[hider=What If? : Rogue Continuum / Stranger Things] This is just me sharing the post I was going to put together based on two misunderstandings which, one of which kinda stemmed from the other. Really both of which stemmed from me reading too quickly, not paying enough attention and having a love of stupid goofy shit. The first misunderstanding was Jim Harper being Jim Hopper and the second misunderstanding was that this scenario was taking place in a Marvel Stranger Things dimension. - - - - - - Offices. Homes to domesticated men and with all the trappings. Couldn't hardly ken to it. Jonah had been round them long enough to pick up on their habits and their tells a little. Could tell a lot about a modern man by his office. Diner coffee cup on his desk. Got a big sleepy blue moon face on it. Moon has big bushy sideburns. Seen 'em like that before. Just without the stupid sideburns. Sleepy moon face would turn to a wide awake sun face when you poured hot coffee in it. Other side read "Ringo Starr's All-Star Diner and Disco," Goofy fucking cup. Goofy fucker. Gotta inspect further. Swish the mug around and the coffee turns lighter, a lot lighter. Hopper uses creamer, a lot of it. As it moves around you can see the sides of the cup. Look for rings. Tons of them. Hopper never cleans his. Residue from a thousand cups. Sniff the cup. Not good. Joe is weak. Not enough bean. Way too much sugar, way too much creamer, way too much...he takes another sniff. Fucking Pumpkin Spice. Goofy fucker probably wore novelty socks or even worse no socks at all. Take a look at how he sees the world. Sit in his chair. Comfortable. Quality. Armrests are worn in the middle but the ass of the seat isn't all blown out. This was not a desk arranged to "take a load off" or for a long nap as the day drew to a close. A quick look under the desk confirmed what Jonah already knew. There was no foot rest down there. Hopper is a twitchy fuck. Not surprising with all that sugar in his coffee. Probably battling the bulge but hasn't yet succumbed. Files on the desk, Acronyms. S.W.O.R.D. That didn't sound good. Sounded military. Sounded experimental. Sounded familiar. Trash can under the desk, candy wrapper balled up in it. Desk drawer askew. This was Agent Harper's dedicated weapons drawer. Inside the drawer was a large safe, sturdy looking, clean, open with the key still sticking out of the lock, loaded gun shoved back into the box. Gun held in place by the form fitting foam. Check it out. Loaded, chambered, but the safety still on and it hasn't been Plus One'd. He was ready but not eager. Maybe. Put it together. Hopper was sat there, feet flat on the floor looking at paperwork. Probably would be a good idea to take those folders. Breakfast of champions, Almond Joy and Pumpkin Spice Sugar Milk with a touch of Coffee. Must have seen, felt or heard something to stop him in his tracks and delay the onset of diabetes. Put his files down. Pulled his weapon. Loaded it. Chambered a round. Gun had a manual safety. Safety was still on. Goofy coffee in a goofy coffee cup. Candy for breakfast. Wouldn't have chambered a round if he didn't expect to shoot. Might be he clicked the safety off at first before something made him re-engage it. Maybe not. Something had him ready to shoot and then something convinced him to respond without the pistol. He must have seen or known something beyond the obvious. He would be a good man to find if he hadn't already been shot, eaten, disintegrated, infected, or whatever that alarm was screaming at them about. "Good God..." Jonah heard another world's Captain America utter, "Hey! You need to see this. There's something out there and its killed everybody in here, we got to - Lord, and those two went out on their own! Damn it all! We need to fins some way to warn 'em what's coming their way before it's too late." [/hider]