A new Platform [Intro post~ October]

[voidtreckermods]

On the train

It has only been two days since they had returned to the train. Not long enough for boredom to set in but hopefully enough time to start recovering from the exhaustion, if not the injuries.

"Good morning passengers, today is day sixteen of the month of Bassoon. Due to your success on Planet #25768 your team points have been updated on the system. The on train shop has unlocked new stock."

Indeed it has, for those who go off to investigate. Alcohol and tobacco for the adults of the train and an option of a random non uniform outfit for those brave enough to see what the train provides them with.

It is a few hours later when the second announcement comes. “Shortly arriving into a designated void platform. Exit from void imminent.”. By now they should know what that means. They have enough time to find somewhere to brace themselves before the train jerks and exits from the void.

Outside the window is foggy, as usual, but there is also a heavy pattering of rain, they may wish to find their raincoats if they are to go and welcome the new arrivals.

As the doors hiss open they see Manabu exiting from the luggage carriage, rucksack on his back. Blank faced he walks towards the ticket barrier and disappears through it, leaving behind only the sound of rain.

What they may notice, apart from the new arrivals are lots of pumpkins, looking just ready to be picked. On vines around the edges of the platform for any who wish to brave the rain long enough.

On the Platform

At first all they can see if steam and rain. Billowing around them as they come to their senses, dripping onto the hoods of the waterproof jackets they are conveniently wearing. They are standing, in clothes that are not their own, styles they might not even recognise. They are carrying a rucksack on your back. For a moment it seems to just be them, alone in the white haze but then the steam begins to fade and they realise they aren’t alone.

Five figures stand facing the tracks, two wearing orange, two purple and one wearing blue. The tracks stretch left and right into steam, or perhaps fog. Nothing can be seen to either side. There is a wall around the platform and the only entrance is a ticket barrier. It cannot be open, nor do there seem to be any staff.

What there is, is a train. Jet black and gleaming where it stands on the rails.Voidtrecker Express is emblazoned in the engine in gold. There is a hiss as the doors slide open.

Out step a selection of people, some less human than others, wearing clothes just like those worn by those on the platform.

The Train

The doors hiss open. Those from the train may encourage those on the platform to board. It’s not like there is anywhere else to go and even if there was, you feel a pull. A need to board, a feeling that staying on the platform would not be a good thing.

There is a lot to discover, though it does not seem like there are any new carriages this time. But the train has a gym, a well stocked games carriage and a strange dressing room full of spider webs, among other things.

Each ICP shows the same message and there are plenty of people to answer any questions the new arrivals may have.

The food stores have been filled up, salmon is still the food of choice. The medicine carriage has also been restocked as it was heavily used in the aftermath of their last mission.

New passengers will find their tickets allow them into their cabins. They may need to negotiate for beds, especially if they want a top bunk!

Room is tight but there are storage cubbies at the head of each bed, beds fold up and the bottom bunks double as benches for the small table. There is storage under those benches and you will hopefully find a pillow for your bed if it has not been nabbed by a roommate, there are also spare blankets for if it gets cold.

Departure

A second horn sounds to encourage any stragglers and the doors slide shut. For those who boarded two weeks ago they will know what is coming next.

The train sets off, the fog obscuring the view as it picks up speed.

"Welcome aboard, passengers of the Voidtrecker Express.” A female-coded artificial sounding voice echoes throughout the train. "Please take the time to read the passenger information displayed on the Information and Communication points and familiarise yourself with the layout and emergency exits."

The train begins to tilt, leaving the ground and rising up into the fog filled sky.

"Entrance into Voidspace imminent. New passengers are advised to remain seated."

Hopefully someone warns you that you really want to heed that warning because a moment later there is a shudder, a jolt, a lurch to the left. A flash of light, colourful and blinding.

As quick as it happens it is done. The train seems to steady. The fog from the windows is gone now, replaced with a kaleidoscope of ever changing colours.

Welcome to voidspace.

Comments

[runs_on_batteries]

"Then, yes, my dear, you've come to the right place," Tony answered with a warm smile. "Might I interest you in some coffee? I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have. This.. is a very strange place and there are some concepts that are easier to understand than others." And some she simply might need to sit down for.

"Has Peter found you yet?"

