Dragging ourselves back to normal

[superposition]

WHO: Qubit, and some other people I guess
WHERE: errywhere
WHEN: March
WHAT: Catch-all!
WARNINGS: so many shenanigans

[Starters in comments. PM or plurk me if you want one :'D]

Comments

3/27 || the Doctor

[superposition]

[It turns out Qubit wasn't exaggerating about it being just a sec. Less than a minute after his last message, there's a flash of blue light just outside Heropa #011, and the doorbell rings.]

[regenereight]

[ The person who answers the door.....is a man with floofy hair in Edwardian clothes with a softer voice, smelling faintly like honey.

So obviously, not the Doctor that Qubit was expecting. Especially not when he spots Qubit and just grins. ]

You must be Qubit! Do come in. I'm afraid I haven't had enough time to put the kettle on, but we can talk about things while the water boils.

[superposition]

[Qubit pauses outside a moment, surprised. Who the heck is this? One of the Doctor's housemates? Surely he wouldn't have had time to tell them he was expecting company? Eventually he follows him in, though. This is his first time at the house, so don't mind him looking around curiously.]

That's me, yes. Is the Doctor in?

[regenereight]

Of course I'm in. I told you to meet me here, after all, [ the Doctor simply responded, giving Qubit a small smile as he walked towards the kitchen. Turning on the sink, he starts to fill up the kettle before turning towards Qubit with a frown. ]

You know, I think we're all out of black tea. I hope you don't mind herbal.

[superposition]

[j;slakfjdslk- don't just go on about the tea after saying that! Oh my god, how does an alien get this British. Qubit holds up his hand in a "hold-on-a-second" gesture.]

Wait, wait wait wait. You're the Doctor? Oh, God, not you too. I swear, if I'm the only one who's not...

[regenereight]

[ HE JUST KEEPS GOING ON, ignoring that hold-on-a-second gesture as the Doctor just puts the kettle on the stove and continues, grabbing two mugs from the cabinets. ]

Of course I'm the Doctor. A prior regeneration than what you're used to, I'd imagine, but the Doctor all the same. Should I get the honey out?

[superposition]

[Back in time as well, then. He should count his blessings that this one didn't turn into a child, at least, but he's not really sure how to deal with this vastly different person who's paradoxically still the same person. He puts his hands in his pockets and sighs.]

Sure. Honey's fine. [He's more of a coffee guy anyway, so he's not expecting to drink a lot of it.]

... Come to think of it, you didn't somehow cause this, did you?

[regenereight]

[ And the Doctor just gives Qubit a big smile at that because good choice! He just continues making the tea, getting honey, the loose leaf tea, and a couple of tea strainers out of the pantry, holding all of that with one hand while another hand grabs a spoon. ]

Well it may be obvious, but if I caused this, I don't remember. All I remember is that I was back on the TARDIS, with Charley, and then suddenly I'm here in another man's room, without my sonic screwdriver but with a pair of sonic sunglasses of all things.

[superposition]

[Right, that was kind of a dumb question. Of course he wouldn't remember. Doesn't mean they can rule out his involvement, but still.]

Yeah, your future self is... quite a character.

[But on to business. He's much too impatient to wait for the tea to be ready.]

Anyway. What I've got in mind is a detector for time distortions. My equipment can find localized spacial distortions, and I'm sure I could jury-rig it if I had reliable test data - but my time-travel experience is kind of limited, and being a Time Lord and all, I'm guessing you already know of something better.

[regenereight]

Most of what I use for temporal distortions are my own abilities. As Time Lords, we're uniquely connected to the Web of Time, able to sense disturbances or intrusions. However, I'm certain I can create a device to track temporal anomalies. [ He frowns for a moment, as he pours some honey into each mug, before just continuing. ]

Of course, we're all temporal anomalies. Still, some of us are more anomalous than most—new arrivals, for example, they would show as more anomalous simply because they've had less time to adapt. If I set the device to only detect major anomalies, it should only pick up the recently displaced, such as myself, and those who are a bit more stubborn at adapting.

[superposition]

[So is the Web of Time, like... a literal or a metaphorical thing? You know what, probably doesn't matter. Qubit nods, smiling almost conspiratorially.]

Perfect. That's perfect. A few false positives I can live with.

[He moves to the kitchen table and, without ceremony, starts digging stuff out of his coat pockets. He knew gadgeteering was going to happen here, so for once he actually brought materials along - a bunch of busted old tech junk, but of course that's all the more he needs. The parts rattle against each other as he sets them down.]

[regenereight]

[ ....oh, so we're just making things now? Okay, that's something. However, the Doctor doesn't move from the kitchen and just continues to make the tea, looking over at Qubit as he does so. ]

If you're missing anything, I have an assortment of scraps and parts in my room. We can use some of those to cobble together the device.

[superposition]

[Well, hey, time is of the essence, wouldn't you say? Look at me, still talking when there's science to do-]

Duly noted. We shouldn't need to cobble anything, though. [Right, the Doctor doesn't remember anything about him, huh? Somehow it's easier to roll with that when he has a different face. By way of explanation, he adds-] I'm a technokinetic. Whatever this needs, you can assume we'll have it.

[regenereight]

[ Now that's got the Doctor's attention. He's still making the tea but there's a tone in his voice of sheer fascination as he looks over at Qubit from the kitchen. ]

How interesting! Is this an innate ability of yours or was it Porter-given?

[superposition]

[Qubit glances up, not sure whether to be more surprised that he's asking now, or that he's never asked before. Combination of the two, maybe. He grasps one of his lapels.]

Innate. I had it well before I got here. [There might be a tiiiiny hint of pride there. He had superpowers before it was cool.]

[regenereight]

Now that's interesting! I haven't met a mutate capable of technology manipulation yet—you really must show off once the tea's ready.

[ Said tea is almost ready. The kettle whistles and the Doctor takes it off the eye, pouring tea into the two mugs. ]

[superposition]

[Smirks. Showing off is what Qubits do best!] Oh, twist my arm, why don't you.

[Frankly he's not sure about the term "mutate," since... the source of his powers is still kind of a mystery even to him. But it could be accurate. What are superpowers? We Just Don't Know.]

[regenereight]

[ It's a good thing that the Doctor's perfectly fine to roll with this otherwise we'd get 'let's bother Qubit and find out how he gets his powers.'

Walking over to the table, he sets the mugs down and then sits across from Qubit. ]

I'm very good at that, you know—twisting people's arms. It must be something about this body.

[ It's because Paul McGann is the human equivalent of that stupid cinnamon roll meme. ]