Reality Crisis

Mag stood there carefully, fingers touching gingerly over her lips as her eyes absorbed what seemed to be the rotting corpse of a very large, scaly, winged beast. What happened to it seemed gruesome, a fate that no creature should have to endure and yet she understood that it was necessary. The obvious disembowelment seemed extreme, even for such a ferocious looking creature, and the smell wafting from it was enough to make her stomach turn. The ground was coated in blood, and it seemed to not be a consistent pooling. Some of the blood was streaked across the sidewalk, there were footprints as if someone had walked through it....but who?

Had someone fought this creature and won? Had a man done this? A woman? Mag didn't understand who would want to challenge openly such a creature. It looked so mighty, like it could tear a simple human in half with it's jaws should it choose to do so. But it had been tormenting die Festung and Mag was glad that it was gone. The Chosen building was now void of its burden but did it have to end such?

With a labored breath due to the smell the ex-diva backed up a few steps still trying to process what exactly she was seeing, how it got there, and how it had ended up having succumbed to such a fate. This world was so unpredictable and she knew that, but this? She didn't understand it. Maybe she wasn't meant to. Maybe it was supposed to be beyond her level of reasoning and though she didn't like that she had no control over it.

Suddenly Mag wished for Carlos. She wished he was there to try to piece together what she was seeing.

Her eyes swirled with electricity, registering the sight of the beast as it lay there in a puddle of it's own blood. Perhaps she could show Carlos later, but how would he miss something like this? Something so massive just laying in the street left to rot? How could anyone miss it?

She hadn't been there for the initial battle and she was glad. She had been helping in another part of the City, helping people and children like usual.

She continued to step backwards slowly, taking her time to make sure her feet were touching stable ground, until she felt herself run into something gently. Instantly she closed her eyes and she held her breath.

This was not Saltpans.

Arya had never been to Saltpans before, but from all that she'd heard of it--a small harbor village, just like any other harbor village in Westeros--she knew what to expect. Wide roads filled with carts and people, alehouses and inns, and the smell of salt on the air. What she'd expected to do was to ride in on her mare, Craven, sell the horse, and buy passage somewhere else.

There was no salt air. No Craven, either. Arya had been dozing on the mare's back, had the feeling of falling and woke trying to catch herself, and found herself here, wherever this was. It looked nothing like the lands she had been riding through. And the buildings looked strange. She was immediately on her guard, trying to move quick as a deer and silent as a shadow.

It didn't work, though. A man saw her. "What are you doing out here?" he asked. She tried to back away, and to duck past him when he grabbed for her, but he was quick and she was disoriented. "What's your name? Are you new?"

She didn't answer, resolutely sticking her jaw out and trying to pull away as he tugged her along. She couldn't help but gape at the sights around her as he walked her through. It was big, like King's Landing had been, but completely different than anything she'd ever seen before.

He pulled her into one of the buildings, though she tried to squirm away one more time. "Got another one for you," he called.

Piotr looked up at the building he'd exited a while ago. He knew that Kitty could take care of herself, especially in a situation like this. She was in the right place, doing the right thing. But he couldn't help the bit of worry that tugged at his heart. She was his Katya, and he had found her, and it had been finally right for the two of them. He didn't want to lose her. And he didn't want to see her get hurt.

But this. This was what X-Men did.

She was better up there, high up, getting people out of buildings. He was better down here, where he could stop the falling pieces from hitting anybody, or could pull off the parts that already had.

He had to pull down the remains of a wall while hanging onto the roof in order to free a family of three. It tore at him to break down something like this when the people already had to live with so little. They were thankful, though, appreciative, and said nothing about their home. He hoped that they would be able to feel the same way once this was over, and they didn't have to worry about their lives anymore. As carefully as he could, he wedged the two back together, and hoped that the roof wouldn't fall and crush something precious to them inside.

