Not Until We Are Lost

Felicity chewed on her thumb as she stared at the screen. She wasn't sure what she was looking for. She had read the available papers on the X gene, the debate on whether or not it existed. She'd paid attention to the leading thinkers, and she'd even read what she could on those who were "changed." Gamma radiation and Super Soldier serum, there was something about toxic waste.

She'd been a little nervous about asking to test Laurel's blood; the hacker didn't want her friend to feel like a lab rat. It was one thing to have a boyfriend who didn't mind being experimented on, even if it was dangerous and exciting. It was a completely different thing to ask to experiment, or to poke and prod in this case. Experimentation with Ray, or his suit more so than him, was testing the suit, not testing him, not seeing what he was made of.

Felicity had been concerned that Roy wouldn't let anything go on, that he'd bring up the very issues that she had with all this - testing Laurel like she was something to be dissected, nothing more than a frog, worm, or shark. Some kids got to dissect sharks in school, or so Felicity had heard.

Roy sat in the corner, giving Laurel assuring glances. He looked ready to help in any way he could, even if it was simply holding his girlfriend's hand. Felicity was getting over how odd this whole situation might be, even the different reality issue. She leaned against Ray a little as they waited for the results of the blood test.

"I've tried to tell it everything we need, but this would be so much easier if the team from STAR Labs was here." Her hand rested on Ray's shoulder. "Caitlin would know what to do."

Laurel had a difficult time focusing on work after discovering the sonic scream that came out of her mouth, but she did her best. So far, she hadn't lost control again. She also hadn't found much time or chance to practice control. It wasn't until she was looking over the list of staff members and spotted a familiar name in the physical fitness department. She just had to hope that it was the same Diana.

She found the department easily enough-she'd had the chance to explore the campus and learn it by heart, and she'd sometimes come here to use the gym after her own classes. It didn't take too much work to find out where Diana would be. Laurel found the Amazon leading a class in archery out on one of the fields. She took a seat in the nearby bleachers and watched the last ten minutes of class. If this wasn't the same woman who'd trained her back at the resort, she would be surprised.

Once the students had packed up and started to filter off the field, Laurel pushed off her seat and moved over to the brunette.

"Diana?" there was the faintest hint of a question to her tone. She waited and hoped for the spark of recognition in the other woman's features.

The first thing Mary noticed when she came to was that she no longer had a dozen layers of skirts. The second was that she was sleeping on a cot with straps. A look around revealed a poorly lit room that looked like it belonged in some sort of loony bin. A draft played over her and she sucked in a breath as she sat up. A few brown stains suggestive of blood decorated the walls and floor, and she thought she saw movement out of the corner of her eye.

"Well, this feels a little more like home," she muttered to herself.

A quick look around turned up her own supply bag. The simple canvas bag contained a few of her favorite guns, knives, two canisters of salt, a can of spray paint, and three bottles of holy water. There was a small comfort in having her things, but that didn't stop the hair on the back of her neck from standing on edge when an inhuman scream sounded from somewhere else in the building.

She got to her feet and headed out into the hall. She supposed she should be thankful that the lock on the door had rusted over and was easy enough to jimmy open. She also gave a moment of thanks that she hadn't woken up in a straight jacket.

( Read more... )

Lois thumbed through the small notepad she was holding in a palm. She had been carrying one since she could remember and used it only for notes on observations. The lined pages were filled to the brim with notes; the penned letters might look like some kind of code to an outsider or an onlooker, but the journalist knew every section of every line and could find any tidbit of information in a second.

Since coming to this place, Lois had been keeping meticulous notes on her daily activities, the environment and anything that might seem suspicious. The notebook was almost halfway completed, and the reporter was getting no further in to the story than when they had arrived and first begun. She didn't like that she was being held up for a reason beyond her control. She needed to get with Clark and pick his brain about anything he might have seen on his nightly flights.

And then Lois sighed softly and smiled to herself at the thought of Clark. There had been a secret there, one Lois intended to keep, but something they shared now between them. He was Superman! Of all of the people in the world he could have been, Clark had chosen a persona completely opposite his normal stature. She understood it, and it was still flooring her. But she smiled about it anyway and then made herself get back on track.

"Focus, Lois..." She breathed to herself.

