Kate said "Well I'd like to try to find that guy with you. Sounds like an interesting detective mystery, and I think that both Gerome and the remote will be useful."
Ken nodded "Sounds about right... Think this... wait a moment... Ok let's assume the remote is more of a targeting something we can see and not a type of magic that can just pull anything from anywhere. That do anything button sounded sketchy... but..." Ken thought for another second "He probably had a pen on him that he uses a lot considering he has very good handwriting and could write a note to me like this right?"
Kate nodded "That's an assumption."
Ken said "So let's regress the ink... maybe it could lead us to the man!"
"That's a lot of assumptions, but I guess there's little harm in trying." Kate supposed. Worst case scenario... they lose some writing on the paper.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU JUST GAVE MY GIFT AWAY!!! SERIOUSLY DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH WORK I PUT INTO THAT?!?! You always complain abou-" Christoph von etc. etc. was listening to one of his few friends of sorts badgering him about giving away a piece of their magitech. "It isn't even magic, do you know how far the regulars could advance if it fell into someone's hands?!?!" Christoph glanced over at his friend Penny whose hands had been replaced with magic robotic ones, and looked half cyborg unless she bothered to put a glamour up.
"We both know at least the battery was magic, and wasn't most of the memory stuff using that spell I taught you?" Christoph asked
"Not the point! There are so many techniques that you could reverse engineer an-" a few alerts blared as some ink was squeezing itself through the nearly air tight seals of Penny's magic bunker. Then the ink hit Christoph in the chest as his robe absorbed the ink before the ink ran itself into the tip of Christoph's favorite fountain pen. Penny pulled up some security windows in her robotic eyes.
"...Just some Ink... who'd go that far just to fling some insignificant amount of ink at?" A few seconds later some more ink came. Then the intervals changed from seconds in some cases, to minutes at others.
Christoph sighed and said "Well your remote is coming back" He grimaced a bit as his hangover from the last night wasn't quite over. Coincidentally he had shared the same birthday with Ken, and had wanted a drink after celebrating a bit with Penny but the robo-lady was a notorious introvert to the point where she rarely went anywhere. "Wonder what the kid did with it already." Christoph muttered so quiet not even the air moved else Penny may have heard.
Christoph had summoned a small breakfast from the magic he had used for his biologic functions unlike Penny who downloaded sensations and powered herself with her magi-tech generator core. Christoph was mostly finished with his meal when Ken and Kate had found themselves at a brick wall trying the regression method again and seeing the ink soak into the mortar of a solid brick wall. Then time around them slowed down to a crawl. A mechanical voice from no where said "Ah Welcome to our little secret world of magic. Time has stopped for everyone around you, and you know what you need to do to access a magic world when there's a brick wall in front of you right?" There was a small flutter in Kate's heart as she ran into the brick wall. No hesitation with hopes that there'd be someone with a mug of butter beer in one hand and a sorting hat in the other. The voice chuckled at the display and said "No... You let someone get the door for you." the brick wall opened up into a long hallway that probably broke the laws of physics with how deep it seemed. Ken held out a hand to help Kate up while the other pressed the regression button as Kate's injury ceased to have ever happened.
Ken noticed that time was still slowed down and said "...I suppose there's no way we can just... back away now is there?"
The mechanical voice said "I already opened the fucking door. Get in." It didn't take much longer for Ken and Kate to see the other duo in a workshop containing... stuff... glowing magic stuff and shiny/metallic other things probably of a magical variety.
Penny said "Ok then... Ken and Kate..." the robo-lady's eyes glowed as it took in everything about them... and her eye noticed Ken was a bit more fuzzy like some of the more special people like Christoph... and "Oh... what's that in your pocket there boy?"
Ken froze for a second and took out Gerome and said "Well umm... He tried using the remote but umm... couldn't see and... he consented to staying like this."
