[Open] an equation of variables

[hypoxic]

Who: Leo Fitz and/or Jemma Simmons AND YOU?
Where: All over -- Hopefully not around the dinosaurs? (but maybe around the dinosaurs)
When: Feb. 9th - 11th
Rating: Will mark if anything goes above PG13.
Summary: Jemma and Fitz are revisiting a near-death experience they had together. They’re slightly less than okay, but that seems to be going around right now.
The Story:

[ early event ]

[Ten days ago, they’d both been trapped underwater. There’d been an incident. Friends betrayed friends. They’d narrowly avoided death. Twelve hours ago, they’d been coping with the longterm repercussions of that, when a moment of sacrifice has the potential to turn into something much more permanent. Ten minutes ago, they were in the med bay. He’d been sitting up. She’d been trying to help him speak full sentences.

And now they’re here. Wherever “here” even is. They stay together for a lack of other options. And though they’re both easily recognizable by those who know them from Wonderland, there’s a particular sort of freshness to their faces. They’re substantially less weathered, even in their open discomfort. They’ll be cautious and curious both as they explore, though when approaching others, Jemma might be the one who does most of the talking.]

[ Jemma ]

[And there is quite a bit to talk about -- where the hell are they, who are these people, why are they here -- the questions are dizzying and almost endless and fade into the background almost immediately.

Fitz becomes her first priority, and she can sense that this grates on his nerves. Though they were told both the aphasia and nerve damage to his hand could improve with time and therapy, it’s still very fresh and frustrating. She wants to help, but that help seems to do little and less to improve matters. Still, in this strange place, she’s not going to lose track of her best friend and let him shove her away completely.

There is a lab that has traces of her and Fitz inside. She’s never seen it before, but if she could dream up a lab space, this looked very close to what she might come up with. There’s a library, a nice quiet space to sort through thoughts and find lots of books, which have given her comfort since she was a child. A girl’s gotta eat, so look, a kitchen (it gives you whatever you want! It’s almost too good to be true). And -- are those dinosaurs outside? Jemma’s not going to go out there to check (she’s had quite enough adventure for a while, thank you very much) but she’ll definitely be looking out windows and might venture up to higher floors to get a better look at them from the top. If she has to go looking for Fitz, she could end up just about anywhere.]

[ Fitz ]

[Sometimes when Jemma is absorbed with everything, Fitz sneaks off for space. He’s fully aware that he’s a liability like this. He’s holding her back, and possibly keeping her from solving the problem of getting them all home. She’s wasting her time taking care of him instead of handling the situation. So he’ll stay by himself as well, holing up in a lab that has his name everywhere (even though he can’t remember ever being here before), or sneaking down to the kitchen for snacks. He might even peek outside to check on the dinosaur issue for himself. He’d like to be helpful, if he can manage it.]


[OOC: Liz and I will both be tagging this post. Please specify if you’d like to thread with Jemma, Fitz, or both. (respective plotting comments linked) Our schedules tend to clash, so the “both” option will probably result in a slower thread. Sorry in advance!]

Comments

both »

[mucked]

[ you know, most of what she's been encountering has involved children. or, you know, tony stark barely out of childhood. so seeing fitz and simmons -- together, relatively within at least the right decade of their lives -- first comes a kind of relief. but that relief drains away once she gets closer and starts to pick up on a few of the minor differences. body language, the like. ]

Agents. [ her steps slow in the hallway. with a bubble of dread in her stomach, she braces herself for going through this 'introduction' all over again. ] You're both of you looking a little lost...

[ you can do this, carter. ]

[hypoxic]

[ fitz makes eye contact with Peggy long before she speaks. His eyes widen, and he immediately looks away. That's new. He's grown accustomed to seeing a false Jemma occasionally, but alternatives are new. Especially historical alternatives.

He keeps his head down. It'll make Jemma fret if he starts talking to a hallucination of Peggy Carter. ]

[bravejemma]

[Jemma doesn't look until she sees the change on Fitz's face. When she does look back, boy, is she not sorry.]

Oh my god. You're Peggy Carter.

[mucked]

[ ...oh. so. them, too? peggy takes in a deep breath through her nostrils and nods her way, tolerant, through this little bit of deja-vu. ]

Have been all my life, in point of fact. [ her attention drifts between the pair, but never idly. fitz can be a bit skittish on a good day, but never like this. and jemma...

well. that remains to be seen. ]

[hypoxic]

[This is abjectly impossible. There's no way that Peggy Carter can actually be here. And if Jemma can see Peggy Carter, then maybe other people won't be able to see Jemma either. And that means he's getting worse and worse. He shrinks back in silence. Maybe they'll have a good long chat with each other and he'll be able to tune it out. It's definitely not a good thing to be indulging hallucinations like this.]

[bravejemma]

... Right.

[She's fully aware that she's staring and her mouth is probably hanging open in an absurdly unattractive way. She takes care to close her mouth, at least, though the staring lingers and she's not sure what else to do or what it means that Peggy Carter is here. Is this what a religious experience is like.]

We don't really know how we got here, or how we can leave.

[Maybe she can help there.]

[mucked]

I'm afraid no one where knows the hows or whys of these circumstances, either. [ a simple enough truth, however disappointing. ]

Leaving isn't a readily available option, I'm afraid.

[ she watches for both their reactions. ]

fitz »

[mucked]

[ for once, it's utterly unintentional that peggy should run into fitz on a visit to the kitchen. peggy has a canvas bag set out on the counter and she seems to be filling it with various...supplies. there's little rhyme or reason to the choices: biscuits, a wax-wrapped block of cheese, some little boxes of sultanas. she's standing with her hip braced against the counter's edge while she looks torn -- indecisive -- between a package of instant oatmeal and some sort of ersatz fruit gummy snack.

when she looks up from her deadlock, she sees fitz. ]

If you were, say, five years old or so...you'd probably prefer the sugary option. Yes?