She was standing in the middle of the hallway, talking to herself like some looney, unaware how crazy she might look to anyone else shuffling down the corridor. In one hand she held a small iced coffee, and the other still held the notebook. Her shoulders were bearing the weight of her shoulder bag with her assortment of textbooks, papers, etc., while also holding her purse. Sometimes beneath the strain she felt a bit like a pack animal.

A swift turn, and Lois managed to run right in to someone whom she hadn't seen there before. She dropped her notebook and reached out to steady the person she had bumped, "Oh gosh! I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying much attention."

Simon was not fond of the recent happenings. It seemed to him that everybody was being split up and thrown about willy nilly. It meant that he never knew who he might end up with. And it meant that he couldn't be sure of finding Niklas at all on their changes. It had been bad enough that he'd had to seek her out every damned time, but to know that he might not see her at all?

Worse, that she might be with Evan somewhere...

The planet seemed nice enough. Very tame, truthfully. Bordering on dull. Simon was welcoming of the dullness for the simple reason that he wanted time to contemplate this change and what the new rules of it might be. He wanted to brood a little bit about the frustration he was feeling, and he wanted a little time to be a petulant brat without having to worry about what might be out there stalking him.

There wasn't a whole lot to do, so Simon discovered himself at a small diner. He was looking at a cup of coffee that smelled like it had been made yesterday. There was no chance he'd be drinking it, but he didn't want to just sit here empty handed. He should have found a library or book store and gotten something to read, but he hadn't been thinking of that.

"Are you sure you haven't any tea?" He asked the waitress as she passed by. It was a futile question.

"I'm sure, fella. We just don't really get folk in here that want tea. I even looked for an old box in back. We just have soda, juice, and coffee. I can make you a milkshake if you want."

"No. No thank you. I'm in the mood for warm."

"I'll tell Earl to think about ordering some." She smiled softly. Simon didn't know if she really would or not. The diner wasn't exactly high class. There was a layer of grease over everything. It wasn't his normal kind of place, he'd just needed to sit.

Sam stretched and stopped as he felt...naked.

The shifter sat up to look down at his very naked body in the middle of an area he did not recognize. It had mixing smells, none of which filled him with a happy feeling. They were familiar in that he could name them, but unfamiliar in that they didn't have that special distinctive individual smell that identified person, place, and thing.

He stood slowly and dusted himself off a little but soon stopped when he realized just how ridiculous it was to dust off his bare ass. With a soft sigh, he started walking. Being someone who often woke up naked in the middle of a so-called wilderness, Sam's feet were used to barefoot walking. He sniffed at the air, hoping this wasn't some Naked and Afraid thing. He wasn't afraid, but he really didn't want to be walking around on anyone's tv in his birthday suit, even if it did get fuzzed out.

There was something in the air that finally smelled familiar. Because he didn't know what sort of place he'd actually landed in, he opted to stay potentially embarrassingly human. Now, was the scent he followed who he thought he'd find?

He walked a few more feet to find a pathway and a sign. His head tilted much like his canine self might in confuse. It was a nature reserve meant for those seeking a more natural way of life. For the mutant speciem, alia figura, animalis autem homo, lupus hominis, etc.

Felicity's first call wasn't to 911, though they would be her second. She gave Ray a quick "I need you and a laptop" before hanging up and calling 911. She didn't know what was wrong with the man, but she had a feeling if they didn't get him looked at soon, she'd be cleaning up more than whatever it was she was cleaning up.

"Yes, I don't know what happened. There was a loud noise, and when I got where I thought it was, I found this guy. There's a gun on the gr--no, I haven't picked it up. No, I don't know him. Could you please get somewhere here?" Felicity wasn't going to lie so much that she couldn't keep it straight. She was already working out in her head what she'd need to do. Erase any images or videos. Make sure she could document her phone was erased at the time too.

"Yes, I'll stay." Her nose wrinkled. Thankfully, phones could send texts and make calls at the same time, so she did just that. She texted Roy that he should find Laurel, and no, she wasn't sure if Laurel was okay. He'd have to get the whole story from the ADA turned professor. She sent another text to Ray, asking him to hurry and not lie that she called him first. He was her boyfriend after all.

Now she just had to wait.

This wouldn't be the first time that Natasha had disappeared into a role to play. At least her role in the physical education department allowed her to keep up with her training sessions. And getting the chance to teach self defense classes to some of the co-eds felt like a worthwhile use of her time. After all, she knew full well that the world could be a nasty place for someone who was unprepared to deal with the physical threats that it posed.

