voidtreckerexpress | Event: Expulsion (Day 24)

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Event: Expulsion (Day 24)

"Good morning passengers, today is the twenty fourth day of the month of Apple." The morning announcement sounds as usual as dark turns to the ever shifting colours of the void outside the train windows. Some passengers may stir. It might be that they are an early riser or bad sleeper and get out of bed the moment the announcement wakes them or perhaps they roll over and go back to sleep.

Either way the morning rolls on for a few hours whatever they might be doing. Until a sudden judder runs through the train, followed quickly by another. Much like bad turbulence. Really bad turbulence. A third follows and there is a crackling sound before an alarm starts going off blaring loudly, the lights begin flashing red, white and red again.

"Warning. Void engines failing. Warning. Void engines failing. Warning Expulsion from void imminent." More shaking, worse each time, enough to knock them over and then a bang, the train plummets into darkness and lurches, sending everyone flying...

… They never crash land. Instead they float, suspended in the air. In the darkness it is hard to orient themselves or even understand what is happening. There’s a roar in their heads as pressure builds, their ears pop. "All systems critical." Breathing is hard, for one terrifying moment there seems to be no air to breathe.

"Oxygen levels stabilising." They can breathe, the pressure in their heads fades, their ears eventually stop ringing. "Pressure levels stabilising." They are still floating, suspended in darkness. "Gravity systems critical".

Emergency lighting flickers on finally, a red glow from either end of each carriage, in the cabins and along floor strips, enabling them to move without bumping into anything. If they can figure out how to move at all that is. Outside the windows is dark. Not the blackness of the void at night but the deep vastness of space. A few moments pass, enough time to just about process that fact before the voice over the speakers is heard once more.

"Passengers of the Voidtrecker express, due to technical issues we are currently experiencing void engine failure. Thank you for your patience as we endeavour to continue our journey as quickly as possible. We ask that all passengers help in securing the train for re-entry into the Void and on behalf of the Voidtrecker Express I apologise for any inconvenience caused."

Then there is silence. Broken only, no doubt, by the passengers on this now stranded train.

(OOC: Event information is here.)

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She's not sure she believes him. It doesn't feel okay, it feels terrifying and strange but he has her hand and even though she would normally hate having her hand held it's her only way to not float off and bounce around again. So she holds on.

Peter talks. He knows lots of things so she isn't surprised to realise he knows what is going on. Gravity. That word again. An invisible magical force that holds you on the ground. Pulling you back down when you jumped, sticking you to the floor.

For a Peter explanation that was pretty good. She actually understood. She had more questions but he said it wasn't the time and that's true. It was best to stick to the practical for now. If this magic had broken.

"Okay. Have you been being without gravity before?" He seems to be doing much than her but also he can stick to things so that must make it easier. She held his hand tightly, calming now that she understood. If it was just a magic that had somehow broken... Maybe it could be fixed and they could go back to being able to walk and not bounce around.

Peter might not look like it, but he's actually doing several things at once-He's focusing on staying stuck to the ground, trying to keep Buttercup calm, keep himself from using that name since she seemed pretty upset last time he did, and also trying think of the best way to move around without gravity. Which would be so much easier if he'd gotten to go space camp that one year but May and Ben just didn't have the money and he understands that.

"No, I mean-I've been to space-uh space is uh... kinda hard to explain but it's like the... space... between planets. And out in space there's no gravity or air-it's just empty aside from like an occasional particle of hydrogen. But the ship I was on had artificial gravity." He explains in probably what is more words then necessary.

"Uh... so I'm gonna unstick from the ground and we're just gonna float up to ceiling-slowly, okay?"

Space is the space between planets and there is no air? How is their no air? Air is just... air. It's everywhere. Except under the water. But they aren't underwater now. She has no idea what artificial meant but she understood, he had been on a ship with the gravity magic and this train had gravity magic but now it was broken.

"Okay." She nodded, trying to look brave. She had nothing to be scared of. It was just stupid broken magic. "We can be doing that."

"Okay, here we go." Peter says as he relaxes his legs and feet so he's not sticking to the ground anymore. The moment he relaxes his powers, he's floating up to the ceiling but he's holding onto Buttercup so he can make sure he's the one to reach the ceiling first.

