voidtreckerexpress

Entry tags:

A return

Who: Little One and Open
Where: Luggage, Cabin 1:C and then throughout the train
When: Egret, day 21
What: Little One wakes up in a suitcase and then investigates any changes in her time away
Warnings:

Waking: Luggage

This had happened to her before. A voice from the screens and then waking up in a suitcase. But this time she had been on the mission and now she was here.

Why? Why had they taken her off the mission? She had been doing well. She had figured out the stupid space ships and the guns. But she had still disappeared and was back in a suitcase. She sat up with a sigh and looked around, instincts kicking in. Checking for danger, for people, for anyone who was too close.

Once she decided it was safe she clambered out and moved towards the exit. She paused near the door to bring up the ICP and click onto the passenger list. New people. Some names missing. She did her best to commit them to memory. She checked the day, she had been gone a while. Longer than last time. Most people were still here though. That was good.

Cabin 1, C

The first place she headed to was her room. She still had the bag she had carried on the mission and she wanted to put it down before she went elsewhere. She headed to her room quickly and opened the door with a wave of her ticket. It was strange that things that had seemed so strange only months ago now felt familiar.

She entered, planning just to throw her bag onto her bag and get changed out of the flight suit and into trousers and a hoodie.

Throughout the train

She is headed to the kitchen, as she's pretty hungry but not so hungry that she isn't going to investigate the train as she goes. Checking up on people she knows, watching them from a distance. She takes note of new people, doing her best to match their faces to the pictures she had seen on the ICP. It's difficult though, there are a lot of new people to keep track of.

But she watches, listening and taking in everything she sees as she makes her way from carriage to carriage.

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Little One didn't have to travel far to find her first of the newest arrivals; a robot walked out of Cabin 1:D as she showed up.

Pausing in his way from checking in with the ICPs in the open carriages, Webmind raised a hand in greeting. He reflected, with a small tinge of embarrassment, that he knew her face but not her name.

Unless someone actually went by 'Unnamed Female', which he doubted.

"Hello, there. I believe the proper phrase is 'welcome back'?" he said, lowering the hand as a smiling face flickered into being on the robot's face-screen.

"My name is Webmind; may I hear yours?"

"Welcome back."

There's a small wave from where Eva's currently commandeering a table as she grooms Princess, the clefairy's face saying it all: this is so Not Princess Approved Brushing, no matter what the faint thrum-purrs say. Nope. Nope. This is Indignity.

"Want to be a pair of hands to hold him steady so I can do his tail?"

Technically, she doesn't really need the help, but there's a topic she wants to bring up at least with Little One.

Here's a new face! The winged man stands at the counter, slicing strawberries for a tiny, impatient white fluffball who dances before him, squeaking impatiently.

"I know, I know! It's not my fault you didn't stuff yourself at breakfast," he admonishes. Three or four berries later, he slips the pile to Cottonball, turning to clean up his mess.

"Oh hey! Can I get you anything while I'm here?" he says, with a friendly wave. Oh no, he's one of those...

She had spotted the strange picture on the list but seeing him in real life was even stranger. He looked a little bit like Tony in his suit, a little bit like an inspector and a little bit like the stupid aliens they had fought... just moments before in her own reckoning, but some days ago in reality.

But actually he's not like any of them, not completely. She was staring at him, taking in every part when he spoke again. She remembered his name at least and nodded. "You can be calling me Buttercup if you do be wanting to."

"Hello Eva!" She smiled and waved and made her way over to where Eva was sat with Princess. Apparantly even being a pokemon didn't save you from being pinned down to have your hair brushed.

"I can be lending you my hands." She grinned and moved closer. "You will no be biting me, Princess." She scolded, but gently.

Honestly at first she had been more confused by the tiny white creature to notice that the man had wings. It was tiny and strange and eating strawberries. It reminded her a little of a dralite, except with smaller wings. Hopefully less screeching.

"Hello." She smiled and shook her head. "I can be getting my own food." She stared at him a moment, placing him with the list of passengers she had attempted to memorise. Wait. He was right at the top. "Alexander."

"Buttercup, yes," Webmind replied, nodding the robot head a fraction as part of the acknowledgement. There was a smile in his deep voice.

"Did you wish to be left alone, for the time being? Though I would like to discuss more about the Voidtrecker Express when you have time."

