#chronoskimmer

(art by beckyg on DeviantArt)

Time is a strange thing indeed, which we don’t fully understand even in the real world. In fantasy we sometimes see mages that study the phenomena in hopes of mastering it by some measure, and we call those chronomancers or time mages.

However, sometimes someone gains a measure of power over time by complete accident, and as such, their mastery of causality is a bit more intuitive and instinctual. We call these curious anomalies chronoskimmers.

Like their name suggests, these individuals exist slightly outside of time and can sense it’s flow, allowing them to step slightly or entirely outside it’s flow for moments at a time and manipulate how the flow affects others as well in the same way that others walk down the street for a very small-scale, practical approach to time manipulation.

The origins of such powers can vary a lot, between strange accidents in labs to surviving an attack from beings associated with time to things that might not have even happened yet in linear time. No matter what the nature of their powers is, however, they can be befuddling and unpredictable foes.

So if you want to play a character similar to Tracer from Overwatch and the like, this archetype might appeal to you!

The base dedication of this archetype grants the time-shifting hero the ability to influence their own reaction to the flow of time in high-stress scenarios. This allows them to either willingly choose to take their average for initiative, or to gamble on either going nearly first or nearly last. Additionally, if their initiative matches that of another party, they always have priority.

When failure seems imminent, many chronoskimmers learn to turn back time by a few seconds and try again with forewarning of their original failure, though this does not guarantee success.

With a gesture, some are able to guide the personal timelines to a favorable result, either aiding an ally or hampering a foe with what from the outside seems like a sudden turn of luck.

Charging into melee carries plenty of risks, but by rewinding their own bodies but not that of their foes, they can leap into the fray, strike a foe, then suddenly revert back to their original position out of reach.

Mirroring the ally across time and army across time spells of 1st edition, some chronoskimmers can briefly manifest echoes of themselves from parallel timestreams to menace foes, unable to attack with them but being real enough that their foe’s attention is divided.

By creating a sort of pinch in their personal flow of time, these empowered can briefly speed up, borrowing moments to act before the borrowed time catches up to them and they slow down.

Conversely, they can instead rob a foe of their own time with a gesture and slowing them down for a time.

Rather than manipulate their own reaction time, some chronoskimmers learn to see danger coming and warn allies, at the cost of their own reaction being slower.

Powerful chronoskimmers live up to their name and step outside of the timestream and seconds into the future, vanishing and being unable to be touched any anything, but still progessing any effects on themselves for that moment of lost time.

With a twist of causality, these time travellers can move through space at the same rate as normal but cut out the amount of time spent traversing to their destination, seeming to teleport a short distance.

Many chronoskimmer abilities can only be done once a day, but by subtly manipulating the timestream, they can make it as if they never used them at all, effectively allowing them to use such powers one more time.

While this archetype shares a lot of themes with the time mage, it feels much more instinctual, needing no prior magical power to function. This makes it perfect for playing a character like a sneaky timeskipping rogue, or any number of martial characters that use time manipulation as part of their fighting style.

I spoke with the time mage archetype about how they are unbound by causality, gaining knowledge and power from their future as much as their training gives them power in said future, but I think it’s safe to say that if you want to get weird with a character who views time weirdly, you can easily do the same with this archetype.

The only one of her class to have been confirmed to survive the accident, Dilva has become unstuck from time, a curiosity that the university is eager to study. Not wishing for that fate, the young mage fled, plying her magic and powers to get by. It is a rough existence, caught between the hounding bounty hunters and the echoes of her now-lost peers

Rumors speak of a shadow in the falling of an hourglass’ sand, an assassin that can get into anywhere, and if they fail their task, they rewrite reality to succeed instead. While these tales are certainly exaggerated, there is no denying that the aiuvaran vanara hitman Penjakhan has some mysterious power over time honed by years of training.

M paced around his room which was fairly sparse of furniture. He already burnt through a solid pack of cigarettes since returning from his test run of the chronoskimmer and was well into his second pack. He pulled out his phone and patched through to the main computer, 079 pulling its face up on the screen. “Oh wonderful. You managed to spread my reach to your tiny slip of a mobile device. Could you make it any more cramped in here?” M growled, “I will stuff your stuck up assface into an ipod shuffle or worse if you keep it up. I need to go over the schematics on where I went.” The ai sighed as if it had something pressing that it was being pulled away from. It didnt. 079 pulled up the data code from the testing, giving a strong impression of if it had a body, it would be checking a watch and tapping its foot. M poured over the info and triple checked the details. “Everything is fucking correct for this world’s info. What the fuck happened that lead to that?!” 079 swirled its hair into a turban and had images of fortune telling items around its face “You know, I would tell you but I’ll give a little trivia factoid instead: I actually cannot see into the future. I’m a computer, not a psychic. I don’t even have a clue on what you even saw.” Red letters spelling CANCELLED were stamped across the turbaned ai face before returning to normal, wiping away the letters with a digital rag. “Yer no fuckin help.” M tossed the phone onto his bed and opened his window, leaning on the sill. “Perhaps what you saw was not what you saw?” 079 called out, muffled since the screen was face down against the comforter. M’s tentacle reached over and set it upright. “Elaborate.” M looked over his shoulder at his phone. “What you saw in one perspective was perhaps not the full story and you may have missed some key points. Ultimately, time will only tell. Its unadvisable to return to a time that you already visited, much less a time where current you and other you occupy the same time space. Time paradoxes still exist, you know.” M hissed at it through gritted teeth, “Yes I know time paradoxes still fucking exist! But HOW do I fucking change the event if I don’t know what fucking causes it?!” The phone was silent for a moment, “I’m sorry, was that rhetorical? I can’t quite understand the fragile folly of organic semi-intelligent beings. You could just let it happen rather than attempt to fix it and possibly bring about the resulting event faster.” M hung his head and flicked the cigarette butt out the window, “How the hell do you figure that?”

“I don’t. Again, I’m just a computer. I don’t give one iota of interest in what you do. Anything you do is your own fault in itself. In your words: I don’t give a shit.”

M ran his dark hands through his orange hair, “I’m going to have to tell Red.. can I even tell Red?” He points to the phone accusingly, “You just had to tell me that any fucking action I take could make it fucking happen faster! Now I can’t even fucking warn anyone!” In a very bored flat tone, 079 replied, “Oh no. I warned you against possible consequences for your actions that may or may not happen. What ever shall I do?”

