001; video, forward-dated to June 6

[cassassin]

[there are two posts to the network, one after another. she's been struggling with navigating the communicator for a while now, but she thinks she's managed to bruteforce the basics of the interface. a young woman speaks up, apparently the camera's only got the top of her head in frame.]

Um... hello? Is this thing... wait... [she stops the broadcast, playing it back for herself before she starts another post. this time it's aimed properly, and she's definitely sure it's going. Cassandra's sitting outside a beachside cafe in Heropa on a bright and sunny afternoon. wearing a tacky pair of cheap sunglasses with the Flash's symbol on them - imPort tourist crap at its finest - and drinking a cold bubble tea.

best to play the naive newcomer swept up by all this hero stuff.]

Hi. I'm Cassandra. I've been... lurking? [is that the word she wants...] For a few days now. Settling in. I have to say, this is... different, next to Gotham and Blüdhaven.

Hi, roommates, if you're... watching this. I haven't been around. Sorry. Between work, and... rehearsal, it's-- [she shrugs. surely they know how it is. or at least, they might think they do, which is good enough for her. looong sip from her straw.]

Anyway. I know some of the... names I've heard, but I've also heard we have... alternate universes? Even among us. What can you tell me?

Comments

text; comm tag is "Hiro"

[microbrobotics]

rehearsal? what are you rehearsing for?

audio;

[cassassin]

[AAAAAAUGH COME ON]

... I think my texts aren't... working. [yes maybe she is trying not to admit she can't read WHAT OF IT, HAMADA]

[thebatbutler]

[He's happy to see her, and the corners of his mouth turn up slightly in a warm smile. But he's also very aware of the fact that she might not be the exact same girl that he remembers from back home. Never the less, that certainly makes her now less family.]

I'm not sure that "lurking" was quite the word you were looking for, however apt it may be.

It's good to see you Miss Cassandra. And for how long, exactly, have you been lurking?

[cassassin]

[She smiles right back at him, just as warm. It's good to see him.]

Not very long. A couple of days. I'm... glad to see you, Alfred.

VOICE.

[selfimage]

Tell you about the multiverse? That's a broad subject.

[cassassin]

[he's got a point...]

Your own... experience with it. [wait] Here.

Voice

[bindsthedead]

It's all right- Just tell me if there's some sort of food you like. [Just don't expect Sabriel to cook it well. Or at all.]

voice;

[cassassin]

Um... breakfast stuff. Teas. [she hasn't stopped to think about this. She's not sure if that's what Sabriel meant though.

are you going to the store sabriel]

audio

[gevurah]

[ That's a face and voice she has not seen nor heard in... a couple of years now? Holy smokes. ]

There exists different versions of Gotham. Blüdhaven... probably, but I haven't met anyone from there.

audio

[cassassin]

[There's no trace of recognition on her end. Whoops.]

I haven't been there long. That's fine-- I lived in Gotham before that. [incomplete, but true.] You're from Gotham?

[that's her takeaway there.]

audio;

[nostalgiabomb]

Blüdhaven.

Blüdhaven.

For real? That's a place? A place actually exists, and it is named--

Blüdhaven.

audio;

[cassassin]

Yeah. East coast. [yeah, she knows. it's a pretty unfortunate name.]

[walkingballpit]

You're a hot chick with a soap opera name. Cassandra. I didn't think names like that happened in real life. Oh, man, and you've totally been abdu-

[ He cuts off abruptly and offers a sheepish smile. ]

Sorry, my mom's a soap opera actress. I have a genetic love of this exact brand of over-the-top cheese. Anyway, alternate universes and timelines are an unfortunate established "thing", here. It blows.

[cassassin]

[There's a flicker of embarrassment at his first excited flood, but she laughs quietly when he's done.]

It's fine. I like them too. [moving on.] What can you tell me?

audio;

[rockpun]

Gotham and Blüdhaven?

[sounds like another cape, but at least she's not as terrifying as the normal denizens of Gotham. maybe those sunglasses are unironic or maybe she's just trying to throw people off the trail. either way they are definitely tacky and make Tara grin.]

Lucky you, you still get to be surrounded by superheroes. Alternate universes are totally a thing, by the way. There's, like, infinite Batmen. Not here, but theoretically.

audio;

[cassassin]

[nobody suspects a thing]

That would be... something to see. Where are you from?

video

[prostheticbody]

[The woman on the other end of the video looks mostly normal, except for the purple hair, but Cass can probably pick out some subtle peculiarities about her body. It doesn't quite seem normal.]

I take it you've encountered someone that should have known you, but didn't?

video

[cassassin]

[.... hm.]

Something like that.

video

[restingstitchface]

[Gotham? Well, there's a familiar name!]

The porter doth cherish the citizens of Gotham, methinks.

