(no subject)

[spoileralert]

WHO: Stephanie Brown
WHERE: The Fountain, 6I inn
WHEN: July 16
OPEN TO: All
WARNINGS: Violence and injury in the narrative

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A moment ago (or maybe it was hours, who could even tell anymore?) Steph would have told you she was dead. It seemed obvious. She'd been fighting for hours before she was captured, throwing herself against enemy after enemy in a desperate attempt to get things under control. Then she'd been in the hands of a sadist for... days? Weeks? A lifetime. Getting shot in the chest was just icing on the cake. Definitely dead, she would have told you.

Now she burst through the water's surface with a gasp like a quiet scream. There was only one thought in her head: If I'm alive, I want to stay that way. She dragged herself to the edge of the fountain with sheer desperation, certain she was still in the clutches of the Black Mask.

[ Later ]

The inn was like something out of a movie. Then again, Steph’s experience with hotels was pretty limited to Gotham City shitholes where criminals go to hide. She tried not to think about that as she hugged the peacoat tight around herself next to the fire. It probably wasn’t the best look for a girl, staring blankly into a fire, huddled in a coat on a warm summer evening, but her black scrub top was still drying next to her. And besides, the warmth was comforting after a frankly harrowing however-long-it-was.

She didn’t shy away from company, she just didn’t seek it out either. She seemed more adrift than anything. She wasn’t sure where she wanted to go or what she wanted to do.

Comments

[fwips]

Peter checks on the fountain. It's not an unusual hobby around here — He knows of a bunch of people who make a point to cut through the park anytime they're nearby, just in case. Truthfully, there are probably better-equipped people to help new arrivals than himself, particularly after the whole 'stand on a chair and tell everyone about Thanos' debacle, but the niggling worry at the back of his mind never goes away: If Mr. Stark comes through that fountain, it means he's not back home trying to get all of this fixed.

The person that comes through the fountain now is definitely not Mr. Stark, although it's hard to tell much else. Peter jolts from his place in the courtyard, bracing a knee against the lip of the fountain so he can reach out and offer a hand. That is, if she wants it; she seems a teeny bit upset.

"Whoa, whoa, hey—" he starts, holding out both hands. "You're okay."

[spoileralert]

She is just a teeny bit upset.

She registers that there's a person blocking her path, but not a lot else. She jumps back, as much as one can, pushing back against the edge of the fountain with a startled yelp.

There she stays, treading water. There's no clear escape route from a circular body of water when your opponent is on land, and she has to think a moment about how best to proceed. This is approximately when she realizes that she is, in fact, treading water. Where the hell is she? And where is Black Mask?

She spins in the water, checking her surroundings for vantage points. Maybe this is part of his sick game... or maybe he dumped her body here?

But there aren't any vantage points. There are only low buildings, homey suburb-looking buildings. There's no sound of sirens or gunshots or glow of fire in the distance.

"What?" is the best she can do to articulate her concern.

[fwips]

"You're okay," Peter replies, pulling his hands back in surrender, watching her spin helplessly in the water. He doesn't need to ask to know this isn't the view she expected.

"Nobody here's going to hurt you," he thinks to add. "My name's Peter. You're probably about to be really annoyed with how little I have to tell you about... anything, basically, but I can promise you that you're safe. It's okay to come out of there."

[spoileralert]

She considers just turning around and making for the opposite end of the fountain. But that’s absurd. Even at her top speed he could easily catch up to her without even breaking into a run. And he’s young, too young to be working for Sionis. Hesitantly she makes her way back to the edge and accepts his help in getting her out. Her body feels so heavy.

“How did I get here?” He may not have answers, but she still has to ask. This doesn’t look like Gotham suburbs, and she can’t see why anyone would have gone to such lengths for a body dump.

Then she thinks to look down at herself. She aches, yes. She’s a bit chilly. She feels something that’s probably related to shock. But she can stand, and swim, and use her arms without any real, intense pain.

She turns her hands over to inspect both sides. What had been raw flesh from her wrists to her knuckles is now puffy scar tissue, with some little scabs here and there. There are scars on her arms too, which are uncovered. She’s wearing... black scrubs? She pulls the collar of her shirt away to try and get a look at the place she knows she was shot, but can’t see it. Instead she runs two fingers lightly over the spot between her left shoulder and collarbone. She can feel a scar there, too. Pulling her hand away she half expects to see blood on her fingers, but there is none.

