( open ) wouldn't it be good to be in your shoes?

[hyperkinesia]

Who: Bruce Banner and YOU!
Where: Gardens, kitchen, hallways, lab, rooftop, or literally anywhere
When: During the next few days
Rating: PG13 for nudity, don't expect anything else but will update if need be
Summary: Bruce falls into Wonderland. Literally. He falls from the sky. Then he spends the next few days trying to be invisible and failing miserably.
The Story:

ARRIVAL, GARDENS; (open to only one person—first come first serve)

Anyone looking outside today will see blue skies. Blue skies, a shining sun, a seeming state of peace that's almost unsettling— then a strange sight breaking that calm. A figure falls from the sky, at a steadily quicker speed, literally dropping and landing in the middle of the gardens with an audible thud, hard enough to leave a mark in the ground. To those not paying much attention, it could be anything, but to anyone with a good eye, it's fairly easy to tell that it's actually a man.

He doesn't move, either. It stands to reason that after a fall like that, he wouldn't have survived. Should anyone venture outside to see for themselves, though, they might be surprised to find out that the man is not only very much alive, but also unharmed and completely naked.


ANYWHERE ELSE;

Bruce has been in some pretty far off places, but this still takes the cake.

The whole pocket universe and alternate realities deal is actually easier to wrap his head around than the fact that this place exists. This place as in Wonderland. Not just modelled after the story, but actually real. He's starting to feel like he really is mad at this point, which is all funny in that sort of ironic way if it weren't for the fact that he's stuck. He's stuck and he feels trapped, and he doesn't particularly like that feeling.

The place looks open and big but it's really little more than a glorified cage. And Bruce wouldn't mind much being here if only he were by himself— but no, let's pull in the guy who could tear this whole place apart in minutes and shove him in here with a bunch of other people. Brilliant idea.

But anyway. He tries not to focus too much on that, and instead worries about the ways he can try to keep distance from everyone else. Sadly, he soon realizes he can't do much about that either.

The choice of room (or more accurately, floor) is very much intentional, because as much as he wants to avoid being too close to certain people, he also feels the conflicting need to make sure they're alright. One of the first rooms in the seventh floor leave him somewhere close enough to the stairs, but not too far down the hallway, too close to everyone else's rooms. Could be worse.

As for the rest, it's... well, things could always be worse. Most times he manages to go to the kitchen or even the library without getting too much attention, but he still makes it back to the room pretty quickly. He holes himself up there for hours on end, blankets thrown over mirrors once he knows what's on the other side, looking out the window and musing how he would be better off just getting lost in the forest indefinitely. Probably.

He knows where these thoughts lead him, though. Eventually he forces himself to do something, and that starts with exploring the rest of the mansion. He goes to each open area and takes a look inside, taking his time when it's something that interests him more, makes it all the way down to the basement where he ends up looking around the lab for a little while, and goes up to the rooftop and stands somewhat near the edge for a while, looking over the expanse of land within sight. (And no, he's not thinking about jumping, if anyone might be wondering.)

It's too much. Too much and too little, too small, too confining. Every invisible limit makes his skin crawl with the urge to run, but he knows he can't. It's a particular kind of helplessness not even he is used to, and right now he has no idea what to do, where to start. If he can even do anything at all to change things.

He used to think he could. Change, do better. But he doesn't even know, doesn't even believe that anymore.

Comments

THE FIRST OPTION FOR MAXIMUM BEST IMPRESSION

[nascensibility]

It should be stated that Evelyn has seen a lot of things.

Plagues, resurrected priests, terrifying undead monstrosities, ravenous scarabs that can devour a man in mere seconds, leaving nothing a steaming skeleton. Mirror selves, younger selves, detectives and criminal profiles from fictional narratives, demigods and those with inhuman abilities, capable of wreaking utter terror, harnessing talents for the betterment of others. She has lived in Wonderland for approximately five years, and likes to think that she is well-suited to handling anything that could possibly be thrown at her.

Unless, of course, the thing in question is a man, several yards away in a small crater that used to be a bed of foxgloves. An afternoon turn about the garden in some fresh air would constitute the occasional bird, perhaps some butterflies, but human beings are not often catapulted across the grounds (and if they are, she isn't privy to their flying feats of fancy).

