Origins of the Strange Quark... and how he became even Stranger

"So, are you ready?" Quark asked.

"As I'll ever be," Gar replied.

"Good," Quark said as he led Gar to the lab.

"But I have a question..." Gar added, a little hesitantly.

"Um?"

"From what you have told me, you haven't been here very long..." Gar turned to Quark. "How is it that you seem so at home and familiar with this world and its customs... Even their weird jokes?"

"Hmm... I never gave that much thought," Quark replied. "I was once in an Earth similar to this and... Well... To be honest, all the Earths in the parallel dimensions of the multiverse are pretty much alike... And..."

"And?"

"And when you think about it, all mass is made of the same basic constituents: atoms, which are made of protons and neutrons (plus electrons), which are in turn made up of quarks, like me... So..."

Quark looked to Gar, then he continued, "We are all part of the same thing..."

He paused. "There is a theory that there could be just one electron in the entire universe, travelling back and forth in time, across all dimensions, that is able to account for all mass and energy in the universe... What if... What if that were the case with quarks, or rather, one quark?"

"That would make you a very busy little quark," Gar grinned. "But it would be scary to think there is only one quark in the universe, and it's strange... HA HA HA HA HE HE HE HE!!!" Gar burst out laughing.

"HE HE HE HE HE!!!" They both laughed, as they entered the lab.

Fallen looked at them, and shook his head.

"Gar, Fallen is going to begin your training by explaining the core elements that interact with and influence our powers," Quark said.

"Yes," Fallen started, "We know that you were 'awakened' by the Morphons introduced by The Legion..."

"I believe so," Gar said.

"But... You have been dormant for 700 years since your 'creation'. All the records and studies by the late Dr. Shepard, which we have been able to have transferred here, point to a mythical origin, or should I say, magical..." Fallen added, "and magic is one of the core elements that determine our powers. That means that your origin is magical, yet... Yet your transformation by the Morphons not long ago seems more supernatural to me... I'm not sure but you are clearly an otherworldly being."

"I don't know how to define it, but I am just me," Gar stated painly.

"Indeed, you are," Fallen agreed. "And yet, your powers are of a physical nature: flight, speed, strength, and indestructibility... Those point to a totally different type of core element."

Then he added, "My point is that you should be able to take advantage of at least three different core elements in your training."

"There are more?" Gar asked.

"Yes," Fallen replied. "Technological, mental, and elemental."

"Quark, for example, combines elemental with technological and physical." Fallen explained. "But, as you can see, he is clearly mental too..."

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Quark stood with Gar outside BADGE HQ, both of them leaning against a wall with their elbows resting on the ledge. They faced the western hills where the sun began to set, and the sky started to glow orange and red, with slivers of silver gleaming in the outlines of the clouds.

It was a most spectacular sight.

"Earth is so beautiful," Gar remarked.

"That it is indeed," Quark agreed. Then he asked Gar, "How do you feel, after the 'incident' with Cupid's bow?"

"I'm still not quite sure what happened to me, but I'm glad you woke me up. I can't wait to hear your next joke."

"Well, you're the only one who appreciates my jokes," Quark replied.

"So what's new in the world of heroes outside of BADGE? I rarely get to meet other heroes apart from the ones Nova assigns me to."

"I have a team of heroes I'm currently working with. The Flatulent Dodo, Duck Tracy, Beastmode, and Florida Man."

"They sound like an... 'interesting' bunch," Gar said diplomatically.

"Well, they are. Our aim is to harness the inner weirdness of all our heroes..." Quark added. He then took out his tablet and showed Gar the team members of The Fowl Players.

"That's Florida Man?" Gar pointed to the large bald bloke wearing a mustard-coloured long sleeved shirt with vest, a gold chain, black rimmed glasses, and no trousers.

"Yes."

"He has no pants..." Gar commented. "I thought we all have to wear... Why can't I..."

Quark smiled. "In general, it is good practice to dress decently and... cover up. But there are exceptions. Some people are just not normal."

"I'm normal?"