"Now, put your hand up so you don't hit your head-it wouldn't hurt at this rate but still, let's avoid that." He grabs the ceiling with one hand, sticking to it so he doesn't move anymore than necessary.

"So, quick question, do you know how to swim? 'Cause this is gonna be a lot like swimming."

She put one hand up, one hand holding onto Peter tightly as they reached the ceiling. Except she isn't actually sure this is up at all, maybe sideways? Even thinking about where everything is makes her head hurt. But at least Peter could stick to the ceiling, that was good.

She shook her head. "No. I did no be learning how to be swimming yet."

That might present a small problem or be no problem all. How to do this? He's also going to need to teach her to swim later-in actual water just in case.

"Okay, that's not a problem, actually it might be easier without the risk of-you know, drowning. And Oxygen's stable so that's good. Uh... lean in so you're uh... basically laying on your tummy, just... ya know, in the air. I'll keep hold of your hand so you won't float away."

"What do oxygen be being?" The voice had said that, that oxygen was stable. Stable was a good thing so she wasn't too worried. She held onto Peters arm and lent forward trying to lie on her tummy.

Except as he head went down she flipped, spinning upside down like she was doing a somersault, except she was holding Peter's hand so couldn't go all the way down and so ended up stuck upside down.

That's... Not what she had planned to do.

"Air, basically. I mean you can't breathe in pure oxygen- but it's mixed with a bunch more components-so most of the time when people say Oxygen, they just mean air." He explains as she leans and-yeah that's not what they were going for.

He takes maybe a second try and figure out how to get her right side up again. He lets go of the ceiling and lets his head press against it as he uses his other hand to help get her situated. He can hang upside down for quite awhile but she can't-all the blood will rush to her head and she might get dizzy.

Actually. If there's no gravity then maybe not-probably not. Blood rushes to the head because it falls. No gravity. It can't rush.

"Whoops-okay uh... hang on-I'm gonna have to-" He moves his free hand around her waist a little to help get her horizontal to the ground. Once he's done that, he lets go and grips the ceiling again. "Uh, sorry. I just-I didn't want you to flip over again."

Edited 2019-08-20 14:06 (UTC)

Oh air. Wait oxygen was air? The air had almost broken? How had the air broken? That was an absolutely terrifying thing to think about. Enough to make her take a deep breath just to make sure there was still lots of air there!

At least it distracted her from being upside down. Peter moved his hands to help get her on her front and she laughed. This was actually quite fun, once the initial shock of floating was out of the way.

"This do be being so weird it do be being like I do be being a bird."

Hovering above the ground like this.

Peter can't help but nod in agreement, glad that she wasn't scared anymore. Now, how do you teach someone to swim with no water present? And even if there were, that would probably make things worse.

"Alright, so to move-you've gotta do it slowly because remember-no gravity to slow you down-but just move your arms like this-" He moves his free arm like he's swimming frog style. "Really though, the trick is gonna be to just move slow and be sure of your movements."

She moved her free arm as well, copying how he was moving. It wasn't a difficult movement and she did it some more, carefully and slowly. She wasn't going anywhere but she stayed steady where she was floating, moving her arms and not tumbling over. She grinned.

"Do this be being right?"

"Yeah! You got it! Now, just uh move your legs, you can either kick back and forth or move them more like a frog." He explains, still holding her hand and sticking the other to the ceiling. "If we ever end up on some island resort or something, remind me and I'll teach you how to swim so you don't like... drown." He says calmly before letting go of the ceiling and carefully leaning forward.

"So we're gonna go to the other side of the car, okay? Also, are you still pissed at Mr Stark? I'm just asking 'cause I gotta call ya something and 'hey you' seems mean. I was thinking maybe you could come up with something you'd like to be your name? It's totally just a suggestion but what about something like uh... Athena? 'Cause you're really smart and Athena's the Greek goddess of wisdom-or Minerva-same goddess just the Roman version and we can call you Minnie for short or someting-kinda how some people call me Pete instead of Peter-you can too, if you want."

She wiggled her legs, trying to not tip over again. She didn't let go of his hand, she doesn't want to go bouncing off again! She nods when he offers to teach her how to swim. That would be a good thing, drowning would be very bad. She's not really sure why no one has taught her already when she had been taught most the practical things she would need to know.