It was his speed that got him to the spot in time, and his height that made it so he was able to keep the debris from coming anywhere near to harming anyone, and his strength and steel that made it possible for Piotr to catch the falling debris - which to any ordinary person was half of the top side of a building, but was for him just a fly in the ointment.

Piotr smiled. "You must be more careful." He held onto the brick and mortar easily.

The shaking had woken him.

At first it had been light, and he'd thought that Kitty was playing around, trying to get him up. He'd smiled in his half sleep and murmured something about ten more minutes. He was waiting for her to get close enough so that he could pull her down into the bed with him, and make her lay there while he napped for a tiny bit longer.

It had gotten more violent after that, beyond anything that he could put off as the urgings of a girl Kitty's size to leave a bed. He'd gotten to his feet as fast as he could, the steel automatically shifting over him, and he'd gone to the window. There was nothing that he could see that would be causing it. No outside source, anyway. It was an earthquake. Or maybe a series of them. He couldn't say for sure. He'd feared that it was an attack of some kind. Not that natural disaster was really better, it was just ... better.

"Katya?" Piotr turned and called. She had to be in the apartment, but she wasn't in the bed. "Katya? We must help."

Between the two of them, Piotr knew there was a lot they could do to help. He could shield people and hold up structures. He could carry people to safety. She could assure that nobody was crushed, go into places to rescue the trapped. They were both particularly suited for this incident.

He moved out of the bedroom. "Katya?"

Piotr was a man of the people. He made friends easily. They flocked to him. He was giant, but he was gentle. A happy guy. And happy to help them with whatever they needed, pretty much whenever they needed it. He did take some time for himself so he could spend it with Kitty and the dragon. Or just Kitty. But most of the time, he was in the street, doing things that needed to be done. Big or small, there was nothing that he wouldn't do if it was within his abilities.

It just so happened that on this day, somebody had found an old letter written in funny symbols. They had brought it to Piotr not for him to translate, but to see if he had seen it before, anything like it, or if he thought that it should go to Belia. It could be spy code, after all, or alien messages. Piotr had laughed and said that it was nothing so spectacular. Just Russian.

"No, you see..." He pointed at a line on the paper, indicating it to a man who held a look on his face akin to a deer in headlights. He had not expected to get a language lesson out of this, and was suddenly thinking about regretting his choice. "It is a love letter. This line here, it says it all. Pomni, ya vsеgda ryadom, remember, I am always next to you. Vsyo pad kontrolem, everything is under control. Ya tebya lyublyu, I love you. This man was very fond of this woman, my friend. It is no spy letter or a warning of any kind."

"Oh. Uh, that's great, thanks."

"Do you mind terribly if I keep this?" Piotr didn't want to take anything from a citizen of die Festung, but it had been so long since he'd last seen his language written down anywhere. And the sentiments behind the letter were the sort that he thought Kitty would like to see. They were hopeful. Loving. Joyful.

"No, that's fine. I should go, though. I'll talk to you later."

"Da. Have a nice day!" Piotr looked at the letter again, then glanced around for a place to sit so he could read the rest.

"This time don't share with anyone all right?" Faith had gone out of her way the last couple of days to make sure this little girl she'd been keeping track of had got enough food to eat. The problem was she kept giving it to other people which was kind of defeating the purpose. "I'll make sure the others got what they need, got it?" The stupid little moppet nodded earnestly and Faith knew even though she was going to eat some of it once again tomorrow she'd be hungry and without food. This sucked. They needed an organized place to go but she was so not the organizing and fixing kind of person.

You needed a bully beat up, she was your girl, you needed something administrative done you might as well be talking Martian.

She just shook her head watching the little form run off around a corner then everything changed.

Faith was leaning against a wall with her arms crossed practically vibrating with anger. "Ought to kick your ass big guy." Kitty was there and she looked just as angry. Only with both of them you'd have to know them to see it since they could both smile sweetly while they kicked your balls up into the back of your throat.

