Preparations were well underway, you had the basics ready. As usual Nathan was handling the tents due to his family connections with an online outdoors supply place, you were supposed to handle some variations in food supplies as well as your own clothes, sleeping back, toiletries and some tools. Nikki had texted she was prepping some incredible entertainment. Both you and Nathan looked forward to getting away from computers, phones and TV. Nikki... not so much. She was a thorough geek, and though you liked TV... and did play some computer games on occasion, it really wasn't your thing. Definitely wasn't Nathans. He was all outdoorsy, sports and anything extreme... which had got him some jail time too. He actually was on TV being arrested in that swimming pool for assaulting the lifeguards.
You still had that footage, not that you'd tell him that.
With a sigh you drop your rucksack on the couch and sigh, then look up. Wait, hadn't you switched the TV off already? As you head to the remote you glance at it, seeing what likely was... Avengers? No, probably one of the early Ironman movies. The hero working with a robot arm, and some kind of holographic display. How in hell he was supposed to design all that stuff so easily was beyond you. It just seemed ridiculous. True, he had access to massive amounts of money to do it, but still it always seemed like he just worked on something and... voila... product.
He wanted a power armor suit? Spend a week at most and poof! New Ironman armor.
He worked with nanotech samples? Poof! Now he could make things just by thinking it.
He wanted a robot army to police the planet? Poof! Homicidal AI that tries to destroy the world. Well, can't win 'em all you guess.
Chuckling you switch the TV off and turn away.
Then the lights flicker and blink out... and the room goes black. Not just dark, BLACK!
"Ow!" You gasp, running your shin into the end table as you turn to try to head for the wall switch. "God damn it! The..."
Abruptly the TV flares to life again, still with Tony Stark designing away, but nothing else is on and the sound is... weird... and....
You stumble, reaching for the side of the couch, but in the dark your hand grabs for nothing, you tumbling to the floor. Dizzy you get one last look of Stark's ecstatic face as he makes some kind of revelation before you black out, just before you hit the floor.
***
Groaning you blearily awaken, blinking and prizing your nose from the carpet, snuffling as you blow hairs from your nose. Damn neighbor's cat! You only cat sat the thing once and the hairs are still in the carpet MONTHS later! You've half a mind to just build a damned auto-cat sitter to handle it just so Mrs Jenkins won't have to stick you with the job. You get a brief flash of an idea, a couple of simple robot arms, a little enclosure, some simple... processors. to... wha?
Blinking you roll over, seeing the morning light streaming in through the curtains as you try to figure out what just happened.
You were just designing a kitty enclosure in your head... with robotics involved. What the hell? You've barely got through shop class and computers with passing grade, but now you want to build stuff like that? Oddly you are sure... absolutely sure, you could do that.
Shaking your head you stumble to your feet, only now registering that the light coming in the window means it's morning.
"The camping trip!" You gasp, and glance at the wall clock. Thankfully you aren't late, but... what the hell was that? A power outage? The TV acting up? And that vision of... inventing? You must be having a weird dream... or the last dregs of it after you woke up. At least you hoped you were awake now!
Pinching yourself "Ow!" at least indicated this was real. Probably. Did that really work anyway?
At least you had most things sorted out last night for the trip. So grabbing a couple of last minute things, a couple of cans of soda from the fridge for the trip, you sling the rucksack on your back and head out.
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