The fall would kill anyone, which is why she drops her copy of FitzGerald's Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám almost immediately and hastens to the side of someone who should resemble a ha'penny on a railroad track after the train's come 'round the bend.

"OhmyGod, are you all right?"

PERF

[hyperkinesia]

The man in question doesn't answer immediately. Must have something to do with the fact he just fell from a height of who knows how many miles, fast enough to create a crater where pretty flowers used to be. In fact, to any average person in any average place, it would be strange and surprising to see him breathe or move at all— but he does.

It's as abrupt as his appearance was. His body jolts almost violently as he lets out a gasp, eyes opening and glancing around, his eyes taking a good while to focus even then.

Not that he can make much sense of the situation. The last thing he remembers is being in that Quinjet, so naturally the logical conclusion is that he fell from there. He just has no idea how or why, and just as importantly: "Where am I?"

B)

[nascensibility]

Oddly, Evelyn has seen stranger things.

She starts as he does, jerking back at the sharp movement and inhale, tries to resist the urge to reach for the firearm under her jumper - she keeps it on her at all times these days, best to be prepared - and watches. (Watches his face, mind, although when an arse-naked man is sprawled in the crater of his own making, one has to. You know. It's.) Evelyn pointedly observes a very interesting cloud, clearing her throat.

"Wonderland," she replies, lacing her fingers in front of her. "Which I know must sound very strange, but given your current, ah, condition, one assumes that you must have a high threshold for that."

[hyperkinesia]

Well, considering he's in the middle of a garden and has absolutely no clothes around to put on, she's going to have to deal with his nakedness for a while. At least until he makes it into the mansion. The silver lining here is that Bruce's mind is a little too focused on a whole lot of other things for him to really care enough about his current state of undress to make things any more awkward.

"Not really," he huffs as he sits up, a hand moving to his head at the sudden but brief dizziness. "Not the first time I fell from the sky. Definitely the first time I landed in a fictional place."

basement lab!

[sciencelizard]

After being invited to the lab a few weeks prior, Alphys has been trying to psych herself up to go- the lab is very professional, nice and clean, and she feels... sort of like she doesn't belong. She's sure she was being invited out of politeness, and not out of any genuine request, but she also really wants to explore, so she finally makes her way down, poking around bits of it, examining equipment, and marveling over how nice everything is. She almost doesn't notice when Bruce enters, her head poked into a cabinet... until she spots him, tries to sit up too quickly, and bangs her head in a rather loud and messy fashion, stumbling backwards and reaching a hand up to rub at the mark she's now made on her scales and adjust her now-askew glasses.

"I'm s-sorry, I'm sorry, this uh, I was invited to come and l-look around, uhm, I didn't m-mean to intrude! I'll go, I'm s-sorry, I'm sorry..."

[hyperkinesia]

Bruce was hoping to find the place deserted, actually, but given the choice between finding a familiar face or crossing paths with a creature that resembles a large lizard who can somehow talk, he'll take the latter. Even if it still takes him a few good seconds of silent staring to wrap his head around that particular detail.

"It's fine," he says finally, shaking his head and giving her a small shrug. "I'm the one who shouldn't be here, actually. You're fine."

[sciencelizard]

She shuffles a bit, wringing her hands and trying to make herself look as small as possible. Alphys was also really hoping to find this place deserted and not interrupt anyone- despite being invited many times, she always would feel intrusive, and she's pretty certain she's done it now. Anything that involves all that banging around she did is probably hard to recover from.

"Well, uhm, it's s-supposed to be for everyone, I think... I mean, uh, it's, p-probably fine. You, uhm, d-don't have to leave, uh, I mean..." Wow, she is bad at this. Alphys takes a breath to steady herself. "Uhm, so, w-what's your name? I'm Alphys."

[hyperkinesia]

Bruce can't help something between a bitter smile and a frown when she tries to look smaller than she is. That's something Bruce is intimately familiar with, in fact he's probably doing it now without even thinking about it, shoulders hunched and his figure closed in on himself. Like that makes him either less of a threat, or less of a presence here.

"Bruce," he offers simply, eyes leaving Alphys to look around the lab with absentminded interest. "So what were you doing? Anything interesting, or just looking around?"

7th floor hallway

[assembles]

Steve has settled back in as best he can.