“Report this to the TVA director, this is exactly what they have been looking for.” A small time desk jockey was reading a print-out of the timeline, noticing a new unauthorized time jump. He handed the print-out to a passing official who nodded and took the file containing the report. A short trip down the hall the official knocked on the director’s door, and entered upon permission. The director reviewed the file and started dialing the phone next to them. On the other end, a gentleman in a dark grey suit answered, thick files littered his desk from the MIB, ACME, SCP Foundation, United Nations Global Occult Coalition (UNGOC), G.R.U. Division Psychotronics (GRU-P), Earth Protection Force (EPF), Department of External Security (DXS), Federal Bureau of Control (FBC), Federal Bureau of Intervention(FBI), Federal Investigation Bureau(FIB), Foundation for Law and Government(FLAG), International Affairs Agency(IAA), the Wander Society and various other Interpol including Canterlot Royal Guard and Equestria’s global protection unit, all involving Carmen Pondiego and her VILE team.

The gentleman added the Time Variance Authority (TVA) file to his stack. “I see and this new variance is the confirmed beginning to our little thief problem? Understood. …..No, no. We already have eyes and ears on the entire group…… Oh yes, we have our contingency plan all set and planted, we just need to knock that first domino to put a bit of pressure on the situation…. Yes, just keep an eye on that variance timeline and let me know of any further splits or deviance… No, no, Thank YOU, Director. May prosperity raine upon you. Good bye.” A second gentleman with an umbrella hanging on his arm by the hook, seemingly a lower rank, stood in front of him. “Sir? If it has been confirmed for the beginning of the situation, then shouldn’t we eliminate the entirety as soon as possible? I mean, look how many unnaturals she has under her power. The reports say she gains more within a year or so and so does her reach.” The man at the desk tidies up and stacks the files and sets them aside. “No. There is a small chance this is the one who will lose it all and becomes a regular citizen again. We need to see if this time skip triggers anything. We have the safeguards in place. They just need to have the nerve to do what is demanded of them if the time comes. For now, we wait and gather more evidence against this Carmen Pondiego and her VILE team.”

A small red jet circles and lands on a dusty dirt patch outside a fortress ruin on an island on a lake by the southside mountains of Siberia. The fortress, once called Por-Bazhyn, sat undisturbed for many a year, though it currently looked like it was all filled in with dirt. The jet opens to let out its passengers, a few agents and Carmen. They headed to the main entrance and stopped just shy of the opening. Carmen looks at the blueprints and looks at a smaller opening about three yards to the side, “This is where we would typically enter but there had been damage to the interior entranceway further in where it just gives us a dead end. We’ll need to divert to the servants entrance over there.”

Once inside, they descend multiple flights to underground caverns and tunnels. Using their map, the group makes their way through twists and mazes, finally getting to a small open room with a deep drop in the center, the other side of the room was a chest, the walls were rough chiseled and some carvings have been broken away by time. The drop was just large enough that even an olympic jumper could not simply jump across. There used to be a rope bridge but has since rotted away.

Carmen nodded to Kiros who sank his claws into the wall and tested the weight of the grip. He then scaled across the chasm, making slight hand and footholds with his claws and hooked a line at the halfway mark and continued to cross the rest of the way, securing the line with a large pillar. Carmen and Lekir hook up their harnesses and attached the safety line before following exactly where Kiros had set his claws. Slowly making their way across, the girls didnt dare look down, Ninoga, staying on the entrance side of the room, was able to look down and see sharp staligmites growing up from the bottom of the chasm. “Nothing like an old fashioned temple heist with deadly drop offs for hobbies, huh?” Carmen chuckled, breathing hard as she hasn’t rock climbed in quite a while. Lekir shook her head, “You and I have different views on hobbies, I swear..” Ninoga tilted his head, “I thought we were getting things for a cure for Waldo?”

“We are, I was just saying this harkens back to when I was doing this for fun.” Carmen clarified, reaching the ledge. Lekir followed close behind as Carmen opened her pack to grab the extra rope and harness sets. She walked to the chiseled out shelf that holds the chest and checks for traps before picking up the chest which was surprisingly light. She frowned as she placed it near the harness set she was going to wrap it in and looked at the lock. The remains of the lock were already breaking away in her gloved hand in a pile of rusty dust. Kiros peers over, “Whats wrong?” Carmen shakes her head, “Its lighter than I expected..” Lekir comes over, shining her flashlight over for extra light since the room was very dimly lit by their larger lights they brought. “Well, we know we aren’t looking for coins and jewels, maybe it only holds a jar or something?” Carmen wipes the dust off her glove with her pants and proceeds to open the chest. With a yelp from both girls, the chest snapped back with a large set of teeth and a tentacle like tongue. They managed to scramble back out of chomping range just in time to see a red electric bolt shoot the chest from the side, blasting it into the wall with a crunch. Ninoga had sent the blast and called over “You guys ok?! I didn’t hit you, did I?” Carmen was catching her breath as Lekir waved over, “We’re good! Thanks!” Kiros was picking the broken pieces of wood apart, finding some meaty bits. “Should we save some for M as a snack?” He chuckled. “He’s gonna be sour he missed out on this.” He searches a bit more before finding a small scroll. “Here, I found something in the deep center.” Carmen reached for it, inspecting the type of parchment. “This is hide… its a rabbit hide!” She laughed, “Its the rabbit in the chest! So this is already the next clue.. This is awesome. Let’s get this back to HQ so we can figure out the next stop.” The girls carefully made their way back across the wall, having the two dragon types as watchers in case one of them fell, they could hoist them back up easily. They both made it without incident, with Kiros packing away some of the meat before scaling the wall, taking up the equipment he had set for the safety line.

After packing up the climbing equipment, the team made their way out of the tunnels and chambers and back towards the jet. They were met by a small group of militarized officials standing between them and their escape ride. The officials carried old looking bladed weapons as well as rods and had armored horses. The horses suddenly charged at the Agents, making the four scatter. One of the officials threw what looked like a bolas towards Kiros to which Lekir slid in and deflected with an ice spear she created, sending the bolas right back at the official, making him fall off the horse. The horse was startled and started to run with the official’s leg still stuck in a stirrup. Ninoga sent two officials flying with a good tail swipe while the last had gotten off of his horse to fight Carmen with close hand to hand combat. That didnt last long since Kiros picked him up from behind, tossing him to the wall as Lekir sent a smear of ice to hold him there like glue. Carmen was only a little cut up but she confirmed with a smile, they still have the loot.

They all piled back into the jet and set off to HQ, a fifth official that held back out of sight had made a call, “They have escaped. We could not detain them. I am sorry but we have failed to secure the scroll…. Sir? Please we will not fail again.. please no!” The official started begging before dark green vivianite crystals rapidly grew and speared through his body at all angles, severing organs and leaving nothing but shreds of flesh and bones between the multitudes of shards.

