voidtreckerexpress | Intro: Into the Void

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Intro: Into the Void

On the Platform

At first all you can see if steam. Billowing around you as you come to your senses. You are standing, in clothes that are not your own, styles you might not even recognise. You are carrying a rucksack on your back. For a moment it seems to just be you, alone in the white haze but then the steam begins to fade and you realise you aren’t alone.

The platform is not very large, but it hold ten people all facing the tracks, all wearing similar clothing. 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 security gate. 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.

Boarding, it seems, is the only option.

The Train

A horn sounds and anyone not on the train will feed the need to board immediately. The train is empty. But it seems ready for you. The stores are full of food, the carriages are all clean. Every screen on the train is showing the same message.

The luggage carriage, strangely, seems full of luggage. Or at least the cases. Suitcases, bags, trunks. All empty. But it at least will make good storage for your own bags once you have unpacked.

Carriages

Just like the message reads, your ticket is required to enter your cabin. The names are written on screens outside each cabin but once you are inside bed choice seems to be up to you. It might mean there is a fight for the top bunk.

Room is right 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 find a pillow for each bed as well as extra blankets, in case it gets cold.

Departure

A second horn, to encourage any stragglers to enter and then the doors slide shut. It seems, for good or for ill you are riding this train to… wherever it is going.

"Welcome aboard, passengers of the Voidtrecker Express." A female-coded artificial sounding voice echoes throughout the train. The train begins to move, shuddering along the tracks, fog obscuring the view from the windows.

"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 tilts, the movement changes. It seems, as impossible as it might seem to some, that this train is flying.

"Entrance into Voidspace imminent. New passengers are advised to remain seated."
A shudder runs through the train. A lurch to the left, a jolt to right, the feeling of going far too fast and then a flash, bright colours that are almost 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 multicoloured ever shifting void.

Your journey has begun.

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Gwen protests slightly at being picked up, more of an annoyed teenager-y grunt of sound. She feels like too much shit to do more than turn into a sack of potatoes. A very small, very light but no less solid sack of potatoes, but the very injustice of being picked up is gone the second she's near the vent. She can hear and feel the air coming out of it and leans above it, eyes closed, trying to breathe slowly.

Opening her eyes long enough to see what's going on, she notices Mr Stark fall and hears the worry in Peter's voice. An aggressive fit of coughing prevents her from doing much past watching the situation, but she moves like she's going to stand up. And kinda fails, thumping back in her seat with a huff.

"Web him out of there." Neither of them can physically go back in, but Mr Stark needs help.

When Peter gets close, Tony looks up at him with a heavy sigh. He opens his mouth to speak and hears the girl suggest 'webbing' him. "No. I'm okay. I just.. I can't use the levitation system in here with how long the ceiling is." He looked at the door to the dressing room and decided it wasn't worth opening the door to let himself into the other room anyway. "You two, worry about your lungs."

After a few moments, he figures out how to use a tiny amount of the projecting force to get himself back on his feet and at least over to the bench again. At that point, the suit clanks again as it falls away, returning back to the silver and blue sphere at his chest.

His gaze goes to the girl. "So who are you? How do you have web shooters?"

"It's fine-next time I'll just hold my breath or something." He assures his mentor, still scratching at his arm and still coughing. Did something bite him while he was in there? Admittedly, he probably wouldn't have noticed. He makes a face and starts scratching the back of his neck. "I mean, I tried to hold it 'cause I'm sure you hate relying on me to get you places but the I bumped-" He isn't able finish his story though as he just starts coughing again.

He glances over at Gwen, and then up at Mr Stark, despite that Tony had specifically directed the question at her, it's Peter that answers.

"Oh! She's like me-" cough. " She has-" cough. "Spider-Powers."

"There will not be a next time, Peter Benjamin Parker!" He snapped, voice in that said clearly any further argument would not lead to pleasant times. Although, it would be so much more convincing if he wasn't very obviously having trouble physically. "We can get someone else to do it. It's not.." He didn't want to say 'life or death' that had been right on his tongue. He couldn't bring himself to say that, not to Peter. For a brief moment, his expression looks pained before he shakes the emotion away.

