"Cuddle Time!" Poli exclaimed the moment Ling Mei pulled away in her car- her mind was already made up to hire the college girl, though she hadn't told her yet; Ling was more than capable of doing the job, and her and Jal just seemed to click... even if the young Devil girl nearly ran them all ragged in her excitement.

Before Oliver could even process what was said, he found himself being dragged into the middle seat of the couch- Poli on one side of him and Lily on the other. His breath was nearly knocked out of him as his wrecking ball of a daughter crashed onto his lap, already hugging him as she excitedly chattered away.

"Ling was soooo nice! Did you hear her when I showed her my room? She likes my 'Princess Bride' poster, and said it was her favorite movie too! And she thought my tiara was pretty! Why is she so short, though? She's barely taller than me!" Jal rambled out, all in one breath, before flopping back to sprawl across all of their laps at once. "I can't wait for her to teach me everything!"

Snorting in amusement, Oliver shook his head at her antics. "Ling is actually around average height for a woman here; you're just used to being around us and your uncles, so your perspective is a little of since we're actually on the taller side- even Poli is considered tall for a woman here... Though there are some people that are a lot taller than us, and some that are even shorter than Ling."

"Oh..." Jal said softly, already thinking about the people she had seen when they went out shopping- she vaguely remembered some of them being pretty short, too...

"Well, now that Jal is finally winding down..." Poli chuckled, ruffling the girl's hair affectionately. "What happened to bring you two home so early? I figured you would still be busy planning stuff with the guys..."

"Well, after firing off the Commissions, things got... interesting... with the Bounties...." He answered slowly, before telling her about the Bounty he found and the discussion they had surrounding it- even going so far as to pull it up again to read off, word for word.

Local Bounty: Dimensional Pocket

Objective: Clear the Dimensional Pocket of Hostile Creatures and Retrieve anything of value contained within

Details: A fragment of a parallel reality has come into contact with Earth, creating a small pocket dimension. While rare, these 'Dimensional Pockets' pose a significant threat if left unchecked- given time, the fragment will integrate with local reality, releasing the contained creatures into the world. As the creatures contained within have been deemed hostile, it is necessary to eliminate them. The team entering the Dimensional Pocket will be led by Agent Jane Doe of the FBI's Paranormal Investigations Division.

Compensation: 20,000 credits and an equal share of anything retrieved from the pocket

Accept Bounty? (Yes/No)

"I told the guys that I wanted to get your input before we went any further." Oliver added after his explanation. "I mean, a part of me definitely wants to do it; I'm just... really curious about this Dimensional Pocket, and what it entails- it reminds me a little of that portal where I fought the creatures, but also sounds different... But I also see the risk in having to work closely with Agent Doe while trying not to reveal anything about myself; The last thing I want is her taking a closer look at us..."

"Yeah, I get that." Poli said, nodding along. While she was just as wary, she could see the benefit to doing it- even just learning more about these strange portals could be useful in some way, though she wasn't sure how. "I mean, I doubt it's a trap- at least, I don't think it is intended to be a trap. For them to be using one of these Bounties to deliberately target you, or anyone, really, they would basically have to know ahead of time who would even take the job."

"So, unless they have someone that can see the future, I kinda doubt it's a trap."

"You mentioned before that this government agency has a great many resources at it's disposal..." Lily's soft voice rang out from his other side. "Is it not possible that they possess such magic?"

"Well, maybe..." Oliver said with a half-shrug. "Divination is a tricky subject, anyway, especially when you try to factor in Multiverse theory-"

"What's Multiverse theory?" Jal popped up, eyes shining with an eagerness to learn as they locked onto her adopted father.

"That's... a complicated subject..." Oliver answered slowly. Seeing her excitement starting to dim, he quickly pushed forward to explain. "I'm not trying to put you off the question, sweetheart, but it really is a pretty heavy subject; I won't even pretend to be an expert on it."

"But, the gist of it... I already explained things like the solar system, and galaxies... How your old world was in a different galaxy, and all the galaxies together make up the Universe..."

"Well, Multiverse theory- at least, as much as I know of it- suggests that, for every decision, big or small, an alternate version of reality is created for each possible choice." Seeing the confusion in his daughter's eyes, he tried to phrase it in a way she could easily understand. "Ok, think about when you asked us to adopt you. In this reality, we agreed, but that decisions spawned an alternate Universe where we didn't adopt you and you stayed on that world... Then- keep in mind, I'm just coming up with random possibilities and have no idea if it's accurate- because you stayed there in that reality, Captain Sterling and Ram had to make a decision about who did adopt you... Which spawned more Universes, one where Sterling adopted you, one where Ram adopted you..."