Sylar knew what Peter's wizard friends looked like. They had long been a source of both curiosity and anger for him. He knew full well that the wizards and given Peter a way to shut down his own powers and Sylar could only guess that Peter was working with them to find a way to shut down Sylar's powers.

Sylar was determined not to let that happen. He was also intensely curious about magic. Was it genetic? If so, could he read that ability like he had with so many other wonderful, special abilities?

He had changed faces so many times lately in an effort stay hidden. He knew that Peter and his new superpowered friends would be looking for him. He knew that the confrontation would come soon. He just wanted it on his terms.

Today, he was outside the wall. The zombies seemed to be gone and life was starting to return to normal. Sylar wasn't sure where Peter might be hiding out and he'd given his word to Bane that he wouldn't storm the walls of Sanctuary looking for his foe. So instead, he was waiting out here while he contemplated his next move.

When one of the wizards walked by, Sylar grinned. He wouldn't have to go in after Peter. He knew exactly how to flush the other man out.

Carlos wouldn't even see Sylar coming. He didn't stop to take on a familiar face. He didn't stop to play games. He simply made sure that they were out of sight of any of the guards and raised his finger to point. His telekinesis sliced through the delicate skin on the wizard's forehead. As soon as the limp body fell to the ground, Sylar was there, looking. Searching.

A slow grin spread across his face as he realized that magic was, in fact, genetic. It might take some time to learn how to use the abilities properly, but the base skill could be obtained simply enough with a little bit of study of the brain. This world was a whole new candyshop for him. Where he'd thought that he'd obtained every ability that could be of use to him back in his world, now he realized that the possibilities were endless in this new world.

It was just one of those days where Faith was bored...you know the days that end in 'y'...so she was out on one of her restless walks trying to find something to do that didn't cause property damage or end up with a hangover. The property damage was negotiable of course.

There was the regular bars she tended to hit up for the crap alcohol they made but she just couldn't seem to settle into a routine here. No specific goals or Watchers to fight against. No one to understand and help her find her way through the dark spots in her mind.

Today it worked out that she got a nice surprise and it chased away the boredom and the restlessness.

"Yo! Big guy!" Faith saw a very familiar figure and she decided to give him a Faith greeting. That consisted of her running and jumping up to hug him around the neck so see if he'd catch her or be so caught off guard she'd end up on her ass. Either way was acceptable.

Piotr loved snow. It reminded him of growing up in Siberia. He had always loved it, even if it meant that he had to work in it. He loved the way that it made the house feel so small and cozy, he loved the feeling of walking out of a warm room into the cold. He loved how clean and new snow made everything look. He loved to play in it, too.

So when the first snow of the season came, and Piotr heard celebrating out in the streets, he didn't even think to bother with putting on the rest of his clothes. He ran outside wearing just the jeans he'd been lounging in.

"Kayta, come!" He called as he headed out the door, but didn't wait for her. His excitement was too great. At least there was one thing here that was like home. Better, it seemed, because all the people of die Festung were celebrating. He could really get to like this festival.

His bare feet crunched in the fresh fall, and he waded out through the revelers. His smile was huge and his laughter came very easily. Within moments, he found himself in a mini snowball war with a few kids.

The large Russian had consumed his power bar quickly. It was not enough to actually sustain him for long. But he felt better snacking here and there rather than eating a huge meal in front of everyone as often as he really wanted to do it. It meant that he was always a little bit hungry, but he was okay with that.

Within moments, however, the hulking man had a bit of a goofy look on his face and was tooling around the streets of die Festung with a slow gait, hands in his pockets. It was the casual stride of a youth with very few cares in the world. The place he was in seemed familiar to him, but he couldn't be sure of the why.

"Da. Hello." He said to a passerby who greeted him and apparently knew him. His accent, if it was at all possible, seemed thicker. Less Americanized. "Have you seen my father? No? Is he in the field? No?"

Confused, Piotr moved along. He didn't understand why all these people were so short. He was a massive youth, he knew, at just thirteen years old, but he wasn't that big. He wondered if he had fallen asleep and been brought to another collective. Where all the people were tiny.

