OMAKE - Taylor Varga's Side (from Worm Turns)
"I had no idea that you had a prankster side," said Saurial.
"I attended a school with Fred and George Weasley for several years," said Hermione. "One learns."
"Convincing Sophia that a Taylor had died in the locker and was haunting her was one of the funniest things I'd ever seen," said Ianthe. "You were using things from half a dozen horror films."
"More than that actually," admitted a smug Hermione. "Amazing how many of those are adaptable when you combine magic with holograms and other technologies."
"Huh, what have we here?" asked Varga, who was currently Raptaur. "I haven't seen one of these in..."
"In?" prompted Metis.
"I'm not entirely sure, just that it has been a very long time indeed," said Raptaur, reaching out and stretching a point in the local space into an oval.
"What is it?" asked Hermione, curious.
"A pan-dimensional nexus, an isle of stability in the sea of the multiverse," said Raptaur. "Nice. Someone built a building on it."
"I think I saw something about this. An Inn Between, isn't it?" asked Saurial, sounding excited. "Like Callahan's Crosstime Saloon."
Varga checked the memory and nodded. "Yes, that's the basic idea. There's supposed to be a few of them around but usually you only run across them when you're not looking for them."
"Well, we weren't," pointed out Metis.
"Fair enough and... there's you and a dragon," pointed out Ianthe.
Everyone looked that way and then nodded. That was certainly Taylor Hebert and it was quite obviously a silver-scaled dragon. The dragon took on an old-human-male appearance.
"Looks kind of like Master Roshi," muttered Saurial.
"Well, come on before the portal closes, this bears investigation," decided Raptaur.
The others nearby nodded at them or waved before returning to their own conversation, indicating perhaps that large lizard-people walking past were mostly unremarkable.
The Inn turned out to have a short set of stairs going down into a common room. The clientele sufficiently demonstrated why a set of reptile people were just slightly unusual.
"That's James T Kirk flirting with... Nefertiti?" asked Hermione.
"It being James Tiberius Kirk, are you terribly surprised?" asked Metis.
"Well, no, not so much," agreed Hermione. "Is that Hagrid?"
"Might be A Hagrid and not your world's Hagrid," pointed out Metis. "Multiverse after all."
"That table just emptied, ought to grab it before someone else does," noted Ianthe.
Something darted out and there was a brief pulse of higher dimensional functions before the table was clean and ready for new occupants.
"Oh, how nice, they have tail holes," noted Saurial as she sat.
"I'm not really constructed for chairs, though I suspect there's some spatial adjustments involved in the furniture," noted Raptaur.
"Romulan ale," ordered Metis. "I've always wanted to try that."
"I think that's Ningauble of The Seven Eyes and Sheelba of the Eyeless Face over in that corner," noted Saurial happily. "I think this is one of the best places to crowdwatch I've ever heard of."
"Oh, did you hear that?" asked Raptaur.
"A place where there's a Big Damn Heroes moment coming up, thin spot in the dimensional walls due to time travel stuff?" asked Saurial.
"A party to crash?" asked Ianthe.
"Can we bookmark this place?" asked Metis. "I'd like to come back sometime."
"I think we can do something like that," said Raptaur.
Someone at the next table leaned back. Oddly enough it was another Taylor. "I got the coordinates. If you can just even things out for the local heroes and not steal their thunder too much?"
"Why is that important?" asked Raptaur.
"It's kind of their defining moment, where they come together as a team and put a lot of the usual cape bullshit to the side from what I've heard," said the Taylor in some kind of high-tech military fatigues. "They got their own hero journey to do, but coming in and tearing up the enemy to give them a better chance? Totally legit."
"What's a Dinochrome Legion?" asked Ianthe, checking out the patches on the sleeve of the uniform.
Uniformed Taylor blinked. "Saurial?"
"Yes?" asked Saurial.
Uniformed Taylor went into her backpack and pulled out a large book. "Can you sign my graphic novel?"
Saurial blinked at the sight of a cover showing the title "The Stupendous Saurial vol. 1" with a picture of her with dual-wielded laser shotguns. "I want a copy."
* One hour later *
"I love a target-rich environment," said Saurial.
"Can the bad guys be any more obviously bad guys?" asked Ianthe.
"You think your father will like this?" asked Raptaur, lifting a large rifle-like weapon with several jagged blades on it.
"A little garish, but he does like little things we pick up on our trips," admitted Saurial.
"Speaking of little things," said Ianthe, pointing.
"Dragon attacking a spaceship? Interesting," said Raptaur.
"Are you pondering what I'm pondering?" asked Saurial.
"I think so, Brain, but where are we going to get fifty gallons of marshmallow creme and some graham crackers big enough?" replied Raptaur.
"Not that. Though I am feeling a bit peckish still," admitted Saurial.
"Lisa will pay for introducing you two to 'Pinky and the Brain'," muttered Ianthe.
"Won't the defending team have an easier time if that ship wasn't there?" asked Saurial to Ianthe.
"I do believe so," admitted Ianthe.
* A Few Hours Later *
"I always wanted a spaceship!" said a happy Saurial as she sat back on the throne formerly belonging to Thanos.
"I don't like the name and most of the decks are in a horrible state," said Metis.
"We'll change the name," said Ianthe. "These are the stories of the starship Whatever. Its continuing mission-"
"To explore strange new worlds," chipped in Metis. "And make them stranger."
"To meet new life and new civilizations," said Saurial, making a little captain's hat to sit jauntily atop her head.
"And make them go 'WTF just happened'," added Metis.
"To boldly go wherever the heck we want," summed up Ianthe.
"Enterprise, engage!" said Metis.
"We've met Enterprise, she's a nice ship-girl, so we're not naming it after her," said Ianthe.
"I wonder what Vectura will make of this?" asked Saurial.