She stands there for a moment, staring at her fingers, not hearing any response Peter tries to give for a long moment. Then she asks the question that rises oh so slowly from the depths of her mind.

“Am I dead?”

[fwips]

Peter pulls in a deep, open-mouthed breath and then falters — It's a totally legit question, and he honestly doesn't know why more people don't ask it first thing, but it's no easier to answer than anything else.

"I— I don't know," he finally allows with a shrug. "To either of those questions. Which, again, I know is the crappiest answer ever, but it's not a me thing, it's a here thing. Nobody here knows. How they got here, why, if we're still alive, how to get back home..."

Technically, he is pretty sure he knows answers to at least a couple of those questions, but the Thanos tack really hasn't gone over very well with anybody he didn't already know, so giving that a hard pass for now.

"The good news is pretty much everybody here seems on the level, and you have dry clothes in there," he adds, pointing to her pack.

[spoileralert]

Dead then, she figures. That's alright. It's what she expected. The other, related questions don't interest her as much. She's done with her most current ordeal, and that's what matters.

She tries to turn to see what he's pointing at, and ends up chasing her tail for a moment before she remembers how one removes a backpack.

"Huh," is all she says in response to that little discovery. It doesn't look like it should be waterproof, but the clothes inside are bone dry.

"Why's it all so... drab?" Monochrome black has never particularly been her aesthetic.

[fwips]

Peter lifts his hands in another exaggerated shrug. "Welcome to the mystery," he says, meant as a joke, but his brow is still pinched a little with worry. She's really calm, and he gets that — He'd been calm too, thinking he was dead. Since, though, he's wondered more than once if getting the trauma of the whole thing out right away isn't the smarter way to go about it.

Not that any of them have control over that.

"There's an inn here that's sort of the main gathering spot, it's just through there," he adds, pointing to one of the pathways through the trees. "I can show you if you want, you can at least get changed."

[theimmortalweapon]

Danny used the area around the fountain to meditate and focus. He figured that if there was a place where he might be able to sense a connection to Shao-Lao it was where he had first arrived. It didn't work but he spent a few hours each day mediating anyway. His focus was interrupted by the gargled sound of splashes as a girl pulled herself free of the fountain. Danny didn't hesitate or waist a moment.

He rose from his seat and tried to help her out of the fountain and onto steady ground.

"Hey. Are you okay?" He'd felt drugged when he had come through the fountain but apparently that wasn't the case for everyone.

[spoileralert]

"No," was the immediate answer, though she wasn't responding to his question. She barely even heard it. She was already far enough out of the fountain that she could stumble away from his reach onto the street.

With her feet properly under her she could turn to face this newest threat, arms up and ready to defend herself.

[theimmortalweapon]

Danny held up his palms to her and released the tension in his shoulders. "Whoa. Calm down. I don't want to hurt you." He supposed that it was the natural reaction to someone waking up in a weird fountain but he really didn't want to hurt her.

He was dressed in scrubs similar to hers though his were a dark hunter green.

[spoileralert]

Steph did not calm down. She stayed rooted firmly in place, ready to move if he came any closer. He may have been dressed in scrubs, but he was clearly well built. In her current condition she couldn't be sure she could take him.

"Who are you," she demanded with more authority than she felt, "what do you want?" She didn't have her mask on or her hood up, but it was hard to mistake a vigilante wearing a cape. That was the weight on her back, wasn't it?

[theimmortalweapon]

"Danny Rand." He introduced himself in a clam steady tone. Danny wasn't big on secret identities. Even as the Ironfist he didn't wear a mask and introduced himself using his real name. He hadn't really had to worry about that biting him in the ass since he had been legally dead for a handful of years and The Hand already knew who he was.

"I don't want anything. I woke up here a few days ago. I was checking out the fountain when you came through." Checking-out being a relative term for him trying to access his powers from this plane. "I just want to make sure you're okay. There is an inn with a fire. Some of the others have set it up so there is food there too." He paused and looked thoughtful for a moment. Despite her stance and the way she held herself, Danny didn't exactly feel threatened. Even without the power of Shao-Lao and the Ironfist he was a master in several different forms of martial arts.