[ she holds them both up. help, fitz, help. ]

Re: fitz »

[hypoxic]

[ fitz might have been staring. It's become a habit for him recently. He lingers places, watching in silence. People notice him with pitying stares or look past him as he increasingly becomes invisible. It's a surprise that Peggy Carter notices him at all. It takes a moment before he reacts, blinking.

Tentatively, he'll creep closer and gesture to the gummies. ]

That one.

[mucked]

[ something's off. of course, she knew something was off when she'd met the two agents in the hallway. it's the event -- which means it deserves, perhaps, to be simply endured. much like finding a tykes in her room or coming across a drunken grieving tony. ]

Of course. [ but she sounds disappointed. peggy tosses the gummies in her 'shopping' bag. ] I suppose I can't blame them. I might have made the same choice as a child.

[ ... ]

Fitz. [ she doesn't even pretend not to know him. it might bewilder him now, but she's thinking of a longer game: of when he's caught up to himself. ] Have you found your bearings?

[hypoxic]

[ Peggy Carter is talking to him. She's done it before, of course. Jemma had talked to her then, so that meant she was solid enough. Unless he'd imagined them both. ]

I... um. I've f-found...um.

[ he needs to focus on finding the word. It's right there. ]

[mucked]

[ your lab?

peggy almost supplies the suggestion for him. it's on the tip of her tongue -- sitting there, chambered. but at the last moment she hangs back and simply watches him instead. she might not be the gentlest or most patient creature, but this weekend has been teaching her a lot about waiting out her answers.

so she waits, wordless, to see if fitz can find his way there on his own or if he wants the nudge. ]

[hypoxic]

[ it's too hard. Everything is too hard. And the word is right there...! ]

The... I've. [ it feels like every word needs to be rounded out and considered, uttered slowly and consciously. And still he can't uncover what could be right. His face feels hot. ]

fitz!

[redheadpepper]

[ Pepper, too, is sort of sneaking around - trying to avoid people while still finding things to eat. She's hungry all the time, it must be yet another side effect of the Extremis, so she's in the kitchen fairly often, though usually at off-peak hours so she's not endangering anyone.

She's pretty engrossed in making herself a sandwich, so the sudden appearance of another person startles her a little. ]

Oh god - I'm sorry, you scared me. [ Deep breaths. You've got this, Pep. ]

[hypoxic]

[ off-hours seems safe. It means there's less of a chance that he'll get in the way of someone who needs a space more than he does. Pepper Potts is here? He's got roughly a billion questions about it, but he doesn't know where to even begin asking.

She talks to him, and that's nice of her. But he'll stare back at her, openmouthed, unable to summon a reaction that's socially appropriate. ]

[redheadpepper]

[ It strikes her as weird, that he's just standing there, staring at her. But maybe he's hurt, or confused, or - something? He doesn't, at first glance, seem like one of Killian's... whatever. So Pepper wishes up a box of chamomile tea. ]

Would you like some tea?

[hypoxic]

[ she's still talking to him. Is he bothering her? He understands that he might need to leave if she...

Tea? But that would mean she'd want him to stay, and that's just bizarre to consider. He doesn't hate the idea of it. ]

Y-yeah...

[ he nods, hoping to convey an enthusiasm he can't vocalize. ]

[redheadpepper]

[ This guy clearly has trouble communicating. That's fine, Pepper can roll with it. As long as she's careful. She doesn't feel like she's about to go nuclear, so long as she stays calm. She suspects the Extremis is more likely to cause trouble in stressful situations.

So she just takes deep breaths and goes about heating up some water for the tea. ]

What's your name? I'm Pepper.

[hypoxic]

[She's asking his name, and it occurs to him that he hasn't tried to produce that out loud before. Since the incident, he's only encountered people who already know him. Will it work?

It's too risky to try to produce a full sentence, he thinks. ]

Fitz.

[And then he lets out a long breath. Success.]

both, maybe? |

[revokes]

[ at 21, tony stark is already used to be looked at. it comes with the whole stark reputation. not just his family's - he started earning his own since an early age, for better or for worse. still, it's one thing at home and another in a weird wonderland-themed pocket dimension. sometimes, he just knows when people recognize him. when he passes the two weirdos in the corridor, it takes him 30 seconds to turn around. ]

--- what?

both is good :|b

[hypoxic]

[This is all a little overwhelming, honestly. They're trapped in a strange place with strangers, all equally lost.

And that person over there looks a whole lot like Tony Stark. Fitz gives Jemma an urgent nudge then. Because he's pretty sure Tony Stark is talking to them and she needs to talk to him back.]

[bravejemma]

[This is a truly bizarre place -- many faces unfamiliar, but many familiar in the strangest of ways.]

Sorry, we don't mean to stare.

[Because she knows they were staring.]

[revokes]

--- is he a mute?

[ why is she talking for the both of them. tony's question isn't tactful but then again, the man never was. he looked at her and then at him and sighs. ]

I am not giving any of you autographs or pictures.

[hypoxic]

That won't be... Won't be.

[Oh, bollocks. He nudges Jemma harder then.]

Jemma, give me the word.

[bravejemma]

Necessary. It won't be necessary, thank you, Mr. Stark.

[It feels a little ridiculous to address him as such when he suddenly definitely looks to be their junior and three sheets to the wind besides.]