Author's notes:
"This" indicates Japanese.
'This' indicates English.
*This* indicates thoughts.
/This/ indicates electronic communications.

====

    ADP officers Debrowski and Larson were having a bad night. First, a
coffee boomer at the donut shop where they were taking a break decided to
start attacking customers. This would not have been much of a bother, given
that the boomer was only armed with a pot of lukewarm coffee, but the
collateral damage caused by the 37 ADPolicemen who happened to be present
forced the shop to close for repairs. Then a haircutting boomer went
berserk. Again, this was not to much of a problem, except that officer
Debrowski had neglected to wear his helmet and now sported an inverse
mohawk. To top it off, somebody had unleashed a Bu-12B in their patrol
area, which it was now laying to waste. No, officers Debrowski and Larson
were not having a good night.
    "Well? What do you think we should do?" Larson asked his partner as the
two cowered, or rather took cover behind their patrol car.
    "Call in an airstrike?"
    "We tried that. It took out the four Firebees in 46 seconds."
    The cyberdroid sprayed their car and the warehouse behind it with
gunfire yet again, causing the officers to wince in dismay.
    "Contact the Knight Sabres?"
    "We don't know how."
    "Pray for divine intervention?"
    "Sounds as good as anything. Our Father who art in Heaven...."

    Fortunately for the policemen, help was about to arrive. Three meters
above the roof of the warehouse a vortex of swirling energies appeared and,
after few moments, disgorged an armored figure and disappeared. The figure,
being currently unable to defy gravity, fell to the roof with a crash that
went unheard over the ruckus being caused by the boomer.
    'Ouch. Shoulda fixed the gravity control systems before coming back.'
    The powersuited man groaned as he pulled himself to his feet.
    'There has got to be a better way to time travel. I feel like I just
fell down the stairwell of the Sears Tower.'
    As he scanned the skyline a realization occurred to him.
    'I don't think we're in Central City anymore, Toto. Where are we?'
    He looked around.
    'Correction: where am I? Looks like Timemaster screwed up royally.'
    Still scanning the skyline, he cued his radio.
    /Graviton to Tarantula./
    Nothing.
    /Graviton to Orion./
    Nothing.
    /Graviton to any Aegis member in range./
    Still nothing.
    'Damn. Timemaster definitely screwed up.'
    Graviton paused.
    'What is that god-awful racket?' He inquired, hearing it for the first
time. A short walk to the edge of the roof provided the answer.
    'Ah. Killer robot rampaging in the streets. Well, we can't have that,
can we?'

    On a nearby rooftop, unnoticed by Graviton, the Knight Sabres were also
assessing the situation.
    "Aw, man. A 12B? Why don't we ever get the easy jobs?" complained Linna.
    "We leave those for the AD Police." replied Sylia.
    "Not that they can handle them." jibed Priss.
    "That's enough of that. Linna-"
    "Sylia, wait. There's somebody else down there." interrupted Nene,
pointing to the black armored man who had just somersaulted down near the
ADP car.
    "Let's see what he does first. Nene, get a read on his suit."

    Debrowski and Larson stared at the figure who towered over them.
Standing over two meters tall he wore thick, glossy black armor whose
featureless, seemingly opaque helmet betrayed no expression.
    'Excuse me, officers. May I borrow your vehicle?' Graviton asked cordially.
    'S-sure.' stammered Larson.
    Graviton reached down and gripped the much abused patrol car by its roof.
    'I suggest you seek alternate cover.' advised Graviton.
    Larson grabbed his partner by the wrist and ran for the warehouse door.
After they were out from behind the car Graviton hoisted it over his head
and shouted at the Bu-12B.
    'Hey! You! With the gatling gun and the attitude problem!'
    The cyberdroid turned to face the one addressing it.
    'Catch!' shouted Graviton as he hurled the car at the robot. The car
crashed into the 12B and sandwiched it against the wall of a nearby
building.

    "An American." Sylia observed. "What's the report on that suit?"
    Nene frowned. "My sensors can't identify half the equipment. Beyond the
basics, he has myomer strength enhancement and a power supply strong enough
to light up MegaTokyo, which is why it's so strong. Some of his electronics
are damaged, but I can't tell what they're supposed to do nor how he's
generating so much power."
    "See if you can figure it out."