Which isn't something easily done when everything is still in shambles back home. He can't shake the sense that it's all too quiet here, even with the mirrors acting up. Something is gearing up to happen on the other side, trouble is brewing, and yet half of Steve's mind is still back on Earth.

Tony is here. Tony is here, and he doesn't know anything of what happened, and Steve has been sitting on that so far -- even though Natasha seems to think they should tell him everything. Keeping things from Tony is what had caused everything to fall apart in such a serious way in the first place, but the fact is that Bucky is here too. Steve isn't sure what might happen if he doesn't play his cards right.

So, he'll deal with it... just not today.

Dodger had been returned to him a few days ago, and Steve's gotten back into the habit of taking his puppy on a daily walk. He's got him on his leash and is on his way to the stairwell when someone else emerges from it. And not just any someone.

"Bruce?" Steve blinks, first surprised and then confused. "I thought you'd gone home..." Had he just been back for a return trip like the rest of them?

oh yes excellent /rubs hands together

[hyperkinesia]

Funny concept, settling in. Bruce spent the last few years doing just that, only to have the foundation of his new life crushed from beneath his feet in one single and swift strike. A lot can be said about how difficult it can be to settle in, and how easy it is to lose it all.

So, he's not trying to settle in. He doesn't want to. Maybe if he never makes himself comfortable in this place then it won't matter if people come and go, or if anything happens to him; he'll have nothing to lose, after all.

Which is why picking a room at all feels almost more complicated than it should be, but he can't exactly sleep in the hallways or some abandoned broom closet. Besides, not having his own room would likely mean running into even more people, so he ends up choosing the lesser of two evils, and hoping that whatever he gets on the other side of that door doesn't hit too close to home. Maybe if he just focuses hard enough...

He's just stepping onto the next floor of the mansion, thinking of a room as plain and simple as possible, when a dog comes running towards him. His eyes fall to it momentarily, but it's the owner that grabs Bruce's attention the moment he looks up and sees who it is. Before he can say anything, though, before he can even think of how to deal with this encounter, Steve's talking— and not really making much sense. Gone home? Bruce was going to just about anywhere that was as far away as possible from what he called a 'home'.

"What do you mean?"

drags you back in

[assembles]

It hadn't been Steve's intention to settle in at Wonderland either, but it's been two years now (with some trips home scattered in between) and he's had to come to terms with it. No one can live that long in one place without settling at least a little, and it makes a situation that had once been unpleasant a little more bearable.

It's mainly the people. There's no real way to resist making friends here.

Dodger's familiar with Bruce, hence the excited reaction, although it doesn't take Steve long to realize that something is off. There's a sense of unease in Bruce's expression and body language that doesn't fit. He's a nervous person by nature, but...

"Do you not remember being here before?" Steve asks with a tilt of his head. It feels like he'd seen him not that long ago, if he's remembering right, but the trip home muddies everything. This would be the third time that Bruce has been here, and the second time that he's forgotten. It seems like Wonderland really does have a vendetta against certain people.

[hyperkinesia]

Bruce can barely look at Steve, if he's to be honest. He's far from the person on the team he was closest to, and he's definitely not the one he most wanted to avoid right now, but things still feel strange, uncomfortable. More so to himself than to Steve, apparently— the reason why makes itself clear in the next question coming his way.

He purses his lips and shrugs, shaking his head minutely.

"Should I?"

Not a rhetorical question here, he is genuinely asking Steve about it. He's already getting an idea of what he means, but he still wants to hear it said clearly.

ʀᴏᴏғᴛᴏᴘ

[interspatial]

Despite the unchanging sky, Jane's telescope remains in its place at a corner of the rooftop, draped in canvas when not in use. She's almost memorized the pattern that appears above them all at this point. Something so constant should offer comfort and familiarity, but it only serves to remind Jane of the fact that she's stuck.

What the rooftop does offer is a lack of walls and a generally secluded nature. If something goes wrong, if Wonderland can't suppress the force within her the roof wouldn't be a terrible place to fail. She knows that no matter how much she prepares, she's only got Wonderland to thank for her ability to bear it -- a less than comforting fact.

She steps out with a liter of water in one hand and a bag of work in the other, making a beeline for the telescope. Jane almost reaches it before she stops herself, marking the existence of the roof's current occupant.

"Oh-- sorry, did you need time alone? I can come back later." An inconvenience, but one she's learned not to obsess over. She can almost hear Darcy's chastising voice: sharing is caring!