She wrinkles her nose when he mentions Mr Stark but she shakes his head. She's not angry anymore. The last of the anger had been bounced out of her. She's wary, he had threatened her but that was to be expected. She should have never have let her guard down.

She frowned at the name, though she liked the fact Peter thought she was smart. Even if she didn't know about gravity magic or space or stars. But it's still a name. If she was meant to have one she would have one. There must be a reason and accepting names from these light addled heroes was dangerous. It tied her to them.

"Do you no be being pissed at me?" Because Tony had been very angry, she had imagined Peter would be all scrunch faced mad too but here he was teaching her to swim in space.

He doesn't let go of her hand-he said he wouldn't and he's not going to until she tells him to. He moves his legs like a frog to push them along, moving his arm in the same way he'd shown her.

Her question throws him a little off guard and he makes a weird face at her before just shaking his head.

"No? What would I be mad at you for-" He pauses a moment, realizing he really shouldn't be surprised. He lets out a sigh. "About the knife? That's was uh-it sucked-I will say that-um... look. There are some things I've noticed about you-floating in the middle of space with no gravity isn't an ideal time to talk about it-but what the hell? Uh. Heck." He corrects.

"Uh. So when we first met, you couldn't find which Cabin was yours, right? And then I told you to just ask if you needed anything because our kind needed to stick together-what I meant was orphans. You didn't have a name-you're listed as unnamed and uh-well, usually your parents give you a name the moment you're born-sometime before but they're usually the ones to name you. If not them then a guardian so I realized you didn't have them and I-well, I have May but my mom and dad are gone too, so we're both orphans.

"But there's something else we have in common that I noticed-and I really wish we didn't even if it is a different kind-god I hope it's a different kind-we're both... uh... products of abuse-I don't know if like.. abuse is a thing people consider as being wrong on your world-but it is on mine. It's way more of a big deal now then it was but basically when someone hurts someone-mostly by beating them-that's that's an offense that can lead to time in prison where I'm from. And there are signs-there's always signs. Mine's more... anxiety based but when you-yours is way more subtle. Anyways, one thing that people who have been abused tend to do is that they don't trust so easily-they don't feel safe and if someone's mad they assume they're about to get attacked. And I knew that-but I was so upset I didn't really think about it so when I saw you about to step on the glass I lunged at you-you thought you had to defend yourself so you acted in self-defense. That's not your fault, okay? I was the one in the wrong because I made you feel like you needed to defend yourself, okay? So I'm not mad. It was just a misunderstanding-and I promise I won't do that to you again."

Peter liked to talk and floating in space probably wasn't a good time to talk but lots of times weren't good to talk and Peter talked more than anyone she had ever met in her whole entire life before. She had no idea where he held all the words and how his brain didn't explode from them. Maybe that was it. Maybe his brain couldn't hold them all and that's why sometimes when he opened his mouth he just never stopped talking.

She knows he doesn't have a mum or a dad but that's different than her. His died when he was five and she had just never had any. Never needed any. She wasn't like Peter, not in that way. Maybe it was true that only kids with parents got names, maybe that was why they had never had names. But not having parents seemed like a bad thing for Peter, something he got leaky eyed about when for her it wasn't anything important. Not at all. She hadn't really even thought about it until she came here and people kept bringing it up.

The rest of what he said... She wrinkled her nose. People could be put in jail for beating people in his world? That was weird. Alright if you killed someone you would be punished but just hitting them? It seemed very extreme. How was there anyone not in jail in his world?

Was that why grounding was seen as a punishment? When really it was nothing at all? Peter had been beaten? Before he worked for Tony?

"I did be thinking you would be attacking me, but no because I did be being scared of being beaten. I do no be being a baby and beating people do no be putting you in jail in my world because it do be being a normal thing to be doing if someone do be being bad. Or people will never be learning. I did be defending myself because I did be being angry and you did be being angry and when two people do be being angry like that they do be fighting and I did no be knowing you did be trying to be stopping me from stepping on the glass. It do no be normal to be worrying like that when someone did be making you be going all leaky faced."