She kept an eye on the news reports of the Avengers that were running around this world. There were a lot of familiar names and faces in them, but there were also some that she didn't recognize. And others.... well, there were some that she remembered as SHIELD files and nothing more. It would certainly seem that this was some sort of mirror world to hers. Similar, but just different enough that it was best to lay low and take notes. And she had a feeling that avoiding her doppelganger and having Bruce avoid his was the best course of action.

And while every so often, students would look at her with confused recognition, most didn't seem to give much thought to the idea of a PE teacher being the Black Widow. She blended in here, and most seemed to brush off the name and the physical resemblance as a coincidence. It was better that way.

Once she'd had the chance to settle into her new role, Natasha took to searching campus for others of their group. She'd had the chance to observe quite a few while on the ship, so there were faces and even names that she recognized. It would seem that they'd been assigned roles as both students and teachers, likely depending on their skill levels. And there was one other person in her department that she'd seen flying around the pirate ship. Natasha thought that it was well past time to introduce herself, so she stopped by Ms. Prince's office one evening. She could have made an appointment, but this felt like it would be better off handled casually. So at a time when she knew the other woman would be in, she headed to the office and knocked.

Laurel wandered for awhile after what happened with the would be mugger. She couldn't get the image of his prone figure out of her mind, nor could she wipe away the feeling of that scream bursting forth from her lungs. She wasn't sure what to make of all of this, but she knew that it was best if she wasn't around people right now. She didn't want to hurt anyone else

She knew that by now, Felicity would have worked on cleaning up the mess she'd left behind. She wouldn't put it past the hacker to have erased any street cam footage of the event, and to come up with a cover story for what had happened. She felt bad for leaving her friend behind to do all that, but there hadn't been a better option. After walking for awhile, she'd stopped to send Roy a text message. She had a feeling that Felicity would have contacted him soon too and she wanted to let him know that she was... well, 'alright' was a lie. But she wanted to let him know that she was still drawing breath and just needed to stay away for his own safety

She hadn't turned her phone off after that. Maybe she wanted the contact of a text message or a call back, or maybe she knew on some level that if Roy wanted to find her, he'd have Felicity track her phone. None of that went through her mind consciously, but the decision to keep the phone turned on was a decision all the same.

She'd found a few empty beer bottles in her wandering and eventually she cut through a corn field. The corn was high enough to conceal any sight of her from the road. And hopefully, hopefully she'd go unnoticed and unheard. She set the bottles down and tried the scream again. She didn't know if she should be trying to suppress it, but she had to know more about what she could do. She couldn't exactly get it to work on command-sometimes she tried as hard as she could and nothing but a strangled cry came out. Other times, she barely opened her mouth before the sonic scream left her lips and shattered the glass bottles in front of her.

After she'd succeeded at the scream a few times, she took a seat and just stared at the shards of glass scattered on the ground. She hugged her knees to her chest and took a few deep breaths as the fear and panic from earlier gave way to a delightful numb feeling. She'd be lying if she said that she hadn't at least wanted a full bottle to dull the worry for a little bit, but she didn't seek it out. She was stopped as much by her fear of opening her mouth and seriously injuring someone as she was by thinking about how long she'd been sober and how far she'd come. And as out of her element as she felt right now, she wasn't going to throw everything away for a temporary fix to a much bigger problem.

Felicity hadn't been avoiding Laurel Lance, but she hadn't sped out to find the other woman either. She was glad to learn that Laurel was around, and she hoped this was the Laurel who belonged with the Roy they'd met back on the ship. Felicity hoped that both of them would be happy, and she did her best to not think of all the cooties that were shared in that pairing. She really did wonder at her brain sometimes, and thanked whatever put them together that Ray didn't mind how her brain worked, only that it did and often.

When she saw Laurel's name on the IT ticket system, Felicity decided that she would look in to the problem herself. She wasn't sure what "it's just not working" meant, but it probably meant something serious had happened. Laurel was a capable woman who could probably troubleshoot quite a few things, but "it's just not working" made it very difficult to decide what the problem was exactly.

Laurel's secretary was a nice woman, and she let Felicity in without question. Felicity was more than a little surprised at the power of her badge. Things people did when they saw IT; they could be so trusting.