It works out in his favor since the next words out of Peter's mouth have his jaw dropping. "She's what? What do you mean 'Spider-powers'?" He turns his attention to the girl for an explanation.

Edited 2019-07-02 03:01 (UTC)

“I c-can talk,” Gwen manages while coughing violently, eyes closing tightly as a soft, pained groan escapes from behind her hands. She goes to talk again and then coughs more, clearing her throat some and trying again.

“I can talk for myself, Peter.”

And ooh what a dirty look she gave him for answering for her in the first place. “I’m Gwen Stacey. I was bitten by a radioactive spider when I was fourteen and at a gig with my band back home.”

Coughing fit time? Coughing fit time. Please hold while your Spider-Gwen reset

“I’m not from the same dimension as either of you, but I’m the only spider person where I am from.” And then a wince as she turns to look at Peter.

“Full name. Ouch.” Someone was in trouble.

Edited 2019-07-02 03:07 (UTC)

Peter winces at the use of his full name. Tony's never done that before-that was the height of mad, Peter's pretty sure because he'd know if it had just been his first name that he was in deep. He coughs again and takes in another gasp of air, seated on the ground, and still scratching furiously.

"Yes sir, sorry sir-I just thought it'd be okay if I just held my breath and-" cough. "Closed my eyes." He admits, eyes downcast.

"a gig, really? I was on a field trip." He offers, glancing over at Gwen.

The expression on Peter's face makes him feel like a monster. It sinks a knife in his heart as guilt spikes through his core. "Pete, stop. I'm sorry. I'm overreacting." The words come out much softer and instead of looking mad, Tony just looks old and exhausted. He looks down at his hands, feeling the powerlessness in them. It was such a contrast after holding such a powerful object not an hour before- or so it seemed. "I just.. I can't protect your right now. Not well, at least."

Since when did he get mature enough to say any of this crap? He didn't know, but he needed Peter to understand so he'd quit looking like a kicked puppy.

He thinks over the exchange between Gwen and Peter. He was curious about her and this other universe she was talking about, but Peter and his hurt feelings had been the priority number one. He rubs his face with his hands tiredly. "So if you're from another dimension, is this a third dimension we're in with this train? How do you know all of this?"

“Stop scratching. It’s not gonna help,” Gwen says once she notices what Peter is doing. “It’s taking everything I have to not claw at my neck. I totally get you.”

And there are in fact hives up the side of her neck and on part of her cheek.

Turning to Tony, she hesitates because this doesn’t really seem like the time to say anything but he did ask.

“There’s a multiverse. I don’t know how many dimensions there are in it, and I know even less about where we are. Who knows? Maybe it’s the same void I fell through almost two weeks ago when I was pulled from my own dimension. But I don’t think that’s right.” This is all said with coughing and some tight wheezing but Gwen keeps going.

“See, when I was in the wrong universe, my atoms were very pissed off about it. I don’t know if they were trying to get home or trying to kill me, but every so often they’d flip out and it hurts so much worse than what I’m going through now. It caused cellular deterioration. But none of that is happening here. It even happened when I fell through the first time. But it hasn’t. At all.”

Edited 2019-07-02 15:14 (UTC)

Tony frowns at Peter when Gwen scolds him. He hadn't realized that was why Peter was scratching, but he gives the boy a warning glare. Don't make him come over there!

He listens as Gwen explains what she knows of the multiverse. It made logical sense to him even if it was a bit mind-blowing to think he was in yet another dimension after other recent events. "If that changes, you'd better let me know."

He needed to get these two some help. He hits the silver and blue sphere and again is encompassed in his metallic suit. "Friday. Set levitation at .05% and reinforce both balance and self-propelling features." The orders are said, to seemingly no one in the room. However his suit's power coils flip on and he gets to his feet, clearly with the assistance of his suit. "Don't move," he barks at the two kids and then half walks, half floats out of the room to his cabin. It's awkward and the heat from his steps could possibly be damaging the floor, but he needs to do it.

Within only a couple minutes, he returns. With a groan, he has it removed again. He looks at the teenagers, assessing their condition. "Peter, relax. Help's on the way."

Gwen needs him to stop scratching so she doesn’t start clawing at herself. It’s the only reason she said anything.

