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Aberrant: Infinite Earth - Fiction - Mission 3: Getting back to Basics [Yep, Mature... again]


The Traveler

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She smiles, then holds her hands out. "What defines a culture, Daniel?"

"Art."

"Let's go to an Art Museum or two. Preferably modern art. Those places tend to follow the zeitgeist better than a typical art museum. The less dust on the paintings and sculptures the better!"

"Then we can enjoy lunch. I looked up a fine Japanese/American restaurant on the top floor of a office complex in Shinjuku that is amazing!"

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He shrugged. "Alright, if that's what you like. Tokyo's always had a good museum, I imagine it remains the same here as well."

He looked at her. "We can eat, provided it's not too expensive. "We can't abuse our hosts goodwill."

He was dressed and ready, and took her hand. "Lead the way."

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"We will be earning our keep soon enough, Daniel. Me being a detective and you... well... looking like a million bucks."

She smiled. "And don't worry, it's a casual place so the costs should be well down."

She grabbed an overcoat, opting to leave her rain poncho at home, and grabbed a clear plastic umbrella. "Okay..."

The weather held it's cards as Daniel and Yomiko toured around until they found a modern museum in Shinjuku. It had a lot of foreign artists, and the works made had a touch that screamed "Metahuman". She sat in front of a particular work that moved her. It looked like a jagged stone about 6 feet high.

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Daniel viewed the art with some sense of interest, but nothing approaching Yomiko's. He didn't agree with her regarding art,, but still he was getting to spend time with her. He sat contemplating the peice that enraptured her, and nodded. "What does it say to you?"

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"That... that isn't normal metal."

She walked up to it, without touching it.

"If you look at the sheen on this metal, it was refined, not simply taken from the ground and carved."

She points to what looked like carbon scoring. "This carbon scoring suggests that this chunk of metal came from an explosion of some kind."

She kneels down and lifts up her glasses, making sure what she was seeing wasn't glare off of the data lenses. "Hmm..."

"This... this is downright queer..." She said with a sigh. "If I just didn't break Mom's screwdriver, I would know what this was... this doesn't look like some ordinary steel."

Daniel and Yomiko feel a presence. "That is because that metal fell to earth. On the day the mutants started to appear on the planet in 1795. That... isn't a work of art, this is a memorial. I contributed it here."

A man in a black cloak kneels down near a plaque that Yomiko and Daniel had yet to see. "It fell Near Wold Newton, Yorkshire. It was a cold day... The French Revolutionary Wars were in full swing. But what I remember most... was my darling Akiko."

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He pulled back his hood. His hair was gray and white, long and pulled back in a ponytail. But his face was young... like a teenager almost. He stands up and returns the bow. "The pleasure is mine, actually. I am Akira Hoshino." He said, a Katana and Wakizashi at his side. "And by all record, I am the first mutant."

"I was a Samurai for quite a while. Until the Meji era, then I became a teacher. Then a librarian. Then I was a soldier again... for two different Japans..."

He walks around the meteor fragment. "Then I went to England and found this stone. It was 1963 and the number of mutants spiked when somehow this stone and the Stonehenge anomaly came into close contact when a MI-7 truck carrying this fragment passed within two miles of the Stonehenge site. The convoy and everything within a mile of the stone was destroyed in the process, but the stone hovered above the perfectly carved crater it made."

"Once it fell, everyone was wondering what it was... why it reacted like it did."

"Eventually, scientists didn't have the time to look at this stone and eventually it ended up in my storage... my collection."

"I come to this stone on the birthday of my beloved, for it was also the day she died."

..."It is hard, living as long as I, with memories like mine, the wonders and horrors, yet it is the loss of one that..."

He sighed, looking at the Mutant and Nova in his presence. "You two... you are not of this world."

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He straightens his body out. "I am an old enemy... and friend... of Tama's. I was going to visit him when I saw your strange craft arrive... I mean it is odd that a life raft would be docked there... not to mention one that flies."

Yomiko pouts. "Better than a blue british police box..."

"That would be copyright infringement, my dear." Akira says with a wry grin. "I am aware there have been visitors from other worlds. Currently from your crew there is a aviatrix that has decided to get cozy with the JMDF here, and a odd... construct to find a word trooping around Akihabara apprehending thieves. Suprisingly without harm."

Yomiko moaned.

"I decided to head to Tama's. I had left before you two arrived, but I had a feeling that Tama being some sort of attractor to strange folk in the universe needed watching."

"So..." He closed his cloak and it became invisible. "...knowing that there were several mutants in the area my signature would be... blended... into the surroundings."

"So you spied on us?"

"Yes. What I saw... concerned me."

Yomiko glared "You didn't see..."

He turned off his invisibility. "...I'm afraid, child, yes... What are you... 12... 13 in emotional growth?"

