Middleman HQ. Early Friday Morning
Aug. 30th, 2008 03:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
notahostageCarrying an overnight bag in one hand and a coffee in the other, Wendy made her way into the Jolly Fats building. She let herself into the H.E.Y.D.A.R. room, finding Ida and the Middleman. "Hey, boss," she said, looking for a clear surface to dump her bag. "You called, I came."
"Good morning, Dubbie," the Middleman said, smiling at her. "I see you brought your things."
"You did tell me too," Wendy pointed out. "So where are we going that I need to pack a suitcase?"
"I'm not going anywhere," he replied. "You are."
"Come again?"
"You see, Dubbie," the Middleman began, leading her over to stand in front of the H.E.Y.D.A.R. "There comes a time in every Middleman's training when he or she must undergo an extended training exercise, designed to see how they cope solo, working without a safety net. Stay here."
"How extended are we talking here?" Wendy asked, watching him walk over to one of the consoles against the wall.
The Middleman started pushing buttons and twisting dials. "It varies," he replied. "The exercise is different for each Middleman in training. For example, I spent three months in the Canadian wilderness."
"They threw him out of a plane in the middle of winter," Ida volunteered. "Buck naked."
"Really?" Wendy asked, before focusing on the important part. "Three months? People are going to notice if I vanish for that long."
"Don't worry, Dubbie, everything on that end will be taken care of." The Middleman thumbed a red switch. "You'll barely seem to have been gone."
"That's a re-HEY!" Wendy broke off into a startled exclamation as a beam of blue light shot out from the H.E.Y.D.A.R and enveloped her. "What the hell was that?"
"Nothing to be concerned about," the Middleman replied. "Now, it's time to get briefed on your assignment. If you're worried I can assure you're not being dropped buck-naked into the snow-covered Canadian wilderness."
Wendy blinked and waved her hands in front of her face, everything seemed slightly blurry and out-of-focus. "Sure, boss, whatever you say."
Middleman HQ.
Ten minutes later.
"High school? Seriously?" Wendy said, boggling at the Middleman. "I think I'd prefer being dropped buck-naked into the snow-covered Canadian wilderness."
"Really?" Ida asked. "But where would you find a dealer out there?"
"Can it, Roberta," Wendy snapped before refocusing her attention on the Middleman. "High school?"
"This is not just any high school, Dubbie," "It's located on a dimensional nexus, a place where dozens if not hundreds of universes crowded up together, bumping shoulders. And when universes bump shoulders, there's no telling what could turn up, only that it's the kind of situation that calls for a Middleman."
Wendy still had a few straws to grasp. "You're forgetting one thing, there's no way I'm going to pass as a teenager."
The Middleman didn't reply, and after a few long moments Wendy remembered the beam of light from the H.E.Y.D.A.R. "Oh, no, boss...tell me you didn't."
"Wendy, I assure you that the procedure is completely safe." At least he had the grace to look slightly abashed as he spoke. "And it will be fully reversed as soon as your assignment is over."
"You turned me back into teenager?"
"Good morning, Dubbie," the Middleman said, smiling at her. "I see you brought your things."
"You did tell me too," Wendy pointed out. "So where are we going that I need to pack a suitcase?"
"I'm not going anywhere," he replied. "You are."
"Come again?"
"You see, Dubbie," the Middleman began, leading her over to stand in front of the H.E.Y.D.A.R. "There comes a time in every Middleman's training when he or she must undergo an extended training exercise, designed to see how they cope solo, working without a safety net. Stay here."
"How extended are we talking here?" Wendy asked, watching him walk over to one of the consoles against the wall.
The Middleman started pushing buttons and twisting dials. "It varies," he replied. "The exercise is different for each Middleman in training. For example, I spent three months in the Canadian wilderness."
"They threw him out of a plane in the middle of winter," Ida volunteered. "Buck naked."
"Really?" Wendy asked, before focusing on the important part. "Three months? People are going to notice if I vanish for that long."
"Don't worry, Dubbie, everything on that end will be taken care of." The Middleman thumbed a red switch. "You'll barely seem to have been gone."
"That's a re-HEY!" Wendy broke off into a startled exclamation as a beam of blue light shot out from the H.E.Y.D.A.R and enveloped her. "What the hell was that?"
"Nothing to be concerned about," the Middleman replied. "Now, it's time to get briefed on your assignment. If you're worried I can assure you're not being dropped buck-naked into the snow-covered Canadian wilderness."
Wendy blinked and waved her hands in front of her face, everything seemed slightly blurry and out-of-focus. "Sure, boss, whatever you say."
Middleman HQ.
Ten minutes later.
"High school? Seriously?" Wendy said, boggling at the Middleman. "I think I'd prefer being dropped buck-naked into the snow-covered Canadian wilderness."
"Really?" Ida asked. "But where would you find a dealer out there?"
"Can it, Roberta," Wendy snapped before refocusing her attention on the Middleman. "High school?"
"This is not just any high school, Dubbie," "It's located on a dimensional nexus, a place where dozens if not hundreds of universes crowded up together, bumping shoulders. And when universes bump shoulders, there's no telling what could turn up, only that it's the kind of situation that calls for a Middleman."
Wendy still had a few straws to grasp. "You're forgetting one thing, there's no way I'm going to pass as a teenager."
The Middleman didn't reply, and after a few long moments Wendy remembered the beam of light from the H.E.Y.D.A.R. "Oh, no, boss...tell me you didn't."
"Wendy, I assure you that the procedure is completely safe." At least he had the grace to look slightly abashed as he spoke. "And it will be fully reversed as soon as your assignment is over."
"You turned me back into teenager?"