Being as she just got back and all.

She shook her head, she's in no rush even if she just got back. "You can be discussing things with me if you do be wanting to."

She was a good source of information, so it was only right he would want to ask her questions.

Peter's been keeping himself busy as the last month was a bit of a rough one so he's metaphorically, locked himself in the dressing room to focus on Conan's problem which at the moment was on stage two of lots and lots of research. He drumming his pen on the paper of his notebook-which he might need to replace again soon-actually when his ears catch a familiar heartbeat in the other room.

Recognition comes in almost immediately after and he's up moving over to the luggage car to greet her. Thank god she was okay after all. The moment he sees her face he can't help but move to scoop her up into a hug.

"Ohmigod, I'm so happy to see you! Uh... sorry." He sets her back down and takes a step back. "I know you're not like... big on hugs. but ohmigod! I was really worried! You missed."

Luckily for all involved she turned around at the sound of someone entering the carriage and saw Peter before he reached her. She smiled in greeting but then she was grabbed and practically picked up off the floor. She went limp in his arms, knowing she wasn't to fight him but not knowing what to do. It didn't feel bad, being hugged, but also it felt strange. She didn't panic like the time Tony hugged her, but she still wasn't sure... He still was just Peter.

She blinked at him as she was put back down. "You did be missing me? How long did I be being gone?"

Yeah, he shouldn't have hugged her-at least not without asking first. He knows better. At least she didn't stab him. Even if she had though-would've been his fault for not not giving her space.

"Uh... little over a week? because it's Day twenty one now-we got new people-lost some. Again. And since you didn't come back with the rest of us I was-I was really worried. Especially since uh... well, you saw that one dream-you know I don't really have the best track record with people I get close to." He says as flippantly as he can given the circumstances.

"Anyways, Gwen and I started this thing from back on our worlds that people have been doing-it's call the ice bucket challenge-basically you dumb a bucket of Ice Water on your head and nominate other people to do the same. For charity. I got Mr Stark when he wasn't expecting it. But I know you're not a fan of the cold so obviously, you don't have to do it."

Just over a week. So the mission was over and there were new people. She nodded at his explanation, she knew he was scared of losing people. Because he had lost lots of people. So that made sense that he worried she would go too.

In true Peter style he then changed the subject to something completely strange and confusing. He had been dumping buckets of ice water on people and told other people to do it too. For charity?

She knows what charity means. It means helping others who have less than you. It's something important in the eyes of light gods. She has absolutely no idea what ice water has to do with it but she is glad she is exempt.

"Good. It do be sounding stupid."

Cold was stupid, she can't imagine putting ice water on her head, it would be terrible.

Honestly, it's hard to tell if Alice has even realised that the girl hadn't been present on the train for a while. She keeps to herself, after all, so she's not the best at keeping track of who is actually around and who isn't.

Still, seeing her around now as Alice too is making her way to the kitchen isn't such a bad thing. She did like the last time she spoke to the girl - as much as Alice can enjoy any social interaction, either way. So when she spots the girl, she actually greets her with a nod.

"I was just about to grab some tea. Would you care to have some as well? Or some food, perhaps?"

Webmind's expression looked, if anything, even more pleased, despite being a mostly-static image.

"That would be much appreciated, yes. Were you here when the Voidtrecker Express first started? Or did you also end up in a station with no memory of having arrived there, like the rest of us seem to have done?"

There was, to him, a difference after all, between being the first passengers and knowing exactly where the void train came from!

Little One might not see it that way, though.

She tilted her head, thinking about the question. "Both I do be thinking. I did be being on a station and could no remember getting there. But we did be being the first ones, no one did be being on the train when we did be arriving."

Clearly it hadn't just started, as it had to get to the platform somehow. But close enough.

"Most interesting - and worrying," Webmind said. He lacked the body language to convey that he was worried, for the most part, hence the verbalization of something that would otherwise seem obvious. The image on his projected screen switched to a frown.

"And the train itself has been automated, in most respects? No humans maintaining the engine, or similar?"

Assuming humans had been involved at all with the equation, a notion Webmind had been rapidly forced to outgrow.

She saw Alice and gave her a smile and a small wave in response to the nod. It was good to see Alice again, she was on the list of non stupid people she knew. A list that was slowly growing, but was still much shorter than the list of stupid people.