"I can't answer a lot of questions. I'm not sure what's going on either but I've heard some theories flying around."

[spoileralert]

As hard as she listened nothing he said really made much sense to her. But she watched him, and his body language wasn't the least bit threatening. He didn't even look like he was thinking about moving.

She decided to risk a quick look around for other enemies. It took only a second, but she saw no one on roofs or waiting in windows- and she could see every roof and window clearly. It seemed as though it was only her and this strange man in scrubs in some really quiet suburb.

She turned her attention back on Danny, trying to sort out what to do next. There was too much for her panicked brain to process very quickly, so for a long moment she was still, breathing hard, dripping from the fountain water. Thoughts rose to the surface of her mind like lost balloons breaking through clouds.

This does not look, sound, or smell like Gotham.

Nobody has tried to attack her in several minutes, though they had plenty of chances.

It doesn't hurt to expand her lungs, and there's no swelling blocking her vision.

Her clothes feel very weird.

Finally, cautiously, she lowered her guard to take a quick personal inventory. She was not in costume, but in black scrubs that matched Danny's. With no sleeves or gloves covering her arms she could see that her skin was mostly unbroken, which was unexpected. That took precedence.

She dropped her stance entirely to inspect her hands. They had been scratched all to hell, several fingers broken, both thumbs either broken, dislocated or both. Now there were scars there, with just a few little scabs to prove that they were still healing. The scars on her arms looked just as new. She had a sneaking suspicion, and pulled back the collar of her shirt to confirm it. Of course, having been shot between collarbone and shoulder she couldn't get a proper look at the former wound by craning her head, so instead she went over it gingerly with her fingers. Another scar. She pulled her hand away to check for blood- none.

Ah.

"I'm dead, aren't I." Her tone was one of mild interest. It wasn't exactly unexpected.

[demonic_divinity]

Vergil had spent most of the day up in his room transcribing passages from the survival guide into his pilfered journal. He had only came down to find something to eat, and drink. With low hopes as he had had for days. There always seemed to be something it always also seemed to be lacking for him. Still, he was adjusting.

He caught sight of the girl in her pea coat, and wet shirt drying. Taking a silent moment to look her way before he vanished into the kitchen. A few minutes later he returned with two mugs of what passed for tea. He made his way over, his teal scrubs and messy looking shirt on, his platnium blonde hair clearly in need of a wash but he hadn't found the means yet to clean it as it needed. He hated looking messy but he was learning.

He cleared his throat once he had come to stand next to the blonde, and held out the cup from the bottom so she could take the handle. The heat wasn't bothering his hands yet but he was certain she could use some warmth on those fingers. "The fountain had me frozen for hours, something warm should help." He spoke in a way that screamed higher class.

[spoileralert]

She glanced up when he cleared his throat, a little unnerved that she had been so entranced that she had totally missed him standing there. She took the offered cup in both hands to be sure she wouldn't drop it. Her fingers were pretty chilled.

"Thanks." She couldn't say she cared much for tea, but warm drinks were one of those things that were supposed to help with shock. She wondered briefly if she was in shock. No... she thought she would know if she was. She was just tired, physically and emotionally.

"At least it's not too cold outside. I picked a good time, if you can call it that."

[demonic_divinity]

To be fair to her, he had always been a soft stepper. Even more so when he could phase between planes, and teleport small distances. Here he was just human though so, he stepped softly and tried to be as unnoticeable as a young man with nearly white hair could be. He offered a soft, but kind smile when she wrapped her fingers around the mug. He grabbed a nearby chair and placed it close but a respectable distance before sitting. He wasn't keen yet on sitting on the ground even to be close to the fire.

His own drink kept in his hands. "You are quite welcome. You look as if you are experiencing shell shock, but perhaps we all suffer some form when we arrive." He was still having minor freak outs but he tried to keep them to himself. "Yes, we can count ourselves lucky there. I myself arrived a week or so ago. I have yet to find a watch so keeping time has not been very easy." He then inclined his head in almost an introductory nod. "My name is Vergil. You?"

[spoileralert]

She gave a thoughtful "hmm". Shell shock wasn't exactly the same as physical shock, but she wondered if he knew the difference. She certainly had one, if not the other.