"That you are not, but it's good to try to blend in..." Quark blinked his third eye at the irony of his words. "But I have a little gift for you."

"Me?"

"I invented for you a Quantum Improbable Underwear. You just have to leave it at home when you go out. When you come into contact with others, the particles of the underwear will simultaneously quantum tunnel by borrowing time and appear on you. At all other times they exist in an indeterminate probability wave function so you won't even feel they exist."

"Wow that is so awesome!" Gar exclaimed.

"It will be like wearing nothing..." Quark added.

And they both stared at the last rays of the red orb of the sun as it descended behind the hills in the west.

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It was a quiet, starless night.

The breeze was blowing gently, as Gar and Quark stood by the wall outside BADGE HQ, their favourite spot of late, with their elbows (and Gar's wings) resting against the ledge and they both stared silently into the empty vastness of space.

The sun had just set, its last rays barely visible now, as the horizon glowed softly from amber to orange to red. Then just as the darkness of the night enveloped the sky above, a shooting star left a streak of light that seemed to linger longer than usual.

"Did you see that?" Quark broke the silence.

"Yes, I used to wonder if they were enemy aliens firing at us... From some kind of wormhole or portal..."

"Ha! You never know these days..." Quark remarked. "Which reminds me of this joke..."

Gar's eyes lit up as he turned to Quark eagerly.

Gar was the only one on Earth, in fact, the only one in all the multiverses, who ever paid attention when Quark told a joke.

"What did Commander Quack say to his platoon as a torrent of enemy bullets rained down on them?"

Gar shook his head.

"DUCK!!!"

"HA HA HA HA HE HE HE HE!!!" They both giggled uncontrollably.

"Sigh, Gar. You have no idea how much I missed you when you were... 'gone'," Quark said. "I did all that I could: time-travelled, teleported you to hidden dimensions, everything..."

"I know... Nova told me..."

"I really would have turned you into a duck had you not come back," Quark grinned, "and you would be forever fowl!"

They both chuckled.

"I'm eternally grateful to you and everyone who helped bring me back. And Leprechaun... We will miss him a lot."

"I decided to join BADGE mainly because of you. Someone needs to look out for you, ha ha!" Quark added. "Speaking of looking, someone's eyes have been focussed on you a lot lately," he smiled. "How is that coming along?"

"Oh Chase... She's lovely, and we have been getting to know each other a lot... and... we have come to realize that our affection towards each other is platonic; for her, it is the first time she's opening herself up emotionally, to have a true friend in her life, and likewise for me, everything is so new... Besides we both feel that our focus should be on restoring peace after what Jinn did, and you know, the Legion threat still looms... So it's best we just be close friends"

"Very close friends," Quark remarked.

"I really do love her dearly..." Gar added. "But... and you are the first person I am telling this, and will probably be the only one..." He hesitated. "I am not sure how to... you know... be 'intimate' with her... since... well... since I am not human and must look very strange to her... I mean, I am made of stone after all!"

"Oh that..." Quark replied. "Well Gar, it is not your physical form she likes, although I am pretty sure she finds you physically attractive too, in your own special way, but it's your heart and soul that matters to her..."

He turned to Gar and added, "You don't need to worry what to do... Just let your heart guide you..."

Gar listened to Quark thoughtfully.

"Anyway, you talk about being strange... Just look at me!!!" Quark quipped, as he blinked his third eye and started phasing through the dimensions.

Gar looked at him, "Yeah, you are weird..."

This is part of the Fiction Thread Rural Monsters of Colorado, where Strange Quark blips in after he disappears from the BADGE medical facility (we think, you never know with him)

Just as Fiona spoke, a strange blue man appeared naked floating in the air above Highlander. His arms fell to his sides listfully, as if asleep on a hammock.
"What now?" Arcane Ace asked.
"Hold on. I know him. Isn't that Strange Quark?" Astra asked. She stepped bashfully aside so her full frontal view was interrupted and placed a hand against her right eye to further block the sight. "That answers a question I never asked or wanted answered. Now I know why they call him strange."
"Wasn't he injured after the Ruby Shard hunt?" Infinite Tempest asked. "He doesn't look well."
Fiona paid little attention, her focus on Highlander. She didn't even notice when Strange Quarks hand passed through her head.
"He's not grounded." Astra exclaimed. "He's unstuck between dimension."
"That sounds uncomfortable," Arcane Ace said.
Becoming restless while in mid-air, Strange Quark's face became twisted in distress. "No... NO!!... I won't be in the middle of your Turducken!"
With that, Quark vanished with a pop and a ghostly quack.