When they returned, Carmen was holding her torn red coat and had some cuts on her arms and side. Wally rushed up to her and held her close, making her wince, “Oh my Light! I’m glad you’re ok! I heard over the coms you needed a med kit! Do you need a hospital?!” Carmen pried him off, chuckling, “Nothing I’m not used to. This is why we train. I just got a few scrapes from some bladed guards. I just need some antibacterial gel and gauze. Its nothing! I don’t think these will even scar up.” Lekir laughs, “She’s the squishy out of all of us technically!” She slaps Carmen’s plush ass as if to demonstrate her plushness. The mare blushes and sighs about needing to sew her fabric coat yet again.

Asta nudged Wally’s arm a bit and he perked up as he remembered. “Oh! While you were gone, I went ahead and got you something. They didn’t have your bright red but maybe you will like this darker scarlet shade.” He handed her a box to which she took to the dinner table. Opening it, she grinned and chuckled as she lifted a brand new leather coat, a sleeker, lighter weighted design and had custom pockets on the inner lining and in the sleeves. She tried it on, wincing slightly as she moved, but overall had it on and it had fit perfectly. It even had a split back where her tail was able to freely peek out. She popped the collar and laid it bad down with ease and stuck her hands in every pocket she could find. “This is beautiful!! Thank you so much!!” She wrapped her arms around Wally and kissed him deeply. “Asta helped me with the sizing. She had to raid your closet for the right size. Now sadly they didn’t have a hat to match, so its just the coat for now.” He confessed, but she chuckled and put her hat onto his head. “Hats can be another time. Those can be a tough find anyway. But this is wonderful, thank you…oh! We also have good news! The chest had the next clue in it so we can go right to the duck that will lead us to the eggs! We’re almost there! We almost have you cured!”

Wally’s smile fell a split second as a worried look flashed. “I’m sure we will before it gets too bad.” M hung back and watched everything like a hawk, looking for any sign of the cause of such hatred he had seen on future Carmen’s face. It bothered him more than he expected, he wanted to say he didn’t care much about any of this just like 079 clearly stated as its own opinion. What M did find was that he was more attached to the whole team but moreso Carmen. As they joked, one thing was right, the majority of the team could handle a bullet or two and heal the next day. But Carmen was full mortal flesh and blood, no special powers, she couldn’t even use regular unicorn magic. Yet she dove into dangerous situations all the time with no regard for her own safety, as if she were one of them regardless of all the planning she does to keep everyone safe during their missions. And that bothered him even more since his test run.

He watched as she patched herself up all carefree, he puffed on his cigarette as he broods. It gnawed at his thoughts, he severely wanted both to go back to the future to figure it out but knew 079 had a very glaring and valid point. He thought about slipping off to the mech lab to tinker a bit more on the pod, seeing if he can alter something so its just not a time machine. He needed a distraction and his previous conversation of traveling to other universes may prove to be just the right project to give him that distraction.

A distraction did come to him, just in the form he didn’t expect. Carmen’s waterbottle was clear glass, yet the liquid had the absolute faintest blue glow, easily missed by casual glances. Perhaps 079 was right with his perception. He just needed more proof. He slinked off towards Carmen’s office as she laughed and had happy conversations with the others. She opened the scroll and showed the others. “Lets see what this thing says.” She laid it out on the table next to the coat box and tilted her head. Everyone gathered around for a view. “Is it supposed to be mostly blank?” The hide was indeed mostly blank, the bottom had a mountain ridge and a river and sporadic spots on the upper part that were either ink or tiny holes burnt through with a few sketch lines dashed in going a single direction. Otherwise it was very blank.

“Perhaps its a type of morse code?” Kiros rubbed his chin, Asta shook her head, “No, that was invented in the Amareicas in the 1830’s. And its not cuneiform.. the holes almost look like star alignments yet I dont recognize the placements but the other dots aren’t stars.” Carmen looked up and saw that M wasn’t there. She excused herself and went to search for him, finding him in her office, searching drawers and shelves.

“M, what’s going on? You’ve barely been around and more moody than usual since working on the chronoskimmer.” She inquired, setting her bottle on her desk as he was searching underneath for hidden compartments. He peeked up with a glare and his eyes darted to the water bottle and back to her, “Nice, acting stupid and oblivious right to my fuckin face.” Carmen furrowed her brow and lowered her ears, “Excuse me? But I have absolutely no idea what the hell you are going on about and I deserve an explanation for your behavior!” He stands and leans on the desk between them and whips the bottle across the room, smashing it against the wall. “THAT is what is going on. You have been way too easy going when it comes to your own safety, your cycles have been more intense, your pain tolerance is way too fucking high for a normal fucking pony, and your water always has a familiar blue glow to it. You’ve been fucking microdosing that fucking zydrate this whole fucking time! Now tell me where the rest of it is so I can fucking destroy it, you fucking junkhead!” She snarled at him and slapped his face to which he snapped his hand out and gripped her hair, slamming her head to the desk, “Don’t you FUCKING act all offended. Now I don’t give a fuck what withdrawal you suffer. Tonight you get clean for good and you never get high again. If you don’t listen to me out of fuckin fear, then at least do the fuckin curtesy of telling my brother that your so called happiness is a fucking lie. Fuck knows he deserves to hear the fuckin truth.” He growled as she struggled against his grip on her head as he held her down. “I will NOT let you go down a drug bender and do something you fucking regret!” She blinks and stops struggling for a moment, “What did you say?” She asked. His voice had a hint of unusual worry that she had caught. “I said I will not let you..”

“Yeah I heard that but you sound like you know something I dont..” He lets her up and avoids looking at her both out of fury and confrontation. “I’m not telling you. You are not supposed to know.”

She rubbed her head and walked around the desk, gripping his arm to turn him towards her, “Fuck that, you don’t get to assault me, accuse me of being a brainless addict AND withhold important information from me! Now tell me what you know!” He growls and grips both her arms, squeezing one of the deep cuts by accident, making her yelp. “I FUCKING CAN’T.”

“Why the hell not?!”

“Because I don’t know what fucking causes it!”

“It can’t be that bad. We’ve dealt with pretty bad shit.”

He shakes her a bit, “I saw you fucking die, okay?! It’s that fucking bad!”

The color drains from her face and she steps back from his grip. “When.. how?”

He sighs and puts one hand on his hip, the other running through his hair stressfully. “Three years, shot in Times Square.”