[hyperkinesia]

Bruce may be a little distracted but he's not so out of it that he doesn't hear someone else stepping out onto the rooftop. Still ,while he doesn't so much as move from where he's standing a couple of feet from the edge, he doesn't try striking up conversation either. The area's large enough anyway, so they could very well make use of it and not even need to acknowledge each other's presence.

It seems like this new arrival has another idea, though. When she speaks up, Bruce ends up turning slightly, just enough to glance at the woman with a vague stare.

"You don't have to. I think we both fit up here just fine."

Which is funny, or sad, considering what he can turn into. But anyway.

His eyes flicker to the telescope with a trace of interest. "Building a star map?"

[interspatial]

The metal of Jane's water bottle rings as it touches the concrete.

"You must be new." She speaks as she arranges her things, and pulls the canvas from the telescope with a satisfying swish. Jane turns as she shakes out the material, and recognition lights in her eyes when she finally looks at Bruce head on. But she makes no move to put him on the spot. She'd never reacted well to it herself.

"The sky here isn't a sky, actually. And the stars in it aren't stars. Could you--?" She holds out one corner of the tarp toward Bruce. The good thing about short arms is that they're slender enough to fit inside whirring machines that fire lasers. The downside is that it's a pain in the ass to fold this stupid tarp she insists on covering the telescope with.

[hyperkinesia]

"I must be," he parrots, and there's a trace of amusement there, though faint. He doesn't really recognize Jane, not by face anyway, and he doesn't notice that flicker of recognition in her own stare either. Thankfully, too. He's already having enough issues getting used to this place as it is, he doesn't need everyone here knowing who he is.

"Right," he nods and jerks into action, stepping closer and taking the corners of the tarp, helping her with folding it up.

"So what is it? A projection of some sort?" His eyes flicker up again. "You're not going to tell me we're stuck in some kind of virtual reality, are you?"

Also stealing the roof, for reasons >.>

[widows_kiss]

The roof isn't usually one of her haunts and she'd actually been looking for Clint (since it was one of his) but when she steps out onto the roof to see a familiar figure standing still and silent at the edge, it has the surprising effect of giving her pause for several long moments. Unnoticed, she watches him, drinking in the sight of him after the months he's been gone back home. He'd been here, of course, but she'd suspected he might have been going out of his way to avoid her. Or perhaps the place really was just big enough that their paths didn't cross very much.

Either way, at least the roof offered a quiet place for her to approach him for the moment, although there's something careful in the way she approaches, as if she's unsure about her welcome. Not something she normally worries about, but Bruce... He's a special circumstance.

"Where've you been hiding yourself? I was beginning to think you'd left."

[hyperkinesia]

Rationally, he knows Natasha's here, and he knows that he's been here before. He tries to mentally prepare himself for the moment they will eventually cross paths– what he'll do, what he'll say, how she might respond. She's probably had the time to deal with things in a way he hasn't, and that might make things easier and also more complicated. He doesn't know.

He does know he's not angry or hurt, he's just... scared. And while he tries to be logical about this, it's the emotional part of it all that makes his heart clench painfully in his chest when he hears her voice, and he can't even look at her right away for fear she'll see his feelings and thoughts written all over his face.

"I did leave," he realizes belatedly that his voice betrays him too. Nothing he can do about that. "Or I tried to, anyway."

But he knows they're talking about different things. She thinks he's the same Bruce who's been here before, and he almost doesn't have the heart to tell her the truth. Almost.

"I'm not him. I'm... I've never been here before. I landed here after– after Sokovia."

[widows_kiss]

She takes a mental stumble at that, going tellingly still as her own expression goes carefully blank. Considers the implications of that for a moment before she steps forward again, moving to join him.

"Or this place just took your memories of it. It's been known to happen, apparently. I'm missing about a year of memories of this place, or so Steve tells me." She glances over at him, searching his face out of the corner of her eye, lips pressed into a line, although one corner tilts up in an attempt to keep her manner light.

"So the Quinnjet took a detour after all?"

The HALL

[therapize]

It's just coincidence that has Cami running into Bruce at all; truth be told, even when he had been there before, they'd only spoken once. But given the circumstances, it's memorable enough in her mind: how many people don't go for alcohol at New Years, after all? So when she sees him in the sixth floor hall, she offers a warm smile. Although they don't know each other, Cami remembers leaving that conversation with a favorable impression.