"Dobry den!" He said to another man, who smiled widely and began to walk closer. If this man knew him, and was also a part of a collective, then he should have no problem with the Russian. Piotr's mind didn't even work through to that conclusion, it was just natural. "Kak u vas dela? Chem ty seychas zanimaeshsya?"

Piotr frowned when the man did, not understanding. "Why do you look at me like this? It is the mother tongue! You should have no problems with it. I speak it no differently. This collective cannot be so far away from my own that we have switched dialects. Zhdu vashego otveta!"

He was becoming frustrated.

Dinah and Bruce had found Clark first. It was a good thing they had because a wizard named Carlos had found them, claiming to be sent by Peter. Both the Bat and the Canary had been hesitant to trust his story, but Clark was the human-or Kryptonian, at any rate-lie detector. Clark had been able to reassure them that Carlos was telling the truth, and that Kitty was actually Kitty when they'd run across her on their way into Sanctuary, Magneto's village.

Dinah felt a fresh wave of guilt as she realized that Kitty had been attacked, most likely by the same shapeshifter that had attacked her. She'd given Kitty and Piotr's names to the fake Oliver. She would apologize to Kitty later, not that she thought that would cover it. For now, however, they needed to band together and find a way to stop the shapeshifter.

The guards must have known they were coming. Or at least, they'd expected Carlos to bring back people, because the small group had been escorted straight to a building that looked large enough to be used as some sort of meeting hall, yet was on the outskirts of town and seemed to be well-guarded to prevent eavesdroppers she supposed.

Dinah was curious at the prospect of meeting the enigmatic leader of this little outpost. She'd certainly heard her share of rumors about Erik Lensherr, and she was unsure of his motives or of his character. But if he was to work with them on this, then she supposed she would get the chance to see more of who he was and whether or not he could be trusted.

Dinah was somber as they were let into the building. She knew that they were in for the fight of their lives and so she didn't have time for the guilt over her misplaced trust and the fact that she'd risked live because of it.

Sam was still deep in research-mode. No answers yet, but one of those books had to have an answer... didn't it? It was frustrating to go this long without figuring anything out, and it made him miss Bobby even more. Back home, getting stuck like this would prompt a call to Bobby who almost always had some sort of memory of arcane lore that nobody else could possibly hope to know about.

As a result of the frustrations of not finding anything to help them with that library demon, Sam was missing meals. And when he did venture out, he wasn't always paying attention to where he was going.

Today was one such day where he was lost in thought and didn't realize that he was about to collide with someone until he ran straight into something as solid as, well, metal. He looked up and rubbed at the back of his neck, wincing in pain just a bit as he took in the sight of what-or rather, who-he had collided with.

She'd been rescued from the Joker. Things were sort of a blur after that. Dinah had gotten medical attention, but she hadn't been cleared to leave the hospital. Apparently the City and whatever forces were behind the world containing die Festung had another plan in mind.

Her legs were bandaged, mercifully. Dinah wasn't one to let injuries keep her down, but in this world there was always the chance of some sort of crazy infection. Particularly when landing on the outskirts of the faerie forest.

Dinah was disoriented at first, particularly because she had been on pain medication in the hospital. She did know that she needed to get to safety. And after taking the time to focus on her surroundings, she knew that the cave wasn't too far away. There was a good chance that Bruce would be there but if he wasn't, there were medical supplies there. Whether or not she would be able to make the trip was another question.

Piotr was out in the wilds, searching again. This time he had no particular goal in mind, but he did want to see what was out there. The last time he'd found a lake, after all. The lake had been a signal to his brain that not everything here was bad. While a good bit of it might have been sour notes, Piotr refused to dwell on those kinds of things, he didn't like feeling like that.

Once again, he was traveling in metal. Though he'd not met any zombies or wild dog packs on previous visits, it would have been unlike him to be prepared for whatever might come. While coated with metal, he could at least fend off any surprise attacks.