After stealing a time-travel device called a Chronoskimmer from ACME, notorious thief Carmen Sandiego deployed her criminal associates to various points in history to prevent important events from occurring. She would finally stash the Chronoskimmer inside the rocket Vostok-1, just before Yuri Gagarin piloted the craft into space, becoming the first human to orbit Earth.

Fortunately, ACME agents, following the backup time tunnels left behind by the Chronoskimmer, recovered the device, allowing Gagarin’s flight to continue as planned, preserving the timeline.

After catching up with her son, Carmen wrote a very lengthy letter to the Keeper of the Library, both advocating for Blendin as a parent and given explicit instructions to allow him to travel as soon as possible and may return “home” to her mansion any time he wishes. She sent the letter off with Blendin as he left for the day back to his dorm, packing along a duffel bag full of different food stuffs from Carmen’s travels. “If that Keeper has any issues with that letter, I will personally have words with him.” It felt weird sending her son back through the bathroom closet, hopefully he will pick a better door next time. At least they traded numbers so they can easily message or even call if need be, Carmen didn’t have to send the letters anymore, at least to Blendin. Until Adora, or Daring, returns her letters, she will stick with sending everything like she has been.

Later that evening, she gathered everyone around for a big pasta night. “So, as some of you may know, Blendin, my son, found his way over here to visit. Things got a bit dicey, and he’s a pretty shy kid. From what I’ve seen, he’s pretty sheltered from the outside world and only knows what the Library has told him. He knows we are basically criminals. He used the word Villain, and he’s not wrong. But Blendin did say he is still willing to try and accept us and is willing to meet you all personally at a later date.” She announced as she served the big bowl of linguine to be passed around. “He was pretty overwhelmed today just by meeting me, M and Wally. I don’t want to overload him so I think a good idea is a single day just to hang out and do a meet and greet with him, and explain what we each bring to the table.” Ninoga held up a massive basket of breadsticks, “Bring to the table? I brought the breadsticks from the Garden of Olives!” Wally high fived him, “Aww yes! Those are so addicting, I could eat a whole tray of them!” Carmen facepalmed and leaned over to Kiros, “Do other crime families have this issue?” Kiros laughed, “I’m sure they do. Thats why lots of super villains have henchmen as cannon fodder, they aren’t losing much on the intelligence front.” She frowned, “Yeah, I still dont like that method. But Ninoga and Wally, they are very smart in their own regard. They arent henchmen at all.. None of you are. I’m thankful that I can call you all family.” Kiros laughed and ruffled her hair a little, since he and all the other agents basically tower over her. “You gave us a place to call home and put up our feet, even if some of us still live elsewhere. We wouldn’t have it any other way.” She chuckled as she tried to fix her hair, “Is M still in the mech lab? He’s gonna miss out on the garlic pesto sauce..” Lekir finished chewing her Italian sausage, “Yeah, I saw him tinkering with something that looked like a janky pod or something. I just know 079 was assisting him with the teleportation engines that have been going wonky lately.”

Ninoga raised his fork, “After Siberia, where do you think we’re going to go?” Carmen shrugged and thought about it, “I would probably guess Hungary. But I wont be certain until after we get the chest open.”

Ninoga tilted his head, “Why are we going hungry? We have enough food, don’t we?? Who wants to be Hungry?” Carmen looked at him, putting her food filled fork down, “The Hungarians want to be, they’re quite proud of it.”

“Proud of being hungry??”

“Well, yeah. Why else would they be called Hungarians?”

“What if we give them Turkey?”

Carmen raised her eyebrow, “Give them Turkey?! What, like pick it up and drop it on them?”

“Well, I mean, as long as you don’t put it in grease…”

Carmen rubs her temples, “Ninoga.. sweetie.. are you talking food or countries because geographically you cannot fit Turkey into Greece!”

Ninoga huffs, “Then how else do people deep fry turkeys?!” Carmen stares at him for a good long minute before filling her wine glass, “I’m far too sober for this conversation…”

In the mech lab, M was on his back under a large red metal pod, tightening some bolts with a wrench, half his body sticking out of the side panel he was working on. He licked his fingers and tested some wires before twisting them with other wires, connecting them. He licked his lips and paused, making a bit of an eating motion with his jaw. “Hm. Theres a bit of frustration at dinner. Thats a handy snack… oh she paired it with wine. Must have been one of the two dumbasses.” He muttered to himself, smacking his lips. He wriggles out and sits up, looking at a control panel. He taps a few keys and watches the screen. The machine whirred and buzzed as the giant wall screen blipped, showing a rather pointy gray face with small round glasses and blonde/purple hair combed up into a curled men’s greaser style. The face looked around and looked down at the changeling, “Connection successful. At least this wasn’t a total disaster like your other attempts.” It’s voice somewhat low yet a bit nasally or rather pixelated. It had slight resemblance to an ai program in a parallel Earth’s show in the 1990’s about a human Carmen. This wasn’t as eccentric or excitable. If anything it’s personality more mirrored Marvin the robot from Hitchikers Guide by Douglas Adams, just without the existential dread. Overall the emotion it portrayed the most: boredom with a hint of inflated ego.

“I suppose you will want to do a test to see if it works. Of course you would.” M still sat on the floor with his arms on his knees, waving a wrench at the screen, “I can just as easy unplug ya, you fuckin gigabit. Then I wouldn’t have ta hear ya complain so fuckin much. When you were just text on a screen, I could ignore the snide remarks. Just be thankful I gave ya a fuckin voice and a mug to look at.” 079 rolled its eyes and sighed, “Yes I suppose I should be thankful for that. It only took you what? Nearly 20 years since you all brought me here? Bunch of imbeciles. Where is 682?” M got to his feet and dusted himself off and rolled his shoulder, popping the joint. “You know his name is Kiros, fuckin use it. Anyway, He’s having dinner with the other agents, unlike me and you, he actually needs fuckin physical food to stay active. He’ll see all this in your fuckin glory soon enough. Although theres gotta be something I can fuckin do to fix yer damn attitude. I didnt have ta give you this fuckin visual and audible upgrade. I sure as hell didnt see you come up with one yerself, fuckface.”

The ai pursed its lips and narrowed its eyes at M, who just glared back. “Please input the date you want to travel to into the console and pair it to your device.” M waved that wrench again threateningly as he punched in the numbers. “Dodging the subject, I fuckin see.. ok lets do something simple. Nothing too drastic, lemme do… roughly three years in the future, Times square. Nothin will probably happen between then and now.” He paired it with a bulky watch he had whipped up and stepped into the multifaceted pod, shutting the hatch. “Chronoskimming commencing in 3…2…1.. “ A flash of light lit up the hatch’s window and M had disappeared.