TITLE: WHERE IS STRANGE QUARK?
Dr. Henderson clicked on her com device, Nova, “Report to the med bay immediately, we have a situation.”

Nova answered his com device, “What is it now?”

Dr. Henderson replied, “Its Strange Quark sir, he’s missing.”

Nova replied loudly, “What do you mean Strange Quark is missing?”

“Exactly what I said, he was here and now he is not. He is nowhere to be found. No trace of him on any of our scanners.”

Nova made his way to Dr. Henderson’s location at the med bay and ordered Dr. Henderson, “Pull up all files we have related to Strange Quark. The files are classified. Use the password, “RubberDuckie.”

“Maybe there is something from his past that can help us find him. Quark is strange, but if I’ve learned one thing from him, it’s that probabilities are endless.”

Dr. Henderson scrolled through Quarks file and found the files dated for the last couple of years. She read them to herself and made some notes while she made ‘mmm hmm’ sounds and holding her head in remembrance of events before proceeding to inform Nova.

Nova was impatient and demanded to know what she was reading and what was up with all the ‘mm hmm’ noises.

“WELL! Nova demanded, “What are you seeing in those files?”
 
“Well Sir, Quark has endured a lot in this past year or so.”

Nova growled softly. “Dr. Henderson, would you kindly enlighten us so we can all be on the same page.”

“Yes Sir, I believe I have spotted a pattern of events that might have had effects on Quark and all these events have one commonality, over exposure to Mythic energies. ”

“Quark absorbed small amounts of Mythical energy from Santa Clause, EB and the Leprechaun.”

“Those weren’t really bad things Dr. Henderson.”

“No Sir, they weren’t but he also had interaction with the other mythics and then you realize things starting to add up. I believe there is a high probability Quark may be absorbing amounts of mythic energy and magic and it wreaking havoc exciting his Quark particles.”

Lord Dragon suddenly appeared with all present and stated.”Such little exposure to mythic energy should not have this great of effect on Quark.”

“Dr. Henderson said, I also agree but we are forgetting a few things that have happened that would heighten the effects on Quark. Let me continue.”

“We must not forget that Quark was exposed to massive amounts of mythic energy when he was shot by Cupid’s arrow and was nearly killed when Jinn distorted the gravity field and tore him apart atom by atom.  I’m sure his quark particles began to be overloaded at that point.”

“Quark also absorbed massive amounts of mythic energy when your pearl talisman was destroyed and you lost control.”

“There was another set of unfortunate events that may have been more than Quark could handle. Forgive me, Lord Dragon but it concerns your late wife Lady Phoenix.”

“What do you mean? Explain! Lord Dragon commanded.”

“Yes Sir. Quark was with Lady Phoenix when Jinn attacked and destroyed your pearl talisman and took Lady Phoenix’s ruby talisman and used it to steal her life force and drain her of her magic, which Jinn then absorbed. Quark grabbed up Lady Phoenix before he could drain her completely and they made their escape. Quarks mind connected with Lady Phoenix’s as they fled from Jinn. He took in her soul or rather she let it rest there.”

“Jinn mistakenly thought he had drained her and her ruby completely when he absorbed her energy and exploded the ruby. Lady Phoenix appeared to have passed and shards of that ruby still contained trace amounts of her energy.”

“We learned about the shards having an alien energy while testing them, we just didn’t know that the shards we were testing was from Lady Phoenix’s ruby.”

“When Quark and the other heroes were sent out to retrieve the shards, he was already experiencing problems with his powers and as soon as he touched one of the shards his reaction left him unconscious and glowing red.”