He only encountered one dead spot, thankfully. Even better was that there didn't seem to be anyone around for miles when he walked right into it. He stood in the center for a moment, seeing what it felt like, trying to imagine how panicked Kitty would be. He couldn't transform at all. It didn't even feel to him as if he had a power. After living most of his life with his abilities, this made Piotr very uncomfortable.

The second he moved out of it's borders, he was able to do everything again. Carefully, using very large stones that he had found nearby, Piotr marked the edges of the area. He didn't know if it would still be there the next time somebody came by, or if these things moved, but the least he could do was try.

Going on his way, Piotr thought he heard something nearby. What sounded like dogs growling. Fighting, maybe. He might have left them to it, but for a moment there he thought he'd also heard a voice. A living male voice. Briefly.

Piotr turned in that direction and sprinted forward.

Logan hadn't had much time to learn from Eric before everything had been ripped away. He'd been avoiding Veronica in the time when he'd been learning about being a vampire because he needed time to learn control. Right now, he was having a hard time separating his hungers and he didn't want to risk hurting her.

Logan never had been great with self-control after all. So craving blood and hunting for that blood without killing required practice. A lot of practice.

Eric had been a good mentor, and he was certainly getting there.

Then everything had gone topsy-turvy and now he was just outside the wall of some dilapidated city. Whatever this place was, Logan had a sinking feeling that he might not be able to find an X-Box or anything else even remotely fun. In fact, if it weren't for the armed guards sitting at the entrance to the wall, he would have had his doubts that anything was alive in this place. Wherever he was, it sort of looked like a bomb had been dropped.

By this time, Logan was on his way to starving and he was getting just a little bit cranky at the idea of the City fucking with him yet again.

Piotr decided it was finally time for him to meet this man that Molly was living with. It was both an urge to protect her and make sure that she was safe where she was - and an urge to know the man whom ran the compound that had been his first home on this strange planet. Since he was visiting the forest more regularly, Piotr thought that it was high time.

So he waited near the entrance for some sign of life within. Molly didn't seem to be around currently, so there was nobody to talk to to pass the time. Instead, he sat on a rock, poking a stick gently at the ground. Gently because he didn't want to piss off fairies. A mantra he'd picked up and never been able to let go of.

When he heard the sounds of somebody walking nearby, Piotr stood again to look.

After his talk with Hannibal, Piotr's mind kept straying back to his friend in the forest. He had left with the intention of returning soon, but then he'd found Kitty and his plans had been usurped. Now he was back to wondering about his friend and worrying about the fact that he hadn't left a note to say where he was going or how long he'd be gone. Of course, there hadn't really been any way to do that.

Piotr made the decision to check on the camp. He left a note for Kitty that he would be out for a little while, but that he would return before nightfall and he would be sure to be safe. He left the note on the nightstand and left their apartment.

Now that he had more of an idea of the layout, getting back to the forest was pretty easy. He went in steel, because he'd promised Kitty he would be safe, and that was the safest way he knew to be.

The forest loomed in front of him, and he entered it cautiously but confidently. He knew not to piss off the fairies. But he'd also lived here for a bit, so he didn't feel as if he would be unwelcome by them.

When he got to the edge of the camp, he stopped. He didn't feel as if it was his place to just go in unannounced anymore.

"Ragged Lady?" Piotr called out. "Hello? It is Piotr."

Kitty stretched as finally pulled herself out of whatever coma she'd slipped into. Clean up was taking its toll on the X-man, even if she was used to some harsh conditions. She blinked as she realized she was also wrapped up in a very large set of arms. She would never complain, not exactly, but she was pretty certain those large set of arms and the body they were attached to had been above the covers when she'd managed to crawl into bed after a shower. There was a good reason for wanting the large body to be on top of rather than below the covers, a sort of good one anyway. She'd not had a chance to clean clothes, so she was not exactly the most dressed X-men - Emma Frost would be so proud.