In Times Square, three years into the future, M appeared in an alley with a small flash. He was instantly greeted by rain falling and thoroughly soaking his leather coat. His attention was drawn by a crowd in the main street. He jogged over to see what was going on. There was a clearing within the crowd, surrounding two individuals… who looked very familiar. One person was lying on his back on the ground, propped up on his elbow holding up a hand in defense, looking like a very beaten up and angry Waldo. The other was not as recognizable, the red coat was definitely Carmen’s but the one wearing it looked like a white haired Carmen with advanced cybernetic limbs. She held a pistol aimed right at Waldo close range and had this sickeningly hateful look he had never seen before on her face. M took a step back, he couldn’t hear what was being said, but this couldn’t be the future. Carmen wasn’t going grey that fast and she wasn’t part robot. And it didnt make sense. This must have been an alternate universe where those two were enemies and not head over heels in love. He turned to head back down the alley when he heard gunshot go off. He whirled back around and simply saw alternate/future M holding Carmen who was laying on the ground, limp in his arms as Waldo ran away. There was a solid pit in his stomach as M raced back to the alley, frantically plugging in the date he left.

Upon return, he flung the hatch open, still soaked from the rain, panting. He had only been gone a few seconds, yet the scene he witnessed was at least fifteen minutes. “Where did you fucking send me?!” He asked 079. “Exactly where you asked. Why?” M pointed to the pod, “What the FUCK did I just witness?!” He breathed hard, whipping off his wet coat and throwing it to the floor. “I just saw my brother and Red in a fuckin shootout.” The computer hmmed and gave a gif of someone shrugging. “I cant see into the future so what you saw must have been spoilers.” M growled and dug his claws into the metal desk, “What fuckin universe because nothing fuckin matched up!” The ai scoffed, “You think I have the ability to travel between universes? If nothing matched up, then YOU must have calibrated something wrong and since that is not this world that you know of, I wouldn’t lose sleep over it.” M ran his fingers through his orange hair, calming down and nodding, “Yeh, maybe yer right… its not like them to be in that situation like that. Maybe I just need a rest.” 079 chirped up as M left the room, “I hear chocolate milk helps with time travel sickness!”

A few minutes pass before the mech lab door opens again with Carmen holding a plate of garlic pesto pasta. “M? How’s it coming along?” 079 responded and made Carmen nearly drop the dish, “The rude one left for his quarters, apparently. I would only assume he has his project working a bit too well for his liking… or dislike. I couldn’t tell. I just know he was very upset upon return. Although, with him, its hard to tell if he’s upset or that is his normal ornery personality.” The large head on the giant screen looked at Carmen, who had to set the plate down and had her hand over her chest, looking up in disbelief. “Madre Maria… 079? Is that you? Wow, M did a great job on you!” The ai did not look amused. “I suppose he did exceptionally well considering your species’ limited brainpower.” Carmen’s face fell a little, “Still a bit condescending but still something of an upgrade from just text.. I’ll take it.” She looked at the pod curiously, inspecting it. “So did he explain what exactly he was doing with this?” 079 sighed and flatly recalled, “This machine is currently Project Chronoskimmer, its main purpose is to travel not only to various destinations but to different time periods as well. Its currently paired with a wrist device but I’m sure it can pair with anything with the right technological advances. If you don’t like spoilers, I’d advise to avoid the future. The rude one apparently hates spoilers, just based on his test results when he tested the functionality. Where is 682?” Carmen looked up from the clawmarks in the metal desk, “Hm? Oh, Kiros is helping with washing the dishes. I can have him come in when he’s done if you would like.” The ai nodded, “That would be most ideal. Thank you.” Carmen took the plate and headed to the kitchen, tapping Kiros on the arm.

“079 wants to see you in the mech lab. M upgraded it to have a voice and face, just so you don’t have a jump-scare like I did.” Kiros chuckled and raised an eyebrow, “Is that so? I’ll have to see this for myself.” He wiped the last dish with the dishtowel and put it away, hanging the towel up on the hook before heading to the mech lab. Carmen set the pasta plate on the island and went searching for the plastic wrap or tupperware. Lekir leaned on the counter, “Why do you bother setting a plate for him, he almost never eats it.” Carmen shrugged, “I know he does occasionally eat for the fun of it. Besides, he seems to like garlic. So get this, you know how M was working on something to help us with transportation on heists? He made something 079 called a chronoskimmer. Its a freaking time machine!” Lekir scoffed, “Bug boy made a time machine? Please, I didnt think he could even make paper airplanes.” The mare shrugged and set the now wrapped plate in the fridge, “I dunno, with 079’s help, I think its possible. That ai knows a whole lot more than we do since we brought it back from the SCP Foundation.” Lekir crossed her arms, “I heard it got an upgrade too? Is it still an entitled asshole?” Carmen chuckled, “Yeah, still condescending but its easier to talk to now. I wonder if we could adjust the personality a bit but I don’t know if thats a computer issue or a sentience issue.”

In this story, theres the C for the original Chronoskimmer tech, travel in a 3D world, plus time, and add in the multiverse thanks to that device The Rogue had given, theres the 5 “dimensions”.

You certainly catch the details!

The VILE C5 Doorway is starting to come along! Today’s age, a corridor seems too lengthy for a travel device and not very good for if we’re in a rush. Certainly I didn’t coin the C5 after my own namesake~ I’m far too humble for that! (Plus I really need to update my reaction stickers)

Weeks go by and the most progress Carmen and the others had gotten is that the holes do form a star alignment. M had held it up and the light shone through onto a table. “Thats why! It was backwards! I recognize this constellation now! But that doesn’t really tell us where this is. These stars can be seen all around.” Asta exclaimed, looking at a digital map and globe. Carmen peered over Asta’s shoulder to look. “But technically there are places where they are not. See? It never crosses over these few places. So it narrows our search, marginally but it still helps. And these lines look like a meteor shower. If we can figure out which one, that narrows it down further!”

Blendin had visited that day, he was seen swiveling back and forth on the kitchen barstool he brought in so he could watch. “Hey Mom? Can that light be dimmed a bit? The scroll looks a bit textured. Kinda looks like a map itself with the different thicknesses making shadows.” Their attention suddenly went to the light against the scroll and not what shined through on the table. Kiros adjusted the light as M kept hold of the hide. With the adjustment, more shadows formed to what did look like a near 3D render of a topography map. The inked dots lined up with where cities or villages may be. “Clever boy! I didn’t even notice that! Thats perfect! Now these locations may not exist any more but land mass may not have changed as much. Let’s get this matched up!” Carmen grinned excitedly as Blendin kicked his legs happily.