He's very strange, but she shrugged. "I will no be hurting you again though, no even with words."

Or mister Stark would make her life very painful indeed. But Peter doesn't need to know that, he would only get confused.

Edited (dialect derp. she never talks this much :\) 2019-08-23 15:41 (UTC)

Peter listens while slowly moving them to the other side of the car. It bothers him a little that she's so nonchalant about not having parents. It's like she doesn't know she should have parents. It's biologically impossible for her not to have them. But again, he's not trying to upset her so if it doesn't bother her then he won't press the issue. Still though, it makes him sad.

He's fairly certain that's the most he's ever heard her say at once. It provides even more insight and confirms a lot of what he'd guessed. There was a lot to unpack from her statement and he's not too sure where to even start. He's probably the last person that should be talking to her about this stuff.

"Okay, so I'm not a psychology major or anything-I'm way better with math and science but a lot of what you just told me, in my world, would be major cause for alarm and would start a whole investigation from CPS-uh-Child Protection Services. Anyways-my point is that you shouldn't have to feel like that-like you need to defend yourself from everyone. Yeah, I was mad but I was mad at what you told me-not you. You were mad and I tried to get you to talk about it-you didn't want to so you lashed out-so we were both upset yeah, but that would be no reason for me or anyone, really, to attack you." He takes a breath briefly pauses to wonder if what he's saying makes any sense at all.

"It may not be that you were scared I was going to attack-but it's what you thought was happening. So, it's what you're used to-and it shouldn't be. You shouldn't have to feel like you need to defend yourself against someone just because they're angry. Most people are just gonna yell if you make them really angry and then stomp off. Or you'll get grounded-like I did-or put in a time out until you can 'straighten up and act right' as Uncle Ben would say."

He's still talking. She has said so much that she doesn't think she needs to speak again for a whole week and yet he has found more words to say. Something about child protection services. Where they who Tony worked for? He had said his job was to protect children.

But he wasn't mad at her? Or he was but wouldn't hurt her either way? And it was bad to expect attacks? She didn't think that was a bad thing. Being ready was important. Being alert was the difference between winning and fight and dying.

Grounding was still the most pathetic punishment she had ever seen. Alright if they had been going into a fight and Tony had taken Peter's weapons that would be dangerous, but on the train? Honestly the way Peter wasted the web stuff it was probably sensible to not let him have them all the time.

"And what do time out be being?" She asked eventually, with a nose wrinkle.

Peter gets the feeling he's not really explaining this right but how exactly did he explain this. Because it's a bit of a sensitive subject and he's really only given her half the picture.

"Uh, Time out? It's when you have have to like sit in the same spot and you can only get up when the adult that put you there says it's okay. It's not really worth ignoring-although I did once and then then I got grounded from tv for like two weeks. It sucked." He advised.

"But that's kinda how you teach kids where I'm from? They do something bad you take away something they like to discourage them doing it again. And you re-enforce good behavior. Like uh... when I got my scholarship for Midtown May and Ben took me to see a movie and then ice cream afterward-man you gotta try ice cream the second we can get some. It's awesome."

Time out sounded like training more than punishment. Being still and silent in one place until you were allowed to move.

It's still a little strange but she understands and nods at him. "It do be being the same where I did be living. If you do be being good then you do be getting treats."

She paused to think of an example that wouldn't make him go scrunch faced mad. "There did be being a time where I did be learning a poem off by heart. It did be being eight pages and I did no be forgetting one word. Priestess Elena did be being very proud and Kant did be buying me a pastry and a honeycake."

She has no idea what ice cream is but if it's awesome she wants to try it.

Edited 2019-08-30 15:12 (UTC)

"Better than I could do." Peter states, listening to her story. "I mean, I can remember some stuff, like the Periodic Table and a ton of formulas but memorizing prose and lines and stuff? Nope. Not even close. Guess that's cause I'm not super into literature and stuff." He shrugs.

Honey cakes. He wonders if that's kind of like the honeybuns back home. They're pretty good but man he's really gotta share stuff like funnel cakes and doughnuts and stuff with her when he gets the chance.

"There are so many different things I really want you to try, you know? I think you'd really like stuff like pop tarts, a lot of the cereal, pancakes if you haven't gotten to try those yet and definitely ice cream. Oh! And sour gummy worms. They're like my favorite candy."