She squirmed a little, and stopped once she realized that she was not in the best dressed situation to start squirming. She hadn't even thought of what the big body behind her was or wasn't wearing. Not exactly. Her brows furrowed, and she felt herself begin to flush.

"Piotr?" She patted one of the hands. At least she seemed to have a sheet protecting her from wayward hands and anything else? So, yay, a big of cotton was keeping her virtuous, more or less. Again, she wasn't going to complain, but she didn't know how to handle this. She certainly wasn't going to kick the Russian out of bed for breaking the somewhat unspoken above the covers rule. Or had he bent it more than broken it? He wasn't under all the covers after all.

Piotr wasn't sure what the hell was going on. In all the worlds he'd been to, all the alternate timelines, he'd never once seen vermin falling from the sky. It was disturbing, and he felt bad for all the little creatures that were dying in the process. They weren't the sort of things that would garner sympathy from a lot of folks, since they weren't bunnies and kittens. But to Piotr, a life was a life, and these animals had done nothing to deserve being splattered across the ground after what must have been a terrifying fall.

He was standing in the doorway of one of the buildings, he wasn't quite sure which. He hadn't meant to dunk into any that wasn't his own, but it was hard to see where you were going when your view was blocked by this rain.

"Chyort voz'mi!" The Russian spilled out of his mouth instead of English due to his agitation and frustration. He also thought that he was the only one around. It made more sense to talk to himself in Russian.

"Chto za huy is going on in this loh world?"

He looked up at the sky, but he didn't see anything abnormal outside of the animals. He had kind of hoped that he would see a special cloud or maybe an airship of some kind with people tossing the animals out.


Words "Damn it, shit/what the fuck/stupid"

Steve had spent the previous few days recovering from his fall on Faith's couch, periodically venturing out to learn more about the camp. As soon as the hail of vermin from the sky began, Steve decided he needed to do something about it. His meeting with Belia had been brief and to the point, but she had seemed receptive to his ideas about dealing with the plague.

Even with Belia's blessing, he had no real authority with which to give anyone orders. But when Steve Rogers spoke, people tended to listen. And so he was found standing amidst a crowd of onlookers, beneath a hastily erected tent fashioned out of a pair of parachutes. Creatures pattered against the reinforced canvas, spilling off the edges in a deluge. A surprisingly detailed sketch of the camp had been sketched on a salvaged blackboard, propped against a pile of rubble. Steve wore his red, white and blue uniform, his cowl pulled back to reveal his face for the onlookers. "-we've already done a decent job of reinforcing homes and food stores against the vermin, so now we need to focus on clearing out as many as possible." He indicated to four large circles on the map.

"We're going to turn these intersections into dumping sites. We'll cordon off the sites with sheet metal and plywood, with one entryway apiece." He looked at the others. "Everyone who volunteers will be set on cleaning detail. Crews will be in two phases. Kill crews will sweep a street and any abandoned buildings and kill as many vermin as possible, dumping the corpses in the street. Clean-up crews will follow and shovel the bodies into vehicles or wheelbarrows, which will then take them to dump sites." Steve turned back to the crowd. "Everyone needs to wear the heaviest clothing they have, preferably hooded. I'm asking anyone with extras to donate them to the group, and I'll see that they are returned when this is all over."

A few people in the crowd were grumbling, clearly unimpressed by the plan. Steve crossed his arms. "I know some of you think the best solution might be to just lock yourselves in your homes and wait this out. But you'd be wrong. This is your city. You built it up with your sweat and blood and hard work, and now it's all of you to keep it safe. And I'll be there with you, every step of the way." He put his hands on his hips. "Well what are we waiting for?"

The crowd dispersed as people set about getting to work. Steve smiled to himself as they did, and headed out himself, his next stop the make-shift infirmary which had been set up to deal with the animal bites. He still might not know where or when the hell he was, but he was helping people and that was good enough for Captain America at the moment.