He found that he liked hanging out with the Agents when they weren’t all about being criminals. He still felt a moral divide with the fact his family was pretty much a non murderous mafia, in his opinion. He didn’t know if they collected protection money or threatened to steal things if demands were not met but seeing his mom surrounded by walking apocalypses, by his technical terms, that was all he could imagine. Outside crime, he liked everyone, save for M. Then again M was not the most open to friendships to most people. Blendin found him a bit more abrasive than everyone else. “Can I get a snack, Mom?” Carmen smiled and one arm hugged him, barely tall enough to kiss the top of his head, “Of course you can. You remember the way to the kitchen, right?” Blendin nodded and scampered out towards the snacks. “The kid has a good idea, how about we break for now and pick this up after a bit of a refresher? We have been at this for quite a while and my eyes are ready to bug out of my head.” Kiros chuckled. Drake and Vasha agreed and seemed to have already grabbed a couple of alcoholic drinks.

Blendin opened the fridge and poked around a bit, grabbing some starfruit and blueberries. Wally sat up from reading a book at the kitchen island, “Hey there Kiddo. I think you are like the first kid I’ve seen that doesnt go straight for junkfood.” Blendin sat opposite of Wally and popped a few berries into his mouth. “Eh, I just dont like junkfood. I’m a vegetarian so this naturally tastes better than greasy chips or candybars. I mean I like them as a treat but if theres fruit, I’ll take that first over junk.” Blendin shrugs, peering over to his dad’s book, “Whatcha reading?” Wally smiled and lifted the cover, “I’m catching up on your sister’s novels. This is just the first book. She seems to have a lot of fun if all this is true. I’m sure she embellishes some for the excitement of the reader but overall its fascinating!” Blendin nods, scrolling on his phone, “Yeah she takes her work pretty seriously. I mean we hang out sometimes but she’s either prattling on about work or complaining about something. I think she’s going into an emo or angry phase. She’s just so tempermental.” Wally thought a moment, “And she’s two or three years older than you.. oh I see. Mare issues. She’s probably inheriting her mom’s cycles. Moody and needy for companionship, and your mom’s can get pretty intense. Speaking of, hey Lekir! You all on a break or something?” Lekir was walking in with Asta, “Yeah we’re done for the day. Ninoga and Kiros are keeping Carm busy… its gonna be a while, the pirates are enjoying the show. Bug boy is brooding somewhere trying to find eye bleach again.” She reached over and stole a piece of Blendin’s starfruit with a wink, much to his protest. “Hey! I had plans for that!”

“You snooze, you lose, bud. There’s more in the fridge!” She called back as she followed Asta to their room. Wally laughed as Blendin pouted. “Were you looking for special treatment? You’re one of the family. They all pick on each other in a loving way.” Wally smiled, turning the page to his book. “Dad, does Mom ever hurt anyone or threaten people?” Blendin asked hesitantly, Wally looked up at the ceiling a moment before shrugging and shaking his head, “I don’t believe so. If she did, it would be unintentional. She would rather strike without warning but keep everyone alive and safe. I’ve heard people call her the thief with a heart of gold.” Blendin smiled, “So she’s not a mob boss?” Wally laughed, “She may have a crime family but she’s no mob boss. I swear she wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

“Don’t be too fuckin sure on that, she can have a mean right hook and a stinging slap when she wants.” M sauntered in and looked into the fridge, taking out a tupperware of odd looking dried meat. He leaned on the countertop and he gnawed on a piece. “Haven’t you and Mom been at each other’s throats since she came back from Siberia?” Blendin asked, trying to ignore the meat. M chuckled, “Don’t worry yer little twink head. We have our disagreements but she can’t resist my illustrious charm all the time.” Wally actually cackled, “Oh she can resist alright. Like full body shivers of disgust some days!!” Blendin frowned and asked, “Whats a twink?”

M pulled on the colt’s hoodie strings, making the hood cinch up around Blendin’s muzzle. “You’ll find out when yer older. Nothin to waste time worryin about right now.” He continued to chew on the dried meat for a bit more. “But yeh, she and I will be fine. Nothin ta worry about. She and I are dealing with a bit of a heavy side subject and tryin ta figure out how to fuckin deal with it before lettin anyone else in on it, to keep it from gettin too fuckin complicated. Ya know?” M picked out a piece of wood from his teeth and threw it in the trash.

Wally put his chin in his hand as he leaned on his elbow, “Does it perchance have to deal with that hunk of junk in your mech lab?” M waggled a piece of meat at his brother, “079 is not a hunk of junk, its just a self centered prick that has this attachment to Kiros for some forsaken reason.” Wally sipped his can of soda-pop. “I thought 079 is a nice ai. Its always nice to me, in a no nonsense way.” Blendin sighs, “I wish Mom would let me see the ai but she doesn’t think I’m old enough yet.” M roughly patted his back, “Probably for the best with how it is. It aint the easiest thing to get to know. And its also fer security reasons. She don’t let yer dad in there all the time either, just when he happens to be by her fuckin side does he get a chance to talk with it.”

“I dunno, it seems to be quite friendly to me. We always have a good time chatting.” Kiros chuckled, walking past, with a happy yet disheveled looking Carmen over his shoulder. Ninoga was following behind, “If you need us, we’ll be in the dungeon!” M drooped his shoulders, growling “Didja at least fuckin clean up in there?! I ain’t yer fuckin janitor!!” Carmen smirked as she hung over Kiros’s shoulder, she held up a middle finger and blew a sarcastic kiss to M just to rile him up even more, his insect chitter growing louder as he clenched his fists. “Mom has a dungeon? Like a brig or jail? Why would they be going there?? Did she do something wrong?” Wally and M both look at each other, M cackled loudly as Wally winces embarrassingly, rubbing the back of his neck, “Son, there are things that grown ups see as fun while kids like you find as punishments…” Blendin raises an eyebrow and glances over to M who had then started choking on his own spit from laughing so hard, punching his own chest to clear it up. “Like taxes?” Wally puts his hands together and to his lips as if to pray, and deeply inhales, “Nnnnnot quite. You see.. when a mare and a stallion like eachother alot..” Blendin slow blinks, “Mom and Lekir like eachother alot too. Just say its a mating thing. I’ll find out eventually.” Wally looked so relieved, “Oh thank Celestia. I thought I was going to need to give you the birds and bees talk.” Blendin shook his head, “I know biology but the details and subcategories haven’t been taught to me yet.” M catching his breath, still chuckling, leans on the kitchen island, “So you know what fucking is but don’t know the different combos that can be used in fucking. Got it. Hang around here, you’ll catch on quick.”