That’s a lie. She said something about it because he’s already her friend and she cares. She nods at Mr Starks request, watches him leave the cabin as she wonders to herself who Friday is and then, after another particularly fun coughing fit, she lets her head thud to the table. There’s a frustrated groan from her and then she mumbles something that sounds suspiciously like “the attack on my life has left me scarred and deformed.”

And if she’s trying to be funny, she must be feeling somewhat better.

Resting her head on her arms, still facing downwards where the vent is blowing, Gwen hears Mr Stark return.

“Who is coming?”

Lo and behold, a slender pink-haired woman with a wheelchair casually slung over one shoulder and one judgemental raised eyebrow at the state of her cabinmates follows after him a few moments later. The wheelchair ends up next to Tony for whatever he wants it for, and she crosses first to Gwen, then to Peter. She's seen worse, but she's at a loss for how they got into this state in the first place.

"You weren't kidding," Poison? Allergies? She figures the magic won't know the difference. Esuna charges as she checks them, pink energy swirling and humming around her right hand until it reaches a strength she feels will be sufficient for the reactions she's seeing. The hum reaches the correct pitch, and she flicks the energy towards first Peter then Gwen.

And then, unable to resist, she glances at Tony sidelong, "Guess it runs in the family."

Peter nods at Mr Stark's words and tries to just focus on breathing for a moment and ignore the urge to just scratch his arm raw. And then Gwen speaks. He gets the reference immediately and starts to giggle a little before his laughter starts to grow and he's suddenly coughing even worse but still laughing-who needs air anyway?

"Lost my-" cough. "Breath. Like my will to live" He says through coughs. "just push me back in there." He offers and is still choking on his laughter when Tony returns with help in tow. He tries to take in a deep breath and then can't help but scratch.

"Oh hey-" He coughs. "S'up Mr Stark?" What's up is that he brought help and somehow, some way she's like an RPG mage that knows cure or something because he sudden feels refreshed and not itchy or like he's dying of an asthma attack.

Gwen's laughter follows soon after, the blonde girl coughing and wheezing and laughing herself into tears. Wiping a few of those away as the healing whatever helps her out greatly, she looks at Peter again.

"I really hope you understand this, because multiverse and all; Instead of a dog in a bowler hat in a room on fire saying 'this is fine'? It's spiders in a room of lavender. Still in the bowler hat."

God, please. Let him understand that. Boy, does she ever look hopeful.

This is in poor taste, she knows. But if she can make fun of herself, she'll be fine.

While the healing is going on, Tony slips into the wheelchair with a pained groan. He was getting too old for this shit.

Tony put a hand over his face as he listens to the kids babble. He shakes his head and gives Lightning a shrug. "Apparently they're both allergic to the lavender fragrance in the other carriage." He talks whether one of the kids are speaking or not.

He was about to move on with the conversation, when he stops and looks back at Lightning confused. "Runs in the what?"

While Mr Stark talks to Lightening, Peter's still coughing and laughing himself to tears. He's feeling much, much better now though, so he's mostly just laughing at this point.

"Oh my god-" He wipes tears from his eyes. "Okay, okay-how about this one-that one picture of the little girl with a burning house behind her and then the caption- 'There was Lavender inside."

Well, at the very least, the kids seem to be in good spirits.

And Gwen is dissolving so far into laughter, it's not even making sound. It's just her, dying but in a good way. She can picture that child. She can picture herself and Peter as that child and it's the best. She sits up and looks at Peter, enjoying his laughter and wanting more of it.

But as she tries to speak, it's clear that 1: she's probably lost her god damn mind and 2: she has the hiccups, a soft hic interrupting every few words or so.

"This...this bitch lavender! Yeet!"

Hiccup.

Also? Hang on a second. What Lightning just said has hit her and she's very much so alarmed into not laughing anymore.

"Runs in the...wait, what? No. I just met them like...I met Peter a few hours ago and Mr Stark like ten minutes ago. I'm not related to either of them."

Edited 2019-07-03 01:46 (UTC)

"... Right. I can't do anything for... whatever this is," she starts to add, eyeing the two hysterical teenagers. Lavender doesn't normally make people speak gibberish, but then what does she know about flowers from another dimension. Maybe it causes madness in anyone under eighteen.