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"Maybe one where Prince Dorrim adopted you... I don't know really..."

"Then, Lily's decision to come with us could have created more alternate realities- maybe even one where she stayed there and adopted you..."

Sighing softly, Oliver shook his head. "Like I said, it's a huge subject, and I'm mostly just guessing..."

"I like this reality better..." Jal said in a quiet voice as she fiercely hugged her father.

"Me too." Oliver whispered before planting a kiss on top of her head.

"I'm... not really following how Multiverse theory could affect people using magic to see the future." Poli chimed in, partially because she wanted him to continue what he was saying, but also to quickly move away from the very thought of there being a world out there where they didn't have Jal for a daughter.

"Ok, that's where things get even crazier- and, like I said, this is just guess work..." Oliver sighed, refocusing his thoughts. "But... If Multiverse theory is right, then seeing the future could be even harder. I mean, regardless of what I choose, there will be a version of me out there doing the opposite..."

"Of course, I don't know how that sort of Divination works... Maybe there is some sort of interaction where a person actively divining such things is the catalyst for spawning the other Universe? Then, the different versions of them in the different realities would get the answer that applies to them?"

Rubbing his temple slowly, Oliver sighed. There were just too many possibilities, and too many unknowns, for him to even properly contemplate- and he was definitely regretting following the rabbit hole of thoughts that was Multiverse theory.

"Maybe you're overthinking this, Oli." Poli said, cutting right to the heart of it. "If they have someone that can see the future, then I doubt they really need to set a trap like this; I'm sure they could come up with a number of better ways than this... And that's without taking into account the myths around oracles and stuff like that."

"Myths?" Lily instantly perked up at the possibility of learning about her new home. "What sort of myths?"

"There are a lot of myths about seeing the future." Poli smiled gently at their girlfriend. "A lot of stories say that seeing so many possible futures would drive people insane. Then, there are also stories about how oracles would deliver their prophecies in verse, which were difficult to understand, and people would debate them endlessly without really figuring them out until after the fact..."

"Oh! And self-fulfilling prophecies, where being told the future set the person on a path towards fulfilling it, and the idea that if they hadn't been told, then it wouldn't have happened at all!"

"That... sounds very complicated." Lily admitted in a soft voice. "I am not sure I really want to know more..."

"That's fine." Oliver said, wrapping an arm comfortingly around her. "We kind of got off track, anyway..."

"If you want to do it, I say we do it- while taking plenty of precautions." Polina said simply- if her fiance wanted this, she would see it happen... just safely, if possible.

"Actually..." Oliver was slow in responding. "I was thinking that it was best if I went in alone-"

"There is no way in hell I am letting you go alone, Oliver!" Poli growled with a stern gaze. "We're a team, a family, remember?"

Wincing slightly, he quickly held up a hand to stop her onslaught. "That came out wrong- and please, here me out..."

"I meant I think it's best if I go into the pocket with them by myself while you set up outside in case of problems. I doubt they will have a lot of people responding to the Bounty, so the team going in will likely be small... And I'm more worried about someone setting up a trick or ambush for when we come out than them trying something inside before we're done..."

Polina leaned back into the couch, considering his explanation. As much as she didn't like him going in alone- and, if things didn't look right, she would call him off in an instant- but... he was right that any problem would likely come after they had finished with whatever they needed to do...

"Ok... I'm not really thrilled by this plan, but it makes sense." She admitted reluctantly. "But! Before we get ahead of ourselves, we need solid plans! We need an exfil strategy, countermeasures for any tricks we think someone may pull... And, if possible, I want us to use your drone to scope out the location before you set foot there."

"Absolutely." Oliver agreed instantly. "I've already got Ed and Gary brainstorming ideas for countermeasures and distractions-"

Poli groaned, cutting off his words. "God help us, I'm not sure I want to know what those two come up with... Though, I'm pretty sure any distraction they come up with will certainly draw some attention..."

"Of course, it could also get them arrested or shot, so..."

Oliver silently agreed, and couldn't help but wonder if he was making the right choice. Was satiating his curiosity really worth the risk? The rewards were pretty good, but not good enough to be worth losing one of his friends...

They would need a solid plan before he fully committed to the idea, even if he did want to do it.

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