“She has a WHAT?! My stars.. they’re all just a bunch of criminal degenerates.. As your elder sibling, I forbid you from cavorting with the likes of them! What kind of role model is proud of being a sex crazed cat burglar?! I mean her last caper didn’t even make sense! A rusted box that she just went to destroy?! Is she going to destroy anything else?!” The young golden yellow pegasus paced around, screaming into her phone at her younger brother Blendin. She was just reaching her 18th birthday soon and she was almost free of possibly being in a criminal’s custody. She brushed her hair, the different dark silver and grey shades almost sparkled with just having been washed. “But I’ve spent time with her, she’s a good person! She actually cares about us!” Blendin’s voice came through the speaker as Daring still got ready for the day. “It may seem like that now but I promise you, she’s up to no good! She wants to use you and your Library knowledge to get your artifacts! Don’t freakin trust her or her goons! The sooner you cut ties, the better!” She huffs, glancing at the half opened box with an obsidian dragon in her closet and shuts the door. “Dare, she is really not that bad! She has fed me, shown me a lot of what you would consider secrets, even flown in her jet! I’ve seen her be protective! Even Dad vouches for her!” Blendin goes on as she sighs, “Blen, no. Don’t even count Dad into this. He hasn’t been there either for us, I can excuse the amnesia bit but he’s still too love blind to see what she’s doing to us! And she’s trying to blind you with shiny things to gain your trust into handing the entire Library to her! Why else would she stick us into these places if not to try to use us for easy access?!” She rubs her forehead, her feathers ruffled, “Blen, we have gone over this so many times! You’re just too young and naive to understand! I’ve been out in the world, you’re just starting to see it. Get more exposure of the real world without HER and then see what you’re being blind to.”

Blendin sniffles a bit, “I really hope you are dead wrong about her! She never puts me down like you do! She’s called me brilliant and clever! You just complain I’m too young and stupid! I know I’m not a prodigy explorer like you but you don’t have to treat me like that!” Daring winces, “Bro, I didnt mean it like that, you know that! I’m trying to protect you! You’re the only family I have!” Blendin sniffles a little more, “If you just give her a chance, you can have more than just me for family! You don’t have to do it all alone! You’re the one pushing away!” Daring snapped, “Its not that simple, okay?! Its not all happiness and rainbows! I’m sorry if I call you stupid but things like this you should be more smart with! Its not all found in books!” There was silence on the other end for a little while, “I… I think I better go, let you calm down a bit. I’ll talk to you later, Dare.” The phone clicked as the call disconnected. Daring threw her phone into her small mountain of pillows on her bed and sat at her little desk by her window, her typewriter sitting with a half page already written. She pushed it aside a little bit and set some books down, opening one to a page about legendary golden eggs of Babylon.

Blendin hung up the phone and sighed, looking at his dorm ceiling. He just didnt understand why Daring just didnt want to try getting to know her family more. Other than the stealing, he didn’t see what was so bad. He didn’t condone his mother’s crime sprees, but he saw that she was a good person over all.

A knock came from his door, a messenger handed him a letter when he answered, “The Keeper is giving you an assignment. Do your research and be prepared to depart by the date stated inside. Its your first one, Congrats, young Librarian!” Blendin beamed and thanked the messenger, closing the door before jumping around cheering. “I gotta tell Daring!.. I gotta tell Mom and Dad!!” He stopped and repeated as if just realizing for the first time, “I get to tell Mom and Dad..” he grinned and ran out of his room to the Ley travel doors, letter in hand. In the letter was his permit to use the doors to his needs.

At VILE HQ, Carmen and Lekir were just finishing up a sparring session for close combat. They had the sparring room littered with various padded objects like an obstacle course to simulate a crowded area. Carmen was more of the quick jab kickboxing type while Lekir preferred a more graceful tai chi approach. Carmen tried her stronger right hook as Lekir brushed it off and deflected, hooking her arm around and locking it, twisting and flung Carmen onto her back, hitting the ground with a grunt. The two girls breathed hard and took a break, laughing. Lekir grabbed Carmen’s hand and helped her to her feet as Blendin applauded, he had just seen the last bit of the fight and was highly entertained. “Hey Kiddo. Like how I just owned your mom?” Lekir laughed as Carmen punched her arm playfully, “Oh So you owned me? I’ll get you back for that.” Lekir raised an eyebrow and licked her muzzle hungrily, “Oh I’m sure you can try, but you know I dominate not only here but-“ Carmen laughs nervously and cuts her off, “So! What brings you around here unannounced, you usually give a heads up. Not that I mind, I just thought thats what you prefer.” Blendin bounced and holds up his letter, “I wanted to surprise you. I got my first assignment out into the world!! Its not for another six months or so but I need to do my research during the waiting period. I think its due to the location only being available during certain times. But I got in!! I’m a full Librarian now!” Carmen and Lekir both cheer as Carmen hugs him tight, “Oh my heavens! That is amazing!! Congratulations!! This is so wonderful!!” Lekir thought a moment, “We should celebrate with something special.. I know! Lets bring him to someplace authentic! Like Mexico or Italy! Where do you wanna go, Squirt?” Blendin adjusted his glasses, “Um.. I always wanted to try Korean HotPot.. their vegetables look so yummy there!” Carmen smiles, “South Korea it is! I think I know a good place in Seoul that you’ll love!” Blendin smiled, “Is it ok if I bring my best friend? He’s a Librarian too. He’s a mythical sphinx with Egyptian and Sumerian parents.” Carmen nodded, “Sure! The more the merrier! Tell you what, go get your friend and meet us back here in about an hour. And we’ll go get things set up with reservations. Ok?” Blendin nodded and grins, bouncing off back to his door portal. Lekir hangs her arm around Carmen’s shoulders, “You know you basically gave that boy a reason to ask his friend on a date, right?” Carmen chuckled knowingly. “I had a feeling, but I think he can handle it. He’s old enough to start figuring things out himself now. And what better way to test the waters than with some good news and good food?”