    Graviton turned away from the fallen car and made a show of dusting off
his hands.
    'Y'know, if this is still the future, then they don't make killer
robots like they used to.'
    The Bu-12B was only slightly damaged by the car's impact however, and
pushed the car off itself before taking aim with its railgun. Graviton,
alerted by the crash of the overturning vehicle snapped his head back
towards the boomer and almost managed to dodge the shell it fired at him.
The shot glanced off the armor protecting his short ribs, causing him to
inelegantly spin around halfway and fall on his face.
    *Damn, that hurt.* 'Alright.' growled the hero as he pushed himself off
the ground. 'Maybe they do.'
    Before the boomer could draw a bead on him again the armored hero
charged, leapt over the fallen car and tackled the cyberdroid, slamming
them both into and through the building wall. For a fifteen second eternity
the crash and squeal of tortured metal came from the hole, followed by a
deafening silence. Slowly a dark shape emerged from the hole, and raised
something in its hand, and spoke.
    'Alas, poor robot. I knew him not, Horatio. A machine of infinite
foolishness...'

    "What's he saying?" asked Priss.
    "He's paraphrasing Hamlet. Badly." replied Sylia before turning to Nene.
    "Well, what's the word on our friend's suit?"
    "I still can't figure it out, but all of the damaged circuits and the
power supply seem to have a similar design, but I can't figure out what
they do."
    "Let's go talk to him and see if he won't tell us. Priss, Linna, you
stay here in case he turns hostile. Nene, come with me." With that Sylia
jumped off the roof, followed shortly by Nene.
    Graviton turned to face the newcomers.
    '...And prithee, tell me one thing: what can I do for you ladies?' He
finished pleasantly.
    'Who are you?' Sylia demanded.
    *I've been waiting for a chance to say this...*
    'My power is that which crushes stars and binds worlds together.
Nothing can escape its reach nor stay its hand. I am... Graviton. Of the
hero group Aegis. Perhaps you've heard of us?'
    Sylia shook her head, partly in response to his question, partly in
response to his speech.
    'What are you doing here?'
    'Well, I had just arrived in town when I spotted Yorick here,' replied
Graviton, holding up the boomer's head for emphasis, 'causing trouble and
so I took care of him.'
    'So, why did you come here?'
    'Inquisitive, aren't we? I did not come here by choice, and how I got
here is a long story. But first, I have a few questions for you. Who are
you? Where am I? And what year is it?'

                    Polychrome Productions Presents

                     A Standing On The Ceiling Fic

                            Shades of Grey

                      A story of the Knight Sabres
                            MegaTokyo 2032

                                Part 1
                              Discussions

    Before Sylia could respond, however, they were interrupted by the sound
of approaching sirens.
    'Why do they cops always show up *after* the fight?' wondered Graviton.
'Is there a place where we can speak privately? I don't feel like dealing
with the police right now.'
    Sylia nodded. 'Follow me.' With that she turned and leapt up onto the
roof where Priss and Linna were waiting, with Nene and Graviton arriving a
moment later.
    /Mackie, get out of sight of the truck, we've got a visitor coming,
non-hostile./
    /Right, sis./
    Back on the street, ADPolice Chief Inspector Leon McNichol surveyed the
scene and shook his head in disbelief. *Decapitation isn't the Knight
Sabres' usual MO. Who did this?* He turned to officers Larson and
Debrowski. "Alright, what happened here?"