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Daniel looked at him. "So what concerns you so greatly then?" He didn't rush to her defense, he wouldn't make her look that weak. Instead he wanted this stranger's honest assessment. "What did you see, while you observed us?" he was clearly not talking about physically, but more of the whole experience of observing them.

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Yomiko stepped up to him. Face to face. "Love does that to a Woman... you of all people, tied to a memory of a beloved who died centuries ago would know that feeling." She said, as direct and focused as a laser.

Akira nodded. "Indeed. I wanted to see that fire in you. You'll need it."

"I am aware you two are indeed attached to the hip... and that it is rather... easy... for your companion to attract other women and ladies. It's... automatic."

He takes a couple steps away. "...What concerns me is, what is the child running from? Was it really a mistake? Or perhaps deep down... it is her own darkness? No worries... we all have that dark side, we just learn to place it in chains. You... let it off. I have a few times myself."

He sighed. "The reason why I am called the first mutant is that I existed before the meteor came to earth here. I... was the only one. I have went by many names and identities. Miyamoto Musashi was my name when I was born. Since then I have lived many, many lives. Some you could say I was indeed a villain, others, a hero... all the while I only proved a Human... even a mutant like myself... is a complex individual."

"I and Tama understand this. We even fought each other. He's a younger mutant, but much, much like me and a dangerous man to associate with."

"Time Travelers shouldn't exist in this world... at one point I made it my mission to eliminate him."

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He looked at him. "So be wary of Tama, that is your sage advice, sir?"

Daniel looked at him. "Powerful novas cannot afford to let it consume and control them, especially those with great destructive powers."

"It is a constant battle. Yomiko is young, though to be fair, we are of the same age." He speared him with his own penetrating gaze. "We are all still learning our way through this I'd imagine."

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"Well..."

Daniel's gave him pause. "...if it at all gives you comfort the man I know now is a far different man than I encountered 50 years ago. It was this blade that gave him his new identity."

He crossed his arms. "I trust you two... I watch over Tama because it was that final confrontation that placed him on the straight and narrow. Sometimes... he looks to me for guidance. Other times he comes to me when the Timewalkers need to deal with one of their own."

"Also... I am watching you two by order of the Council to ensure your safety. And to provide advice. Nothing more."

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"I don't exactly like the idea of a group out there lording over and judging the decisions I make with regards to my abilities." He sighed. "But it cannot be helped, can't it."

He looked at him. "Then in your opinion, is this world ready for someone of greater power to be somewhat more open about it?"

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"How do you think The Professor feels about it? Why she keeps running."

"The council doesn't want to interfere... they leave it to more... civic minded superhumans like us to worry about the big picture. As for the Timewalkers... they have to ensure no one tries to upset the order because time travel is... a dangerous sort of power to have. If someone went back and time and for instance... killed your father, Daniel, you would cease to exist. That creates quite the paradox. Since Yomiko here doesn't meet you, or everyone effected by knowing you are not."

He sighed. "If people knew there were individuals that could... theoretically... destroy our universe..." He said that in a hushed tone so no one could hear... talk of beings that could revive universes as easily as destroy... was a disturbing subject. "That could be an issue. That is why those in the Continuum Council watch. Only intervening in times of crisis when the welfare of the continuum is at stake, while the Timewalkers watch the timelines of every universe to ensure no one tries to unravel them."

"No one notices the janitors."

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he looked at him. "Until there's a mess to clean up." he finished the line for him. "I always thought it created a divergent universe, a new reality. That I'm wrong complicates some things immensely."

He sighed. "Well with any luck such abilities are extremely rare."

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He smiled. "Well... when it creates a alternate universe, what happens to the original?"

"The altering of one event can irreparably harm countless millions... billions even."

He takes a seat next to Yomiko. "I'm... sorry for the cloak and dagger, you two. I know Yomiko's father. He is a honorable man and a credit to the council. He's leading it in directions I've not thought possible with his achievements."

Sighing, he looks at the fragment. "I bet you two now are thinking thee is some weird conspiracy around every corner... quite honestly, if I don't know about it, either it isn't a threat to anyone or I destroyed it myself."

"It... would actually be an honor if you two stayed."

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he nodded. "That's the plan at any rate. I want to check on some people in this world, see how their lives are, make them better if I can."

He shrugged. "I think we can make a real difference here, I just wntt o get a feel for things before I get really into it." He looked at the old man, and nodded. "f you have stories you'd like to tell someone, at least once, I would listen."

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"Sometime. I think today you and The Traveler is it now? I think you two deserve to enjoy the rest of the day."

He nodded with a smile, letting his cloak cover his body again. "Nearly half a century and I am still learning new things."

Standing up he starts to leave. "And thanks... when I talk with people that have come from outside, I seem to feel more... like I'm not a lone."

Yomiko nods. "Just don't suddenly kill Sensei."

"I won't Yomiko... not unless he plans on ripping the universe a new one or something."

Akira vanishes almost as fast as he appeared.

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"I'm... starting to get a little scared. Actually."