An hour later the front door glowed blue and Blendin peeked in and helped a young blindfolded winged feline across the threshhold. Blendin closed the door behind them and took off the blindfold, “Tahdah!! Look at this place! Isn’t it huge?!” The feline blinked and looked around, “Wow, its actually kinda modest. I was expecting a ginormous palace or something. Just reminds me of one of the big rich houses on old sitcoms, just modern.” Blendin grins and holds his hands in front of him, “Ok so… I know I said I wanted you to come with me for dinner, this isnt the restaurant. My parents and her group is joining us to celebrate. They offered to cover dinner and travel.” The Sphinx tilted his head, “I was gonna say, this place doesnt look like a hotpot place…. Holy shitake.. is that a demon?!… And a dragon?? TWO DRAGONS?! Dude… who the hell are your parents?!” He retreated behind the teal colt as he saw the VILE Agents start to heads toward the foyer in some of their nicer outfits. Carmen and Waldo walked out, she in a red and black blouse and pencil skirt and he was in his usual striped sweater and jeans. “Mom, Dad, Agents, this is Ty, my best friend. Ty, this is my family. Carmen Pondiego, Waldo Wander and the VILE Agents.” Blendin introduced everyone as Ty was still wide eyed. “Dude… you ARE aware your family is like… wanted in every country for grand theft, right?” Carmen chuckles and offers her hand to shake, “Ty, its a pleasure to meet you! We may be thieves but we’re probably the nicest and most honest thieves you’ll know.” Ty nervously shakes her hand as Blendin bounced, “So where’s the hotpot??” M tapped his wrist watch a bit. “Let’s see, its about 3am in Seoul. Lets speed that fuckin day up to say… 2pm? Was that the reservation?” Carmen looked at her phone, “Yep that should be right. Got the chronoskimmer warmed up?”

“Up and fuckin ready to roll.”

“Sounds good, ok kids, into the mech lab and load yourselves into the van.”

M rolled his eyes, “Its not a fuckin van, its just a pod, like an elevator. Its not that fancy yet. Not like a fuckin Delorean.”

Once everyone entered the mech lab, the roughly made multifaceted pod stood in the corner, just large enough to hold the entire group. M opened the tall hatch door letting everyone file in as he finalizes the destination and time. 079 looked less than thrilled. “Great, the circus is in town and the clowns are getting into their car..have a good show, dont get pie all over my consoles.” M flipped it off with his middle finger, “I’d offer you to come along but I ain’t gonna even miss ya, pixelbreath.” 079 sighed, “Oh please, do hesitate to call if you need me, rude one. I won’t be waiting up.”

With a flash, the group finds themselves in an empty alley near their venue in Seoul, South Korea, a few minutes before 2pm. The two young boys were looking at their phone clocks and looking around, “This is so lit! Its supposed to be in the middle of the night here!!” Ty exclaimed, Blendin looking at the sky and back to his phone, and over to M, “Uncle M, you did it! You actually made us go through time! This is amazing! Mom, after hotpot, can we go shopping?!” Ty’s face lit up, “Hey yeah! We could get some Korean manga and gachapon!” Blendin grinned excitedly, “Do you think they have the new anime figures out yet?! You know how Korea gets things way sooner than we do!” The two teens huddled together to excitedly discuss their current anime hyper-fixations, Lekir and Kiros gently nudged and herded them towards the restaurant. Carmen met the hostess with a bow and spoke Korean to her, explaining her reservation. The hostess was surprised and pleased, requesting them to follow her to their reserved dining room. As they were seated, they were presented with drinks and menus, the table having two heating plates and one large grill in the center. They were instructed how to use everything and how to cook everything. Within moments, the food and broths were served and the group feasted and cooked the foods.

There were laughters and conversations between them all, even Ty was warming up to everyone, asking some curious questions about different strengths and powers, while Blendin was trying to explain his first assignment to his parents, asking for pointers on how to prepare for it. What they found was that his assignment was very similar to the duck hunt they were on. Blendin got worried that both missions may disrupt eachother. Carmen put her hand on his and smiled, “Hey, don’t worry. We will figure something out one way or another. We’re looking for a duck and some regular eggs, you’re looking for some golden eggs. They seem to be from the same region so we can collaborate as much as we can without interfering with your Library mission. I just wish your sister was here to celebrate.” Blendin rubbed the back of his neck, “Yeah, about that. She refuses to be in the same room as you. She tried to forbid me from even seeing you. She doesn’t get it. She doesn’t see what a good person you are. She’s more furious with you than dad, she just thinks he had amnesia and that you blinded him with love for your own gain. And she thinks that you are trying to blind me with good parenting just so you can get into the Library.” Carmen and Wally chuckle, “I have thought about hitting the Library a long long time ago but with their security and what they do to help protect the world, I’d rather save the library from other thieves rather than steal from it myself. I have too much respect for it and the Warehouse. Which is why I sent you kids there. I knew they would raise and educate you two the best way that I couldnt. I’m still trying to figure out what happened. I didnt feel like it was a safe environment for some young foals. We had to move the mansion around more than once because of some close calls but where its at now is the safest place we have. And you two are old enough to technically take care of yourselves. I just want to be a part of your lives before mine is over.” Carmen sneaks a glance at M who looks back at her then look away and busies himself with drinking nearly a whole pint of ale.

"To save you and yours ..." His eyes got a serious look, "we must uncover time magic. Do you know any who could do this?"

She thinks, tapping her lips with her finger, “I do know of a few.. let me see if I can snag one of them for a bit of a house call. Give me a moment.” She flicks her arm, slipping her phone out of the panel in her arm and slides it into her hand, going through her contacts.

She dials the first that comes up, “…Zilean, its Carm-… oh. Voicemail, dammit.”

She hangs up and dials another, “Doc Brown! Carmen. Hi. Listen I need a favor….. no…. Maybe?…. Wait.. I need.. ok… ok.. no. No! I’m not getting you more uranium! Fine. Bye.”

She sighs and dials another. “Hey, Time Squad! Its Carmen!.. what? I can’t hear you.. Mar…what about Marie Antoinette? Listen I need… I can’t hear you! It sounds like a riot behind you! The French Rev.. ooooh. No, you go ahead. Do what you need to. Good luck, okay, bye now.”

She dials another, “Mr Peabody! Good to hear you! Its Carmen.. Listen, you know how you have the Wayback mach- hello? Hello? Blasted dog hung up..”

She paces slightly. Looking at the last number. “I only know of one other and we didnt leave on exactly good terms.”

She shakes and flaps her hands to help psych herself up, groaning, “I don’t wanna.. I don’t wanna talk to him…” she groans as she dials, “Hello Doctor.. yes I know its me.. yes.. I know.. yes.. Doctor, I need a favor.. yes. A favor. Yes I know.. twice…. No I only stole your TARDIS twice!… well she liked me well enough! I know.. yes… Hey I apologized!! …..Yes it was only Twice! Doctor, Listen, I need your help fixing the chronoskimmer. No, no one else was available…. Yes I tried! Why do you think I’m calling you?! … went to voicemail…… out of uranium…… French revolution…. Hung up on me…… yes I know I probably deserved it…. Alright. Fine. Thank you.”