She'd been working on the computer for a short time when she realized what the issue was; Laurel showed up at the same time. She tapped a few more keys and turned a smile to the ADA turned law professor. There was awkwardness, but both women were determined to work through it. Each saw a potential ally and friend in the other, even if they weren't from the same reality.

Because going to a bar to work it out over drinks wasn't an option, they settled on the next best thing: coffee.

"I think he liked you." Felicity smiled. "Or was he one of your students? Which is weird to say - you and Ray have students. I have tech monkeys - I'm going to call them that I think. Fly, fly, my little tech monkeys!" She paused on their walk. "Hmm, maybe not?"

The campus was beautiful, even as or especially as the sun set, so the two women thought walking and talking was a nice choice. Walking and talking somehow seemed safer than sitting in a busy coffee shop to catch up or hash out some confussions.

Clark was bored in most of his classes. He attended and played along because that was what was needed, but there wasn't a lot of challenge to be had here. He recognized a few of their group in different roles around campus. Some of the others were also students, while some were professors. He didn't know how the aliens had determined who to put in which position, but he supposed that they had some sort of logic behind it. Or it was completely randomized and that was part of the 'experiment' for this planet. Either way, he would play his role and bide his time while trying to figure out more about their circumstances and trying to find their captors so he could take the fight to them. He thought that they must be orbiting the planet somewhere, but so far his trips into space hadn't turned up anything. Which meant that either the ship was cloaked or they really were dropping their abductees off and heading far away. Or perhaps they could beam people anywhere without moving their ship. There were a lot of possibilities and he was still working through them.

Currently, however, he had to do research for his Philosophy class. They were all encouraged to check out the library for further reading beyond the required textbooks. He found the campus library easily enough and headed straight to the desk. He thought that he recognized one of the librarians behind it. Was she one of their group? He was almost sure that she was, though he hadn't ever interacted with her.

He made an attempt to catch her eye to flag her down.

"Excuse me. I'm looking for anything you have associated with Nietzsche."

The irony was not lost on him that he'd been assigned the man who had developed lots of theories about an Ubermensch (roughly translated, Superman.) Perhaps his professor knew more than she was letting on and was playing with him. Or it was simply a strange coincidence.

Inque was dumbfounded.

She stared openly at the sign pressed firmly against the side of the door that faced out in to the hallway. RA. She was an RA at what seemed to be some sort of University on God knew what planet. She had hated the pirate ship, that was no lie, but at least there she could be by herself if she wanted to. Here it was far too noisy. No. She certainly hated this much more. She was not a social creature. At one point in her life she had been, when she was a girl not much older than some of the ones that crept down the hallways here she craved attention. She wanted to be accepted, the daughter of poor parents from a dying, starving country. She had earned attention alright. And she had made bad decisions but Inque was past that now.

No longer did she suffer in a life that she had no control of. Or, at least she hadn't until now. She didn't particularly care for all of this jumping around. But it couldn't be all bad, could it?

A quick scan of the corridor coupled with a scowl given to a young man that had been staring at her from across the hallway, and Inque allowed herself to see the potential in the situation.

She had murdered one of the aliens in cold blood. It had been in disguise but it had been one of theirs. She would do it again, too, if it came down to that. She would survive and prevail.

"What label is that?" Came a slur of a woman's voice. Instantly Inque whirled around to face the young woman, eyes narrowing with hate, "What hole did you crawl out from?" Inque snapped. The girl frowned and backed off a few paces, "Uh, sorry. I was just curious. Kay?" With a roll of her eyes the girl turned and was gone. Inque was fuming. "I hate this planet."

The pirate ship hadn't been as bad as Diana had first imagined. Long voyages were a common thing to her people, large ships a familiar sight. She also believed firmly in helping where she could, doing anything in her power to ensure people remained safe and she felt responsible for each and every person she came in contact with. She didn't have to feel that way, nobody told her that it was her responsibility but she wasn't the type to just sit back and let something happen without stepping in to prevent it. Between her and Clark, Diana knew the ship would be safe.

Her descent from the Crow's Nest was an easy one, flight made so many things possible. By the time she had gotten to her quarters to sleep, it was only a few moments later. She collapsed in to her sheets and dozed heavily. It was an energetic task keeping clear focus on the waters. But something changed in the duration of her slumber and when she awoke it was different. Everything was different. No longer was she in pirate garb, she was now clad in more modern attire. Clothes she was used to seeing on people in cities like Metropolis for instance. She sat up, pushed the sheets back and cursed Hades probably a little bit louder than she had intended.