Lord Dragon interrupted Dr. Henderson, “Are you telling me, us, that Quark may have unknowingly given us a chance to bring Lady Phoenix back into existence?”

Dr. Henderson replied, “I’m saying Lady Phoenix poured her life essence into Quark to fool Jinn into thinking he destroyed her. Quark was unaware what she had done.”

“Quark’s strange powers safely holds Lady Phoenix’s soul in some unfathomable dimension and the shards hold a small part of her power that Jinn didn’t get. The rest of Lady Phoenix power was drawn back into Quark as he held her soul in another dimension when Jinn was defeated.”

“Lord Dragon, I believe Quark and his particle are overloaded with the energy and life force of Lady Phoenix and if you and the others have the power to reunite the ruby shards, Quark can release her soul and her power can flow into the ruby, restoring her physical body making her whole once again.”
“Such a thing as this has never been attempted, remarked Lord Dragon but I would try anything to have her by my side again.”

“There is one other small thing. Before Quark disappeared he muttered something. Does Shuri Castle mean anything to you?”

“Lord Dragon said, “Yes, it was our first castle in this place and it’s where we created the Ryukyo Kingdom.”

Lord Dragon’s eyes widened with a recollection. “We both made a second, smaller talisman and imbued it with a part of our soul in case our main talismans were destroyed.  There is a spell there as well that can restore souls and a talismans energies and return them to their owner but it’s gonna take all the mythics energy to be successful.”

Nova immediately commanded Dr. Henderson to scan Shuri Castle for any signs of mythic energy.
Dr. Henderson completed the scan and there was a familiar signature reading. It was Strange Quark.
Lord dragon summoned all mythics to go to Shuri Castle and await his arrival. He looked at Nova and said, “Summon your strongest heroes there as well. We may need their energy added to ours with this spell.”

The mythics and heroes arrived to see the unconscious body of Quark lying on a stone alter.
Lord Dragon explained what had to happen as he sat the two smaller talismans and the ruby shards on the stone alter next to Quark.

Lord Dragon and the mythics raised their hands upward and Lord Dragon began to recite the spell. The wind began to blow and gust. The sky grew dark without light. The ground shook and began to crack apart. The immense power of the mythics was epic but suddenly the shaking ground became more violent. Santa lost his balance and fell to one knee. He struggled under the weight of the spell but rose up and stood again on both feet.

Lord Dragon yelled, “NOW! WE NEED MORE ENERGY NOW! LET YOUR ENERGY FLOW THROUGH YOU ONTO US!”

Each hero took hold of a Mythic’s shoulder as they made a circle around the stone alter. The heroes’ energy flowed to the mythics, Lord Dragon completed the spell and for a brief moment, all was quiet, until it wasn’t.

The ground rumbled and the stone alter where Quark lay began to fall apart. Quark’s body vanished and was replaced by an explosion of light. First a brilliant blue light flash and then a ruby red glow that seemed to last forever. Everyone was thrown backwards by the accompanying shock wave. They all looked up from the ground to see Quark and Lady Phoenix emerge from the glowing light that surrounded everything.

Quark and Lady Phoenix stepped forth completely restored but very weak. EB rushed in to give Lady Phoenix a hug but a force pulled him backwards and Lord Dragon looked down at EB and said, “Lord Dragon gets the first hug. EB gave Dragon the thumbs up and said with a wink, you got it boss.”
Lady Phoenix and Lord Dragon were reunited and were elated to be together once again and kissed each other softly then turned to Quark to thank him for saving Lady Phoenix.

“Anything you want, it is yours, just ask.” Quark thought for a moment and said, “I don’t need much, I’m just glad we are all together and safe and things are back to normal. At least, I think that I’m back to normal. Let me check. Quark looked at the mythics and other heroes and said, “So this duck walks into a bar….” Before he finished his joke, everyone moaned, “Not another duck joke.” Quark smiled and said, “Yep, back to normal, for a Strange Quark.” Everyone laughed and went on to celebrate their return, just in time for Thanksgiving.