    'Nice setup you've got here.' said Graviton as he scanned the inside of
the trailer. 'Now, if you don't mind answering my questions, I'll be happy
to answer yours.'
    /Nene, keep a running translation for Linna and Priss./
    /Right./
    'We are The Knight Sabres. We exist to protect this city, MegaTokyo,
from the ravages of the corporation Genom, and its boomers, like the one
you destroyed.'
    'Genom. They would be the owners of that rather Freudian building I saw
on the way over here?'
    Sylia allowed herself a smile underneath her helmet. 'Yes.'
    'And today's date?'
    'April 7, 2032.'
    '2032.' Graviton shook his head. '2032, we were supposed to wind up in
1995.' He sighed and sat down. 'Let me explain.' Graviton reached up and,
with a hiss of decompressing air, removed his helmet, revealing the face of
a youthful seeming Caucasian man with brown eyes and grey speckled brown
hair that suggested age that his face did not show.
    'My name is Dr. Robert Carlson. As I mentioned before, I am a member of
Aegis, a hero group operating out of Central City in the 90s. In June of
'95 we learned that the terrorist group DEMON was planning on stealing
several artifacts to open a gate and summon an elder god of some sort. Most
of the artifacts were in Europe, but since all of the European supers were
preoccupied we went over to stop them. Unfortunately, we failed to prevent
DEMON from acquiring the artifacts, but we did know where the gate was and
set up an ambush for them there. We managed to defeat them, but in the
course of the battle one of the DEMON mages miscast a spell that interacted
with Comet's armor in such a way as to create an explosion that punted us a
century into the future. After a number of adventures we managed to
convince Timemaster to send us home. It appears, however, that he botched
it.' Rob looked up at Sylia and waited for her reaction.
    'I am... skeptical. Do you have any proof of what you say?'
    'Is Aegis still around? You could get in contact with them. I bet Orion
is still alive.' *It's not like you can kill him...*
    'Neither Aegis nor DEMON exists and as far as I know, never have.'
    'Really? You don't know the part we played in stopping the demonic
invasion in February of '95?' An unpleasant thought was beginning to form
in the back of Rob's mind.
    'Demonic invasion? I am beginning to doubt your sanity, Dr. Carlson.'
    Rob frowned. 'Who is the most powerful superhero in the world?'
    Sylia gestured to her thoroughly confused comrades. 'Look around you.
We are the only "superheroes" this world has ever known.'
    Rob's frown deepened. 'It would seem that not only have I been
misplaced in time and space, but dimensions as well.'
    'That explanation is only slightly more plausible. Again, do you have
any proof?'
    Rob thought for a moment, then opened a compartment in his armor,
removed something and offered it to Sylia. 'My wallet, Ms...?'
    'You may address me as Sabre Prime.' replied Sylia as she accepted the
wallet and opened it.
    'Sabre Prime.' Rob nodded and watched impassively as Sylia went through
his wallet. He didn't really like the idea of somebody pawing through his
wallet, but it seemed the only way to convince Sabre Prime. Besides there
wasn't any really personal in there except...
    Sylia stopped when she came to the yellowing photograph. Four young
men, standing around a fifth older man in a wheelchair. As Sylia examined
it she noticed that one of them was Rob, looking much the same as he did
now save for the grey hair, and that the others were, judging by
appearances, his father and brothers, or perhaps cousins. Flipping past it,
Sylia came to another aged photo, this one of a well-built man in a blue
and white spandex bodysuit and mask, hovering in midair, surrounded by a
blue aura. Next was another old picture depicting two men in similar
bodysuits one in red and yellow, the other in yellow and orange; unlike the
men in the previous photos they were frowning and seemed to be looking for
a fight. Sylia continued her examination of the wallet but found little of
interest: an Illinois driver's license, credit cards all expired in the
late 90's, and other assorted wallet paraphernalia. Sylia, satisfied but
unconvinced, turned and handed the wallet to Nene.
    /The rest of you head back to base. I'm going to talk to Dr. Carlson
some more. I don't think he's hostile, but I still don't trust him. Nene,
run a check on his cards when you get back./
    /Okay./
    /Mackie did you get that?/
    /Yeah, sis./
    /Wait until we're out of sight again before returning./
    /Right./
    'Let's continue our discussion outside Dr. Carlson.'
    Rob donned his helmet and stood up. 'As you wish.' He gestured to the
door. 'Ladies first.'
    Sylia opened the hatch without comment and Rob followed her out.

====

More author notes:
Ok here it is, my first published fic. Did Sylia come off sufficiently paranoid?
Any and all C&C is appreciated. And if you think you know where this is
going, think again.

G. Harris Bias
hbias@earthlink.net
"That's not a well rounded man. That's a woman."
     -Greg Wooledge.