But she was alone. A glance around the area told her that she was all by herself in some unfamiliar quarters. The arrangement of the place was simple, it reminded her of modern abodes some called apartments. The floor plan was open, connected together by rooms. Only a door separated the bathroom from the rest of the place. That seemed the only private enclosure. Even the one bedroom was open some to the social areas. A counter blocked part of the kitchen space. There was an oven, a microwave, a refrigerator. Dishes in the cabinets. Utensils in the drawers. Tables and chairs.

On the desk in her bedroom was a laminated ID badge with a lanyard. Apparently she was employed at this place. A Physical Education instructor. She could handle that but it was still very strange. Her closet held modern clothes in a style that suited her. Even her costume was there, complete with her lariat, bracers and tiara. That was a relief.

Dressing in a pair of athletic shorts that stopped at her mid-thigh, a tank top and a track jacket that she left unzipped, Diana placed her lanyard around her neck and ventured out to explore.

All around her there were teenagers and young adults in various stages of activity. Some sat alone studying or reading, listening to music or drawing. Some sat in groups, talking and laughing. Diana knew none of the faces though she was earning attention of any one she passed by. The unfamiliarity was unsettling and she hoped that she had not strayed too far from the rest of the group.

Narrowing her eyes the Goddess paused on a small grassy knoll, placed her hands on her hips and surveyed the area of the quad to search for anyone she might recognize.

Strange. The world they were in was very different from the two she'd been in before. It wasn't bright and sunny, not like the island had been. It wasn't rolling and salty as the ship. It was comfortable, and there were many people. They were students; no one was running for his or her life. No one seemed to be worried about anything more dire than the "kegger on the weekend" and getting into "PoliSci 405." Mulan understood none of it.

While the clothes on the ship had been more what she was used to, the clothes provided to her at this place of education were at least modest if not all that familiar. She did find a few things with what looked like her family's dragon Mushu, a symbol of protection. She also found a few things with Disney and her name as well as Aurora's. Nothing more than their names, but that was a little strange. She did not know a Disney.

Aurora was her bunkmate once more, or roommate in this case. The princess was allowed modest clothing here as well, and once they had done a search through their rooms, they'd gone exploring. Somehow they managed to find food and information, which did alleviate some concerns, but they'd yet to see/meet anyone from before. Were they in this new world alone? Was this all some nasty trick by the Darkness?

That night, after chancing the communal showers to get cleaned up, Mulan settled into her bed which was decorated with this Disney stuff in reds and golds. Aurora's Disney stuff was varying blues and pinks. Mulan curled up under the red covers, only sleeping there because the things had her name on them.

Some time in the night she was back in the forest. She didn't know how she'd gotten there, but it finally confirmed a fear - this was all the Darkness' doing. They were under its spell. She started running, her sword drawn. Where was Aurora? Where was the princess who'd fallen asleep with her, curled up by the horse to wait through the night? Had she lost the woman already?

"Aurora!" Her yell wasn't loud enough to wake people in other rooms on their floor, but it might wake the woman in the other bed.

Waking up initially wasn't so bad. The bed was actually quite comfortable though it was a little colder than he remembered when he had fallen asleep. There was no hint of motion, no steady rocking that unnerved and comforted him both at the same time. Another thing to be grateful for. Ship and gigantic green monsters were not a suitable mixture in any dosage and he was glad he no longer could endanger the lives of those in close proximity. However, Bruce did recall saving a life and there not being any danger. It was a curious thought, something to dwell upon more later.

For now his attention was drawn else ware. It seemed he was in a smal room, something similar to what his own quarters had looked like in college. The bed was smaller but comfortable, there were fitted sheets in a neutral color. Further examination of the room Bruce noticed a desk with a briefcase on it, a laminated ID badge and a small stack of papers. Curious. A collegiate sports pennant clung to one of the walls. A small television was settled in a nook on a not-very-sturdy looking entertainment type center. A small kitchen boardered the living space divided only by a small countertop lined with linoleum. He guessed the kitchen would have a microwave but probably nothing else. Maybe a dishwasher. It wasn't really an apartment per say, but it was. It was on campus near the student dorms, but reserved strictly for faculty.