He can probably get her some sour gummies if he get another bag of candy, which he'll need to since his getting really low. He's pretty sure this is the first time he's heard mention actual people from her home.

"So is Kant your guardian then?" Also, possible abuser but he doesn't really have enough to make that assumption.

She hadn't heard of any of that food. She hoped that she got to try them at one point, pretty much all the sweet things she had tried so far were delicious. She'd say better than honeycakes but she wasn't sure. Honeycakes were pretty special. Because of more than just the taste, the new things were nice but they were very different, not like home at all.

"Sort of. He do no be being one of the innkeepers, he do be being Priestess Elena's Warrior and he do be teaching me sometimes. He do be being very brave and strong." She smiled at him, tilting her head back now she didn't have to worry about bouncing around. She was getting good at this air swimming. Or no air swimming.

"He did be being the one who did be giving me my dagger," It's not exactly a secret anymore that she has it. "For my birthday."

She maybe shouldn't speak so much, but something about the fright, the weirdness of the gravity magic being broken and the fact that she had... sort of missed him, as stupid as that was, all made her words come easier.

She really is getting the hang of it and Peter's really quite impressed at how well she can adapt. He shouldn't be-he knew that Buttercup or whatever she wanted to go by now, was a smart capable girl and part of that would involve adapting to situations.

"Oh yeah? Since he's your teacher does that mean you're training to take over for him?" He just nods. "I'm sure you're well on your way." He tries to be encouraging.

"Think you can handle it if I let you go, now?" He asks.

"I do no be thinking so, but if I did no be being on this stupid train I would be going to the Temple to be learning to be being a Warrior, so I will be being like him when I do be being older." But not taking over from him, that would mean being Elena's warrior and she didn't think she would want two. She would find some other priest or priestess to serve. It seems a very long way away, in time and distance and she will probably never go there now, since she is here on this train.

Could she do this alone? She thinks so. She's getting the hang of it so she nods. "I think you can be letting go, I will no be bouncing around anymore."

"If I wasn't here I'd be in Space. Well, I don't know exactly if I'd still be in space." Peter states. "See, I guess you heard about Thanos from Mr Stark-but you probably didn't get the whole story. He wanted to uh use these magical stones called infinity stones-there were six of them-Um... power, soul, space, reality, time, and uh... mind-At least, I think that's what Dr Strange said-anyways, Thanos wanted to use them to wipe out half of all life in the universe. And from what I can tell-since Mr Stark's from the future. I think he wins-Thanos, I mean. At least at first." He admits.

"Anyways, I'm not super eager to go back to that, I gotta admit, but If I can, I'll help you get back home. Although, I don't know about the kinda stuff your guardian puts you through-from my standpoint it just seems cruel."

He finally lets go of her hand, sticking his other to the ceiling again, and watching her carefully in case he needs to intervene.

She hadn't actually heard of any Thanos from mister Stark. He had just blurted out that he was dead or everyone was dead and Peter was the only survivor whilst arguing. About her actually. But he hadn't explained anything around it.

But Peter was good for information because he talked so much so she listened. Magical stones. Wanted to wipe out half of life in the universe. And he won.

Her eyes widened a little. It was rare the shadow ever actually won. It was always the goal. Beat the light side. But there were so many more of them. But in Peter's world someone had succeeded. Wiped out half of all life. It's a big goal. Had he chosen which half? Was it random? These magic stones must be very powerful.

Apart from the slight widening of eyes her face showed nothing of her thoughts. But she was impressed. But Peter was offering something, to help her get home. She shrugged at the suggestion that her guardians were cruel. Peter came from a weird world. One where you could go to jail for hitting children but one person managed to wipe out half of all life without being stopped.

She moved slowly to turn to face him. "We do no even be knowing where we do be being, never mind how we can be going back."

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cw: mentions of abuse.

cw: mentions of abuse, historical/medieval ideas of punishment etc.

cw: mentions of abuse, historical/medieval ideas of punishment etc.

cw: mentions of abuse, historical/medieval ideas of punishment etc.

cw: mentions of abuse, historical/medieval ideas of punishment etc.

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