I am curious as to why so many of us have been drawn to these parts. Surely you have an opinion on this matter?

[Guess who doesn't look anything like the Crane she's familiar with? This one!]

video

[cassassin]

[it's fine crane, trying to read id tags is TOO MUCH EFFORT]

Maybe the Porter can recognize... familiarity. [not experience. that's letting on a little too much. but a Gothamite wouldn't have a huge adjustment to make.]

video

[darkov]

[this is now two people with comm problems in one feed. Marty's device goes on and off at what he figures are whims, and he'd like to leave it alone or...get rid of it. but that's a bad idea. now and then, it beeps, turns itself on or off, or starts sending people to talk at him.

like now.

while she's working through her words, he's picking this thing up to tilt it and watch. his end only kicks in when the thing lets him reply -- however the heck that works -- and it's just him staring, laying on his belly with his elbows tucked so he can balance the screen and still hold it on both sides.]

...Who are you talking to? [a beat.] Not me. You were talking before I noticed...so.

[cassassin]

Anyone listening.

[she can sympathize. she only got used to this thing because she's used to comm tech.]

voice

[animalage]

If you're looking for the Gotham feel I suggest Maurtia Falls. More gang violence and corruption than Heropa.

voice

[cassassin]

Just like home. [Hey, she can joke.]

[quantifies]

The alternate universes you speak of may consist of varying timelines for the same geographic locations. For example, I am from the planet G'lot Proktaw, which you would designate Mars, centuries in the future. Yet I have been assured that there is no life on my planet in this reality, despite Earth history remaining very similar. [As far as he knows. He hasn't really studied.]

[cassassin]

[YO, ALIENS, WHAT

well it's not the weirdest thing.]

My world has Martians, too. [a beat. she thinks back to the images she's seen of Martian Manhunter.

is it rude to tell someone they don't look like a Martian. hm.]

Video

[motherflocker]

You're from Gotham, are you?

[ A pause. ] You'll find many of us are from the area.

[cassassin]

[She takes a moment to have an offscreen reaction before replying. Of couuuuurse Penguin was here.]

I feel like I - recognize you.

[Cobblepot's a familiar enough face for Gothamites. May as well get him talking. Besides, these aren't tricks she'd normally get to employ.]

The Iceberg Lounge?

video.

[tardily]

What can I tell you about the alternate universes? That they get really complicated really quickly if you think about them too much.

[ he's not even going to mention the shirt because after the week he's had it seems like something he doesn't want to touch. he shrugs. ]

Serious answer, sometimes you have people you know here who are the people you know them as and sometimes there's people who are— completely different despite name sharing. [ that's also not entirely an answer but hey, own personal experience right there. ]

video;

[cassassin]

[That's been a worrying possibility so far. She hasn't had much of a chance to speak with Batman besides their first meeting here...]

That sounds specific.

VIDEO.

[indenture]

[ Gotham. Gotham? But this is someone Harvey doesn't think he recognizes, which is rarer, though he won't be surprised if she recognizes him.

Well -- maybe a little. It's been a while since Gotham has seen Harvey's whole face, after all. ]

They're pretty self-explanatory if you think about it. Alternate universes. No way to really give consistent advice about something that innately variable.

[cassassin]

[she can't read his ID, of course - but even only knowing half of his face, the features and tics give him away. Cassandra looks back to the ID. Dddd...dddeeee...dehhh...screw it, it's not hard to make the leap to Dent. at least it confirms what she already knew.

If his face is healed - or maybe undamaged altogether - then he might not be a threat. Batman had failed to mention him, so she doesn't know what to expect.]

I was asking about... experiences. More than advice.

voice;

[notdaredevil]

Gotham?

[ He's thinking: New York? Don't be melodramatic. But then, from the background noise, it sounds a whole lot like Heropa, and that's definitely a big change from everywhere else. ]

Florida's kind of it's own thing. I'm not sure it should be compared to anything else but itself. Or why they really picked that for a home base. If that's where you happen to be. [ Because blind man act. No hypersenses act. The secret's not out here. ] Though I'm sure it holds for the other states as well.

[ Because really, Pennsylvania? ]

voice;

[cassassin]

[well, this'd be a fine match if she could see him.]

Gotham City.

It's... a change of pace.

[Video] I HOPE IT'S OKAY TO STILL TAG THIS DAYS LATER

[tactile_telekinesis]

Hey Cass. It's okay to call you Cass, right?

[Look at him playing it like he doesn't know her!]

I can show you around if you'd like.

video; OF COURSE

[cassassin]

[Superboy!! Batman had said Superman was here, but they hadn't spent a lot of time on it and Kon hadn't come up - either way, she can't keep herself from grinning. he obviously knows who she is.]

Hm... I don't know. Where are you? [two can play this game, Carl.]