"Wouldn't be surprised. I'm Steph." She took a cautious sip of her tea, not sure if it would burn her tongue or just taste kinda bad. It wasn't the best beverage, but at least it didn't burn her.

"Did you know they called it 'shell shock' because they thought artillery shells were causing the symptoms?" She thought about that a second and gave a single, quiet laugh.

"Guess it's pretty appropriate, though." There was that one guy with the rocket launcher. Where the hell do gangbangers get rocket launchers?

[demonic_divinity]

He should have used another term, but shell shock had been the first to pop to mind. He knew the difference but getting someone else to talk seemed wise. He had charisma but he wasn't the best with the real workings of people.

"A pleasure." He spoke softly before taking a drink of the makeshift tea. There was no sweetener at all, but Vergil preferred his drinks bitter... and had no idea if they even had sugar or honey here.

He let a low chuckle escape as well. "I did not, but it is not surprising as well. " The same place Jason Todd got his probably. Rocket Launchers-R-Us. "It seemed the best to describe it, I wouldn't say Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, as I do not know if that is wise either." He spoke with the wave of one of his hands. "But we have all been stolen away from our homes, and robbed of the things that make us us... a little mindless staring is understandable."

[spoileralert]

Gotham's crime problem is really next-level.

She gave another little hmm, less thoughtful this time. Then she shrugged.

"I dunno. Maybe it's just as well I didn't survive. Who I was wasn't all that great."

[super_seal]

When it had become clear that the weather wasn't going to clear up for long, Steve had set out from his place in the second village and had heading to the main. He liked to check the fountain and his traps, both in the bush and in the river, regularly and he'd felt that he'd already left them for too long. Even when the rain had started up again, he figured it was best just to get what he needed done. Fountain checked and traps reset, he headed to the inn thinking maybe he could warm up and dry out before heading back to the second village.

Entering the Inn, he can't help but smile seeing that someone has already gotten a fire started. It's not cold out, but being soaked for so long he'd started feeling the chill. Approaching the fire he shakes his head, sending droplets of water in all directions. He doesn't notice that someone is sitting else is already warming themselves by the fire, he's too focused on the fire itself. Hands out towards the flame, he then brings them in and rubs them together before he rings out the bottom of his magenta scrub top onto the hearth, trusting that the heat will soon take care of any mess he's making. Not thirty seconds have passed before he gives a full body shiver and turns around. It's then that he notices Stephanie sitting near the fire.

"Oh hey! I'm sorry. I didn't see you there."

[spoileralert]

It's difficult to miss that she has company when it shakes itself like a dog two feet from her. She raises an eyebrow at him, but when he doesn't seem to notice her she turns back to her fire.

Once he's settled and aware enough of his surroundings to say hello she glances up again and shrugs.

"It's okay." It's not like a few droplets make much impact after waking up in a fountain.

[super_seal]

Tilting his head slightly, he takes her in, noticing more. The black scrub top and the knapsack nearby, along with the look on her face starts to clue him in that she's not just another person trying to warm up from being out in the rain too long. While Steve's been here a while, he's most often in the other village or at the lake and he doesn't know everyone.

Still, he asks the question he believes he's already knows the answer to. "Have you recently arrived?"

[spoileralert]

"Yeah." She considers how damp he is from just the rain and runs fingers through her hair. She doesn't want it to dry tangled.

The though feels absurd after the week she's had.

"Been here a while?"

[super_seal]

"Roughly ten months," Steve says in response. "It's hard to be sure though. This place..."

He looks around the room but his words aren't limited to the inn.

"It doesn't really make a lot of sense. We're not all from the same time or versions of the same reality. And, we're pretty sure we were in a simulation for a while, but who's to say we still aren't in one."

Sniffing, he offers a partial shrug that says 'what can you do'. It's clear he's not impressed but he's not upset about it either. There's more to tell but he's not sure if she's up for hearing more so soon after arriving. That alone can be overwhelming.

[spoileralert]

She stares at him blankly for a moment, trying to make sense of the words. A simulation? Different times, different realities? It all sounds like babble for a long moment. Of course she's familiar with the multiverse theory, pretty sure she read it somewhere in the files Batman had her memorize, and heard about it from the person who showed her where the inn was. The simulation thing is new, though. Finally she raises an eyebrow.

"I dunno, I kinda like the afterlife theory." That would explain a lot more to her mind than a simulation.