"Hey, juice guy, right?" She shuts the door to her office, having finished there for the day. "You know, if you're looking for something fruity and refreshing, you're on the wrong floor. The bar's down one."

Which he no doubt knows, but Cami remembers him taking teasing pretty well.

[hyperkinesia]

Sadly the reaction she'll get is very different from what she's probably expecting. Bruce has been told about having been here before by now, of course, but it's something he's yet to get used to, just as the notion that he might be recognized by some of the other people in this place.

His brain doesn't make that leap instantly when the stranger addresses him in such a casual and friendly way, his gaze confused as he frowns just so, though he doesn't take her approach particularly to heart. He just doesn't respond to the teasing in kind.

"Excuse me?"

[therapize]

The look isn't what Cami's expecting, but it isn't at all unfamiliar: the blank stare that screams I don't have a clue what you just said to me, and with a soft sigh, she takes a step closer.

"New Year's Eve awhile ago: I served you fruit juice at the bar because you don't drink, and you promised me you weren't a mad scientist running experiments from your lab in the basement." Which the man clearly doesn't remember; it's not an unusual thing in Wonderland, but still, it's a little sad. Though they'd only had a few brief talks, Cami had liked him.

"But maybe I should take a few steps back: my name is Cami O'Connell." She offers a hand, now very aware that for him, this is where they stand in terms of introductions.

Also the hall!

[agentxthirteen]

She's up to eight miles. She can't run it as fast as Steve can, but then again, who can. But she can run at a good speed for eight miles.

Or at least, it will be eight miles if she can make it up the stairs and into the mansion, the double-doors leading into the Great Hall. Which she's going to do, the ache in her side be damned. Whatever attacks them during an event won't care if she's been training. It will only care if she's capable of defending herself and others.

She puts on a last burst of energy, ignoring the few people lollygagging about. Just so long as they stay out of her way, she doesn't care. What she cares about is reaching the doors.

She hits the patio and leans forward, crashing through the doors to the hall and then bending over to set her hands on her knees. Her hair sticks to the back of her neck. She's sure there's a cloud of sweat-stench around her. She feels and likely looks disgusting, the appearance accentuated by her gilded surroundings. She probably needs a shower much like a drowning man needs air. She pants, indulging her body with its time to recuperate. When she stands up, though, she's still taking deep breaths.

She limps toward the kitchen for some water, then stops when she realizes she isn't alone. She half-turns, and her eyes widen. She'd been meaning to apologize to him for a while now. Too long, really. But she'd made so many excuses that had sounded so good at the time. "Dr. Banner."

eheeee UvU

[hyperkinesia]

Her greeting is met with a blank stare, clear enough in his expression and stance both that he doesn't remember her. He doesn't look as confused as he might have earlier, because at this point he's already ran into a few people who met him before that he didn't recognize, and he's gotten the whole rundown on this place by a lot of people, Steve especially.

So he assumes this is yet another of those times.

"Hi," is all he offers at first, a little short and awkward, as he draws his glass of water closer to himself. Eating anything in this place still feels too weird, but he's gotten himself a simple piece of fruit too, while silently hoping it won't turn him really big or really tiny. He could do without something crazy like that. "Uh... Sorry if we've met before, but I don't remember. I just got here, and I don't remember anything about this place."

[agentxthirteen]

She straightens a little more, hands on her hips as she watches him. Her breath is still coming a little too fast, a little too heavy.

She doesn't know whether she dodged a bullet or not. Is there another Bruce, from another universe, or is this the same Bruce, but from a different point in time? Is there a potential, rage-induced monster tucked away somewhere, it's co...body? Host? Whatever. She'll figure out if it's still around later, and if it's still upset with her for lying about her occupation in an attempt not to upset its Bruce.

This is the convoluted, messed up life that she's somehow become accustomed to.

But this Bruce isn't that Bruce.

"Uh, sorry." She steps forward and offers her hand, keeping her movements slow enough that she won't startle him. "I'm Sharon. Nice to meet you, I guess." She looks at his water and fruit and frowns. There are more important things to address here, she tells herself, immediately before ignoring that little voice in her head completely and saying, "That's not all you're eating, is it?"