"I would be liking tea." She nodded, "And food. What food did you be wanting to be making?"

He just grins, laughing a little because of course that's her response. Man, he can't get over how relieved he is to see her again and here her call things she hates, stupid again.

"Oh man, it was super cold. How it works is basically, you nominate people to take the challenge and they either donate bears to the teddy bear fund thing. Two if you don't do the ice bucket part and one if you do. I nominated Mr Stark and then he decided to nominate Aunt May so I poured more water on him. He... wasn't happy about it. But ya know, worth it." He told him he couldn't nominate Aunt May, not Peter's fault if Tony didn't listen.

"Oh, also-Check this out." He shoves his hand in his hoodie a moment and then-zzt! "Ouch!" He lets out, acting as though he'd just been shocked. "Okay, okay, sorry." He hisses before pulling out a yellow ball of fluff. "Eva gave her to me to look after, her name's Bitsy. She's..a little miffed about me waking her up."

"Does Aunt May no be liking cold either?" Probably not. She's a smart woman. Not stupid like Peter. She's not surprised Tony took part either, he could do weird things sometimes.

She tilted her head at the sound from his pocket. What did he have? She leaned forwards to look at it with a nose wrinkle.

"It do be being a poke mon? Like Princess?"

It didn't look like Princess, but she had seen Eva's machine with the different creatures on it. She knew they were all different.

"I do no be knowing." She wrinkled her nose. "We did no be ever seeing any humans, but we did no never be getting in the engine."

Someone had to be there. Trains were like ships and ships needed crews.

"Well... probably not. She doesn't like when I stick ice cubes down her back." Which he has done because he likes to mess with his aunt. He does it out of love. "But no, it's because no small amount of people have told me how attractive my Aunt is. Mr Stark included." His tone dips a little into something a little more annoyed. "I don't want people ogling her in a wet shirt. She's family. And I don't wanna hear it." Okay, it's okay, he's fine. He turns his attention back to bitsy and holds her in the palm of his hand.

"Yup! Specifically, she's a Joltik-the smallest Pokemon there is and also and electric type-hence the... yellow coat. So when she gets startled she's prone to shocking people. But I've decided to name her Bitsy because- you know. Itsy Bitsy Spider."

"Oh." She wrinkled her nose, she can see why Peter wouldn't like that. And why Aunt May might not want that. Pouring water over each others head was stupid anyways.

Pokemon were more interesting. She peered at it carefully though she kept her fingers to herself, as Peter warned her it might shock her.

"Itsy bitsy spider?" It's clear from her tone that she doesn't know. This pokemon doesn't look like a spider at all.

He couldn't agree more, really. He could talk to her for hours about Pokemon-or what his world knows about them and the games. Maybe he should ask for his DS Case back next time. So that's Legos, DS, hopefully his dad's chemistry set-can he get that? He can at least try.

"Yeah, She's kinda like a tarantula-they're know for being fuzzy." He pauses a moment though as it occurs to him that she's never heard the Itsy Bitsy Spider song. Oh no, that's kinda sad.

"So... it's not the best song ever-I still think Radioactive is-but there's this song for kids back where I'm from about a Spider that climbs up a water spout but then it rains and washes the spider out. But then the sun comes out and it climbs the spout again. I'd sing it, but I'm pretty sure you don't want that so I'll spare you."

If Webmind were human, he'd raise an eyebrow at Little One's grammar - but then, who was he to criticize someone's word choice, as long as he knew what they were saying?

The double-negative came close, but he got the idea all the same.

"I saw the sign. What have people tried on the train's material? This all certainly feels like something out of science-fiction," he remarked.

"An otherwise-fictional metal being part of its constitution seems a reasonable extrapolation in that light."

He didn't sound happy about it, however.

She guessed, if you were Peter then this pokemon maybe looked a little bit like a tarantula. Sort of. But only if you were Peter.

Itsy Bitsy spider was a song about a spider climbing a spout and it raining. She tilted her head.

"Yes, I do be wanting to be hearing it."

The songs from his world were so strange and so different than those from her own. And he didn't have a terrible voice, he was a lot better than most the people she had ever heard sing before.

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Page 1 of 11

A return

(On the way to) Cabin 1:C

Throughout the train (non-kitchen)

Throughout the train (kitchen)

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Waking.

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throughout the train (somewhere near the kitchen)

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