[mayp]

Tony might not be Happy, but she did like the man. At least more than she used too. Her problem was that his 'internship' took Peter out at all hours of the night and a growing boy needed his rest. Plus he might have been hurt, what would she have done if that was the case? She had grown to accept that Peter was Spiderman but sometimes, just sometimes, she thought it was too dangerous.

"Coffee and answers sound good," May said with a smile. "I've found Peter already. He's gone to great the other new arrivals," she explains with a smile.

[runs_on_batteries]

Well, at least all those feelings were mutual. Only difference was he knew sometimes it was to dangerous for him, but those tended to be the times he didn't have a choice but to pull the boy in to help.

"Let me take your bag for you. It's right this way." There are maybe three people in this world- well, multiverse- he would offer to carry a bag for and one of them was May.

Once in the kitchen, he got her a seat and went to work putting together a fresh pot of coffee. "So, Peter probably told you the basics. We don't know why we've been brought here exactly. We don't know who brought us here. And we don't know how to get home yet. What we do know is that we're all passengers from different worlds and time. Some people on this train are from one year while others hundreds of years in the future or past. The majority just are from different worlds without a good comparison of time to even know how they stack up with on another." He looked back at her. "Cream or sugar?"

[mayp]

"Thank you," May said offering him the back that was slung over her shoulder. It wasn't heavy but she figured she might as well take him up on the offer.

"He did mention that," May said with a nod. "It doesn't exactly make sense but honestly very little makes sense so far. He explained the time differences too you're from a different time to him?" she asked curiously. "And no, just milk please and thanks," she added. "I know I'm from after you," she added.

[runs_on_batteries]

He set the coffee to brew and then got out two mugs. He poured some milk in one of them.

"Ah, how do you that? Did Peter tell you?" He was busy with the coffee and still wondering about this strange turn of events that included suddenly having Peter's aunt on board. It would mean that she would be out there fighting and doing missions like the rest of them. It wasn't something he felt particularly good about. She should be safe and home.

[mayp]

Because you are dead, she thinks to herself. Instead of saying that, she wasn't going to spring that on him any time soon, she instead nods. "He mentioned you were from five years after the two of you go to space which still does my head in by the way," she said with a laugh. "I'm from nearly six years after all of that so I just figured I came from after you," she shrugs.

[runs_on_batteries]

He stopped what he was doing and looked at her instead of the mugs. "So.. you're from after the war? I take it we win if you're still alive and there is still a universe." He was aware this was really putting her on the spot but he just had to know.

"What happens? How many of us survive?" Do I survive? He wanted to ask, but he wasn't ready to come right out and say it.

[mayp]

Well, shit that conversation just got awkward, she though. "We won, Thanos dies and everyone who was blipped comes back," she tells him glad that she has some good news. "The majority of people survive," she says carefully. If he kept asking question she wasn't sure how to not tell him that he died.

[runs_on_batteries]

The relief warmed his heart even more than the coffee. They won. They un-failed, more specifically. There were few things that would make that knowledge less enjoyable. Unfortunately, it was pretty easy to find one of those things.

"Captain?" He asked, worriedly. And then he just couldn't restrain himself further. "Am I wrong in assuming if we win, it's not good news for me?"

[mayp]

May nodded at Tony's question. "You save everyone and manage to bring everyone back but the power of using the gauntlet was too much for your body. You got to say goodbye to everyone though," she told him from the little that she had gathered.

[runs_on_batteries]

Everything around him just turned cold and distant. The words were being said, but he couldn't quite hear them. He'd known. He'd told everyone on the train that's how it was going to be. He'd had many, many nightmares since coming to this train of the inevitable.

It was one thing to know it was the most likely outcome and another to find it actually happened. All of his messed up emotions and relationships on the train were suddenly valid. He'd made the promise 'til death do us part' and he'd kept the vow, except for a matter of moments. Pepper would forgive him for that. There was something freeing in that and completely heartbreaking. If he really- no, not if, when- he died, she wouldn't fault him for trying to find ways to cope in this strange version of the afterlife. It was his afterlife, even if not everyone else here were sharing that same fate.

He was so grateful too that of the possibilities, Steve hadn't gone down with him.

Instead of the anxiety attack he'd expected, he just felt.. nothing. He nodded at May, perhaps a moment or two later than would've been a proper flow of organic conversation. "It's for the best then. Thanks for telling me." His voice sounded a little flat, even to him, but it beat the alternative. "Pepper and Morgan? Are they okay?"