Penny's eye glowed for a second and said "Amazing what can happen in a single second when your mostly machine." Ken felt a chill run up his back as he wondered if he should ask Gerome what just happened in that second when Penny said "TG, Breast expansion... undo undo... animal and undo... and a bunch of regressions... I thought you would have done more than that by now."
Ken said "Hey! Maybe I'm more responsible than most people if I'm not as corrupted as you think I would have been!"
Christoph said "The question is about personality. You're a bit timid kid, not necessarily virtuous or pure." Christoph munched on a biscuit "And another question is... Whether or not you want to continue into this world or not. Penny forced you into the building, but you can return to your normal lives with a super remote and a smartphone friend. As long as you don't interfere with my stuff I don't really care and Penny here's a hermit and probably wouldn't give chase. You can still mostly live normal lives."
Ken asked "And If I want to continue in this world and get some real power?"
Christoph shrugged "Knock on doors in this magic building and see if you can find someone to mentor you? I was drunk and you gave me a quick way to get drunk with little resistance so I gave you a trinket."
"That was my birthday gift to you!" Penny reiterated.
"Oh it was your birthday too sir? Happy belated birthday!" Kate replied
Christoph gave a stare "Least you got manners... But yeah... I don't really hold THAT much interest in you guys."
"So you're abandoning us?" Ken asked
"We drank together once and I gave a parting gift. We weren't really even together." Christoph reiterated
Penny sighed and said "Well Ken. I'll let you keep the remote as but I'm keeping track of analytics. Good Lu-"
"I'd like some power!" Kate asked Penny
Penny's eyes glowed a bit as the security cameras in the room pointed at the young woman as she asked "What"
"...Well... One of my friends got a reality altering remote. Another became a super advanced A.I.... and... Knowing there's something I can only get now if I ask maybe... I would like to join the world myself."
Christoph exerted some of his super arcane magic and he found himself having his breakfast picnic on top of Saturn's rings with Kate on the other side of him. "You fucked up."
"What?" Kate asked
"You fucked up. Penny is a hermit. She cares for her toys but they don't generally get that far out of her reach. She also respects other people's lives and autonomy. By asking for her help like that You just gave her cart blanche to turn you into one of her special toys." Christoph then held out a platter "Cookie?" Penny stared and hesitantly took one... Her hand was shaking but the cookie was warm.
She took a bite and felt the buttery dough melt in her mouth as the chocolate was just oozing with every bite. "Grandma's special. First thing I did when learning replication magic was to use them on her cookies... If you keep your taste buds you should try to find her real ones." Then reality restarted and Penny had a grin on her face as she turned to Christoph who sighed "She gave you her answer..."
The older robotic woman of an unknowable age dragged the younger one off to her lab with a grin on her face "Ah... Been awhile since I made anything special... Let's see Let's see what I'm working with... everything within margin of error... practically just a normal body... perhaps an overhaul... Your spirit... It looks like it has a lot of hope... maybe..." Strapped to a surgical table Penny saw the frightened Kate and said "You'll get your power... don't worry... wont even take a second..." before turning off time. Penny stared at the frozen Kate... unable to move... much like all the inanimate implements in her workshop. Christoph had drilled it into her head enough times that these flesh and blood beings she once used to be weren't inanimate and had hopes and dreams... But if she couldn't muster any force outside of time then was she... Penny's eye darted as she saw Kate's pinky finger move one nanometer... Perhaps she wasn't truly inanimate after all... her whole body would need renovations though. resisting time stop by one nanometer was practically nothing in the grand scheme of things.
Christoph was left with the young boy he had gifted the remote with... it was awkward... "So... Your handling time stopping well." Ken felt like he was in a haze barely able to move but he could think clearly... It's just like... He couldn't do stuff. Christoph wondered if he should try to teach Ken at least a trick or two... It'd probably depend on what state Kate returned in.
Less than an actual second had passed and the operation was complete and a success. The operation room's door opened to reveal that Kate