She brings her legs in and closes up a bit. "Just... I'm getting weirded out, like... being next to that thing."

Gesturing to the meteorite, she stands up. "I... I think it might be a smart move to... like... go to a different museum. Or... hell I gotta turn my mind off..."

She ruffles her hair in frustration.

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he smiled, and kissed her full on the mouth, putting the effects of quantum into it to melt away some of her stress and anguish. "Come on then. If nothing else, there's always an aquarium." he stood and held his hand out to her, waiting for her to come away with him.

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Yomiko nodded. Something about that meteor seemed off, so the change of scenery was welcome.

Once the pair reached the Aquarium, the rooms that had fish tanks that would encircle the viewers and even go over their heads were the best portions. A school outing had come and a few high-school girls took notice of Dan... and their boyfriends took notice of Yomiko. Yomiko did her best to play things down, but the green eyed and jealous stares of their girlfriends really made things awkward.

There was a quiet section, where there was a bench in the center of the room. Yomiko sat on it then laid back, resting her hands on her chest.

"This... is much better..."

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He smiled, as he sat with her. "IT is. Fish have always relaxed me. We had one while I was growing up, and my dad loved to take me fishing." He smiled at the girls, and two of them fainted, their boyfriends catching them, and giving Daniel the evil eye. "Seem to be noticed just fine here."

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Yomiko blankly regarded the public response. With her waterproofed overcoat she seemed to want to huddle in it. Like a blanket.

"This is the first time... first time I've had questions about this place... I knew the first mutants appeared in 1963 originally... that news... well..."

She scratched her head. "That and something about that meteorite fragment really, truely bothered me. There was some sort of vibe it had that was... unnatural"

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"No... that definitely WAS a meteorite, but carved in a unnatural way... like time itself..."

She got up... "Wait, Reiko said that she helped stop a meteorite a couple months ago... that is roughly around the same time the time rifts had appeared... like the one we were about to run into."

"The damage on that rock matches the effects of going through raw time."

She smiled. "I don't believe it... that stone feels weird because it is in of itself a causality loop! Those sorts of loops trigger Stonehenge easily."

Scratching her head, she realized how important a stone like that would be to a time traveler. "A stone like that is an important artifact indeed..."

It was becoming apparent that manic bursts of energy were Yomiko's gig. But then she calmed, laying back on the bench once more.

"Ooh! A Clown Fish!"

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Yomiko seemed slightly out of sorts... here she is with this man... this complete package, and she was completely out of her league.

She actually looked like suddenly she was fumbling for words. She thought... "What sort of date is this I'm taking him on... he looks bored out of his mind!"

"Too bad we didn't get this reserved as a private party room."

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"Dammit, dammit, dammit, bookworm you're losin' him!"

"Yeah... uh..."

Things slipped out of phase... Where Yomiko stood was a sky scraper blown apart, ash falling from the sky... then it phased again and she saw towering spires where there were sky scrapers reaching to the sky...

Daniel noticed a brief flash... it could have been a camera of someone taking their picture, but the color and light reminded him of that rift that the Hikari Maru fell through.

Yomiko's mind snaps back, and she is once again in the Aquarium.

"Daniel..."

She clutched his hands before getting up. "...just answer me this one question... if the world... the continuum ever ended... would you... would you have any regrets?"

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Yomiko smiled... "Then we'll live with no regrets."

"Alright... but let's enjoy these fish some more."

She knew that the time rift she encountered earlier was temporal, but this, this was more of cross-time related... She knew her mother could make cross-time jumps, and she wondered why she didn't inherit that power herself. But the energy was... a familiar shift.

"Where would you like to live? More like we... This place is nice, but we have a whole planet."

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'We can decide later. Tokyo's welcomed us, and we'll explore other options together." he smiled. "No need to burn bridges and rush into anything."

He led her through the rest of the aquarium without any incident, and smiled. He was hungry now, and nodded. "I hope they have big portions."

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Yomiko smiled. Perhaps her attempt at distraction worked.

"Oh they should, I've had a good share."

In a way what happened a few moments ago sat in the back of her head... the rifts, the momentary blinks of what could have been,

When they got outside, it was still a cool day. "I bet Reiko is a bit bummed from the weather not being the greatest today for swimming... if her class work hasn't dominated her life."

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"Seesh you sound like you've been lost in a desert for like... at least a week with just water and the occasional gekko to eat."

They, mercifully, arrive a short time after that remark. It was an unassuming office building, and a direct-service elevator took the couple to the casual, middle-class feeling restaurant. A waitress promptly greeted them. "Hello, table for two?"

"Yes, and thank you." The seating was western, although the smell of sushi intermingled with the lunch choices of hambugers or really well made sandwiches. Yomiko could smell a hint of pizza in the air. A smell that set her heart a flutter as they were lead to their seats. Now even she was feeling hungry.

"Ohhh... the menu's been expanded since I was last here... there's been some remodeling too... they've been doing great!"

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