[mayp]

"Still I wish I didn't have to tell you," she said knowing that it can't be easy to hear it. "Pepper and Morgan are safe. We see them from time to time, and talk when we can," she told them. "Happy is a big help to them," she adds for his sake. "I do what I can for them when I can." It wasn't easy losing a loved one but Pepper was a strong woman who had gone through a lot in her life but that didn't mean it was easy. May understood that and was willing to do whatever was needed.

[runs_on_batteries]

Now he was remembering why he'd always held the woman in such high regards. She was smart and sweet. There was a lot more to her than simply 'Peter's surrogate mother'. He smiled at her, intellectually understanding how he should respond to a remark like that even if he couldn't seem to feel it. It didn't change the fact he was grateful.

"I'm really glad you're here, May." It wasn't only for Peter's sake either, even if that was the main reason.

He fixed her coffee the way she'd requested and set it in front of her. He poured himself a mug and leaned against the counter again. "He'd better. I know I left him enough in my will to properly guilt him into it." The inheritance wasn't a joke, but Tony knew that wouldn't have been the source of motivation from his assistant. Happy had been a friend as much as he had an assistant.

[mayp]

May let out a short laugh at the comment about Happy, a soft smile on her lips as she thought about him. He mustn't have been here and that brought her up short. She hadn't thought of that and now felt guilty about it. "He's not here?" she asked curiously.

"Thanks," she said taking the coffee and having a sip. It was good.

[runs_on_batteries]

He shook his head. With everything going on, he hadn't really thought about his assistant much. Now that Happy had been mentioned, Tony missed him. "No, Peter is the only one from our world as far as I know up until you arrived. There are a few who are from similar worlds, like Peter's gi- oh right, he'll have to introduce you to his new girlfriend, Gwen."

He was sure that was going to go over well (sarcasm), so he waited and gave her time to react.

[mayp]

May nodded. It would have been nice to have other people here but she would make the most of it. Plus she had Peter here and that was the most important person to her these days after the death of Ben. "I do look forward to meeting her. I'm sure she will be wonderful. I do trust his judgment," she told Tony. It wasn't Liz's fault that her dad had been evil, she herself was nice enough.

[runs_on_batteries]

"Really?" Tony asked, surprised she was so easily accepting of Peter's girlfriend. "You know.. his judgment isn't always the best." Had she met Peter? Although he did have to give her some credit. The young man could see the good in people on a scale Tony couldn't possibly touch. The engineer had seen far, far too much dark in the world to retain any innocence.

"Have you had any trouble with the natives? I'll bet they're thrilled to get someone as lovely as you on board."

[mayp]

"Perhaps in some things it is questionable, including his need to protect others and do good but I think when it comes to his personal life he tends to make good decisions. If it ends badly its a learning decision for him. I won't stop him," she shrugged.

"Not yet, I haven't met any of them yet. They're not pleasant I take it?"

[runs_on_batteries]

He began to wonder just how much about Peter's poor decision making she was aware of. Perhaps he'd been better at thinking through things back home. Tony hadn't noticed until coming here what a disaster the young man could create. However, he wasn't going to argue that the mistakes were learning experiences and that his heart was solid gold. No one who had talked to the boy for any length of time would question that, unless they were incredibly stupid.

"No, they are. Many of them, at least. If you haven't yet, I encourage you to seek out Sarai and Ash. Both ladies are excellent company." As far as the men around here, he was less willing to comment on who she should spend time with. She was her own woman, he knew and he wasn't purposefully controlling her friendships- just making suggestions based on her personality and what he knew of the other passengers. Perhaps he was, though, steering her away from those with rougher edges who might be rude to her. If he found out anyone had been rude to the woman, they were going to get scolded like babies for it.

[mayp]

Sarai and Ash. Okay she would do her bst to remember those names and see about seeking them out when she had the chance. "I haven't had the chance to meet them yet but I'll see if I can get the chance to do so," she says with a nod. "I'm happy to meet anyone though especially if we're going to be stuck on this train for awhile," it made the most sense to her. "Anything else I should be aware of?"

[runs_on_batteries]

"It will make life easier on board if you do take time to meet people," he agreed. He took a second to think before shaking his head. "No, it's a decent place. You know where I'll be if you need anything."

[mayp]

"I imagine so and thank you, I appreciate it," she replied with a smile.