be back as soon as possible."
He disappeared in a flash of light.
Rhodey laughed, "And why does that make me worry?"
"See? You're warming up to the idea Uncle Rhodey!"
Rhodey put his hands on his hips and swore.
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