Sliding out of his bed, Bruce noticed the simple closet on the opposite side of the room. Had he a uniform it would have greeted him with its presence amidst his clothes. Lucky he didn't. Instead he found both professional and casual attire, things he would have chosen for himself had he been given the option. After a shower, he was dressed casual in a long sleeved, buttoned down pastel blue shirt that he left open at the throat. Foregoing the tie, Bruce opted for a cardigan with a deep V-neck, rolling the sleeves up to his elbows. The slacks were the same color as the cardigan, and the shoes on his feet were comfortable and meant for a lot of walking and standing.

Perusing the desk, Bruce found himself Dean of the Science Department, teaching a few classes of Advanced Physics. His forte. His heart was racing. Staring dumbly at the lanyard and ID badge, Bruce couldn't believe what he was seeing. They wanted him to teach physicis? To who? Aliens?

A glance out of the window proved his theory about being on a campus. The quad and corridors crawled with eager students, some moving in couples, some in flocks and some on their own. Teens and twenty-something's of all types could be seen. This was some kind of a joke. Right?

And where was Natasha?

Further inspection of the desk rendered him a cell phone, and a few other things. At least this wasn't a ship. It was better, more normal. He just hoped that it would stay that way. For the sake of the campus.

He needed to find Nat and quick. So on the turn of a heel Bruce left the apartment and went to search for the red-head, hoping she was close by. Hoping she was still there at all.

Big spiders followed by sea creatures followed by a strangely relaxing and familiar hum. She knew she was sitting in front of a computer before she was even fully aware. The once and future hacker sat up, wincing from the pull in her neck that told her she'd been sleeping a little funny. Thankfully there was no drool to wipe off as far as she could tell.

"Ray!" He was not with her, which troubled her. Roy had been looking for Laurel on the boat, and there hadn't been any evidence she was around. Ray not being right where Felicity could see or touch him concerned her greatly.

She was torn. A quick clicking of the keys to see just how much power she had at her command, or go look for her man. She chewed a moment on her lip before doing both, sort of. She did a quick search to see if Ray was somewhere in the world, and was a little bothered to see that the only Ray Palmer she could find was a physics professor at some little university. The same little university she seemed to be at in an office that felt like hers only not. There were bits of her so to speak all over. Even a picture of her and Ray in what looked to be beach wear - as if they'd actually made it to the resort and had had a nice vacation.

"Ray." She grabbed the purse she knew would be close by, as well as the jacket, and headed out. She had to pause to find a campus map, but that didn't take long. She waved off a few students who came to her to ask what they should do, telling them she'd be back. She really wasn't sure she would be.

Her destination was Ray's lab. She just hoped he was her Ray Palmer. She knew she'd find out when she knocked on the door, and what felt like forever later, Felicity was standing at the door, nervous to go in. What if somehow this wasn't her Ray? She had no real reason to think he wasn't, but all this jumping around and alternate reality business along with the strange information Roy had given about his relationship with Laurel...

Felicity knocked, hoping that good news would be on the other side.

The last Laurel remembered, she was fighting her way through the creatures that had overwhelmed the hallway at the resort. She never did find Roy. And then... nothing. Nothing until she woke up in a tiny apartment. Further inspection produced notes for a lecture, a schedule, and an ID badge bearing her picture and 'Professor Laurel Lance.'

"This is way more disturbing than a forced vacation with monsters," she muttered to herself.

It wasn't that she had problems presenting in front of a crowd. After all, she was a lawyer. But she was more worried about the fact that she'd apparently been given a job that she didn't interview for. It didn't help that Roy was still nowhere to be seen. She took a few minutes to explore the apartment and found some of her clothes in the closet, including a certain black leather outfit and tonfa. She wasn't sure yet if that made her feel better or worse. But she had learned her lesson from the resort. She found a briefcase and made room for the weapon. Just because this place didn't seem to be currently under attack didn't mean much.

With all that done, she set out to explore. The sun was just setting and judging from her schedule, she didn't have anymore classes to teach for the day. That was a small comfort, she supposed. It gave her the whole evening to explore and see who she could find. She resisted the urge to suit up for the moment, though it was tempting. She didn't know exactly what waited for her out there.

The crisp air that greeted her once she got outside was a bit of a shock. This was no longer the balmy air from the last place. The trees were afire with reds and oranges, and there was no ocean in sight. She started to make her way around the campus, wandering by the dorms and then grabbing a paper from the news stand. There was something about 'Avengers' on the headline and a picture of people in brightly colored costumes, including a man in a metal suit. That was... new. She also ordered coffee from a nearby vending cart and then kept walking with her attention half on the newspaper and half on her surroundings.