Yeah. Uh, she's just gonna... go... Then their reactions to her off-hand comment hit, and she blinks. "Huh?"

Peter's still laughing for the time being, his giggles started to calm down but then-then she got hiccups and it's just so cute he can't help but start laughing all over again. Until she's suddenly not laughing and he makes a face.

"Related? No! We're not even from the same universe-well, I mean-I'm from the same universe as Mr Stark-but he's my-uh-I mean-I'm like his intern. For uh.. thing. Yup."

He glances back over at Gwen and offers her a sly smile.

"Also, some of you have never seen an internet meme before, and it shows."

Edited 2019-07-03 08:03 (UTC)

"This? This is kids being morons. It's a permanent condition that cannot be solved," he quips back, giving Lightning a grin. "Thank you, for healing them.. and.. earlier." He realized later after they'd talked that he hadn't thanked her for healing him. He'd been a little.. yeah.

However, even the kids were picking up on the slip about the family. He must've given her the wrong impression earlier too. He hesitates and listens as Peter also chimes in that they weren't related. For whatever reason, it was difficult to say the words on his side. Did Peter ever have this problem? "We're.. uh.. it's complicated. We're not blood related," he attempts to say it a different way. How could he possibly call Peter, not his family when he was in every sense of the word but legal? His expression lingers on the young man in question and his heart twists painfully in his chest.

He was ignoring the other ridiculous conversation they were having, but the sound of their laughter and amused chattering was a gift he didn't feel he really deserved. "Speaking of young people.. you haven't met a little girl around here have you? About this big?" He gestures an approximate height. It might be a little off since he was now sitting down, but it should be obvious who he was talking about if they'd met her. "She's going by Buttercup."

"Yeah! Thank you. I'm a jerk for not thanking you sooner." All said with hiccuping. Loads of it. Gwen is listening to the conversation Light and Tony are having, shooting Peter a sideways glance for a moment. She understands what Tony is leaving unsaid, and a small part of her appreciates that Peter has someone looking out for him from his world. She's a touch jealous, but it's Peter. It's another Peter Parker in her life that she wants the best for, even if they are just friends.

But, like the Peter of her world, he's her best. Even after this brief an amount of time. Still hiccuping, she hears what Peter says about memes and starts chuckling again, the hiccups still very prominent and active. They won't be going away for a while. It's Peter's fault.

At the news of a little girl...a friggin' LITTLE GIRL...there's a shift in her facial expression. It's the look of someone used to protecting people, of making it important for her to protect the people that need it and if it's a small child? She's absolutely going to find her and look out for her.

"Going by Buttercup?"

Tony glances at Gwen and his smile goes back to the bad boy smirk he was known for bck home. "Yep, I named her." No big deal. He was totally allowed doing that, right?

Peter was just about to offer up another meme but his face pales and he turns to face Lightening.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I should have said thank you-instead I'm just over here spouting off memes-Thank you." He rambles out before looking up at Mr Stark. He needed to talk to him about that little girl but right now wasn't the time because while he though Tony might need to know that she might be an orphan-no one else really did.

Instead, he opts for another joke since he's already been mistaken as Tony's kid. "Hey, if we're related does that make her like my little sister?" He offers his mentor a shit-eating-grin. He's kidding, really.

Well.

Mostly.

The sudden focus has her backpedalling more, but she hides most of her discomfort by the simple and expedient solution of not making eye contact with anyone.

"Don't worry about- uh, you're both welcome. Didn't get her name, but I met a little girl..." Who almost electrocuted herself by sticking a knife in a toaster. But she doesn't say that part. They'd just worry more, and the kid was smart enough to back off. She also doesn't mention the priestess thing, because she's got a good idea of how fast these guys pick up nicknames. "Anyway, family's family. You don't need to be related to look out for each other."

"What?" Tony shoots a look at Peter. They weren't related! But he didn't really want to say that. Normally he would but after what happened.. he wasn't sure he could bring himself to deny it now.

He rolls his eyes and looks to Lightning. "Don't encourage him!" Especially when he'd pretty much already lost this battle.

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Intro: Into the Void

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Now in the right god damn spot

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sorry i know i skipped but i had to.

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sorry! thanks for your patience.

No worries! Sorry we got excited and kept tagging