Robbie "Walking Disaster Area" Baldwin ✘ Speedball (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
isahellofadrug) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
ya_assemble2015-12-26 04:17 am
isahellofadrug) wrote in ya_assemble2015-12-26 04:17 am
Turn Left at the Tower Shaped Like a Giant Letter
To say that he hadn't expected his day to get interrupted by a interdimensional kidnapping was a bit of an understatement, but it didn't exactly surprise Robbie that much, not with the life he'd led. That this Timebroker guy wanted him of all people on some kind of team? Also not that surprising after he thought about it. This whole thing sounded like something you'd want to toss expendable people at, and it wasn't exactly like many people back home would miss him.
But who he saw after he appeared in the alley of the world he had to save -- from a conflict like the one he'd been responsible for, no less -- that? That surprised him.
Because back home he was dead.
"Buckethead?" He wasn't wearing the costume Robbie had seen him in last, so was this even his Rich? Was it Rich from the past? He didn't look as old -- or as haggard. "Is that really you?"
The Speedball that stood before Rich likely looked different from Rich's Speedball. For one, aside from the costume change, he was taller and far more built than the toothpick Rich knew back home. The transformation always added some height and mass from the kinetic energy dimension and now Robbie was tall enough and muscular enough in his usual form that he looked even more the classic idea of a superhero when transformed.
His face was also different. This wasn't a Speedball who was nearly always laughing and you could tell by looking at his face. He looked like someone that never smiled and his eyes were far sadder.
But who he saw after he appeared in the alley of the world he had to save -- from a conflict like the one he'd been responsible for, no less -- that? That surprised him.
Because back home he was dead.
"Buckethead?" He wasn't wearing the costume Robbie had seen him in last, so was this even his Rich? Was it Rich from the past? He didn't look as old -- or as haggard. "Is that really you?"
The Speedball that stood before Rich likely looked different from Rich's Speedball. For one, aside from the costume change, he was taller and far more built than the toothpick Rich knew back home. The transformation always added some height and mass from the kinetic energy dimension and now Robbie was tall enough and muscular enough in his usual form that he looked even more the classic idea of a superhero when transformed.
His face was also different. This wasn't a Speedball who was nearly always laughing and you could tell by looking at his face. He looked like someone that never smiled and his eyes were far sadder.
no subject
...Well, the kind of guy who kept coming back from Rich's future to kick him into shape before something big and bad happened.
Mulling it over, Rich followed Robbie up to the roof, using a route a little less bouncy and a lot more rocket-powered.
"Heeeeeeey," he said, coming in for a landing. "Good old San Francisco. Been here before."
no subject
Maybe it was the same.
"Then we went to that weird secret lab near Yosemite and fought the dire wraith. That's how it happened in my world, at least."
He pointed at an island in the bay.
"That must be where that teen team we're supposed to help hangs out." A pause. "Or, you know, in some other building shaped like a giant letter in their team name."
There it was! At least a little bit of the Robbie Rich knew was in this stranger.
"We should figure out a not-terrible-to-someone way to get some cash and get our hands on a computer to do some research. Even if we need to fight this Timebroker guy at some point and get home, we still have to take what he said about this place seriously and keep all those horrible things from happening here."
Not again. He couldn't bear the thought of seeing that happen again, even if it was another world.
"We can maybe roll a drug dealer or two for some cash after leaving them all neat and tidy for the police. That might give us enough for a laptop, dinner, and a place to stay for the night while we figure it all out."
It also involved theft of the evidence of a crime but whatever. Preventing something horrific was worth it in Robbie's eyes. It was just money.