Clark hadn't seen much of Lois on the pirate ship. He'd given her distance like she seemed to need. He'd helped out as much as he could, which was quite a lot honestly. It didn't seem fair to pretend that he couldn't do things faster than most of the people on the ship. Not when their survival depended on keeping the ship up and running. He was extremely wary of the creatures in the water, though they hadn't touched the ship. He had heard about one of their number falling overboard and getting rescued by the green giant, and he was curious about where the green giant had come from. He had a lot of curiosity about the others in their group, but that didn't extend to listening in on conversations or spying via X-Ray vision. They deserved their privacy and he would just have to attempt to uncover things the old fashioned way. Namely, by talking to as many people as he could and getting to know them.

When he woke up in a bed that was just a little too short for him, in a room that was almost as cramped as a prison cell, he wasn't that taken aback. Changing planets was almost becoming old hat. He no longer felt the gentle rocking motion that characterized the boat, so he thought it was safe to conclude that he'd left the ship. From what he could tell, this was a dormitory of some kind. The lack of bars all but ruled out a prison, after all. And a bit of digging in his wardrobe confirmed that his suit was with him. Why the aliens might have given that back to him was certainly a question, but he was grateful for it all the same.

It didn't take long to make sure that the red and blue suit was hidden under his clothing. And it took just slightly longer than that to get out of the building he'd woken up in and explore. A series of buildings sprawled out before him and from what he could tell, this was some sort of college campus. He'd also found textbooks and a school schedule with his name on it. He'd been busy traveling the world and getting his degree via correspondence school, so he'd never really done the formal college experience. This was definitely odd. All the same, he started to explore the campus and looked for the building that his first class would be in. He also kept an eye out for any familiar faces. If he was here, he figured that the rest of the group would be as well.

[OOC: The ship is hitting some rocky waters so other characters are welcome to fall overboard as well as Natasha]

Life on the ship was an exercise in patience. Natasha hadn't seen Bruce since their... well, disagreement wasn't quite the right word, but it wasn't the wrong one either. They had certainly both walked away unhappy. She knew that she wasn't managing things with him as well as she could have. She just hoped that it didn't blow up in everyone's face. She was determined to try again soon, but she needed time to get her mind straight. And she needed to find that Doctor he'd talked about and try to get some answers.

Currently, she was swabbing the deck. Someone had to do it and she'd certainly done worse jobs as part of a team. For better or for worse, those on the ship were a team. Natasha knew that being stuck in such close quarters could get dicey very quickly, so she didn't mind doing some of the less popular jobs in an attempt to cut off any resentment. Then again, there were many jobs on the ship that weren't ideal and she couldn't very well do them all. Even she had limits.

She was near the railing when it happened. In hindsight, she would think that she should have known better. She should have seen the waves coming. She knew better. She knew to keep an eye on the waters ahead, both metaphorically and now literally. And yet, she hadn't this time.

So when the waves slammed against the boat in a particularly violent movement, Natasha found herself falling overboard. She took a deep breath and tried to stay calm, all of her Red Room training working in that moment. And then she slammed into the water and something wrapped around her waist and pulled her beneath the surface. She struggled, attempting to extract herself, but whatever it was just squeezed tighter.

Rob hadn't seen anyone he knew since he woke up down below, but he supposed he would see them eventually. The travelers were busy keeping the ship in shape; they had to, or they would die. It was just a matter of fact.

The youngest Winchester had taken the job of a rigger. He would have preferred something a little more academic, but there wasn't much in the way of academy onboard a pirate ship. It was all about moving and working.

So, there he was hanging from a rope, high above many of his fellow sailors/pirates/travelers. He'd taken to wearing nothing more than vest for a top and the loose breeches. Well worn boots covered his feet, so he didn't get much in the way of splinters. He'd started wrapping torn fabric around his hands to minimize the rope burn. Even with the tan/sunburn, he seemed to be in his element. Then again, he was a hunter and a Man of Letters - there weren't many things that wouldn't be in his element if he needed to survive.

While he was high in the rigging, he thought he saw someone familiar. Well, a familiar head of hair anyway. With only a whoop of a warning, he swung down and landed by a wayward sister.