girls like her were born in a...

“Fucking spandex,” Logan muttered. “We got rid of that shit a while back, about the same time Charles…” He smirked darkly. “Charles killed every last one of our guys a year ago. Except me. And a bunch of kids. How’s that for weird?”

He was starting to get annoyed – more annoyed – which made him start pacing, clenching his hands in an effort to stop the claws from making an appearance. “Yeah. 2029 in my time. So this? This is some messed up bullshit.”

And he’d seen plenty of messed up bullshit in his time. “Who else is here? Charles? Magneto? Jean?”

"Well, I guess the future really is progress---," she cut herself off as he finished his sentence. How's that for weird? Ororo opened then promptly closed her mouth as he started to pace, probably trying not to punch or claw at something. She couldn't blame him. How was she supposed to...? Charles killed them? That couldn't be right, it couldn't be true.

Jean. The way he said it, as if he'd lost her (again, again they'd lost her), she knew that desperation all too well. Ororo was alive, standing in front of him but hearing that she was dead? Killed and by someone she loved and trusted more than anyone? Yeah, this was some messed up bullshit.

But she had to deal in hope. Besides, punching something without healing powers wasn't worth it. Mostly.

"Yes. I mean, as much as I've seen so far, a lot of us have wound up here. There's still ground to cover but we're alive. Jean's alive. You-," she paused, steadying her voice, "Are alive, Logan. Stuck wherever the hell we are but it's not 2029 and no one is dying, okay? We’re still with you."

wanda chuckled softly at ororo’s response, smiling over at her. “yes, with maps, perhaps. it would have made things a lot easier here, but sadly things do not always go the way we wish them to. if only.” she replied as she continued working on calming the dinosaurs. mental manipulation was a skill she rarely used, but it came in useful here as she attempted to use it to influence them to calm down – to leave. glancing at ororo and listening to her speak, wanda paused for a moment to think her idea through before she nodded. “i have managed to get them to calm down – i think i could influence them to turn around as well,” she replied as she went back to work, red energy flowing from her hands as the creatures in front of them slowly began to turn and walk in the other direction. sighing in relief, her hands fell to her sides. 

"we make it through this and we should take that idea to the top, work on drawing up some plans. at least map out where to absolutely not go." ororo kept her eye on the dinosaurs as wanda did her thing, anticipating if any of them broke free or away and decided to aggressively head towards them. manipulating the rain was easy enough to manage but with a place this size- whatever size it was, it seemed infinite right now- it was too much to move, concentrate in the one location. it was going to burn through whatever it needed to regardless of her best efforts; nature wins out. that aside, wanda maximoff was impressive. "you did it," she breathed, a grin flashing across her face. "i mean, of course you did but that was incredibly executed. good job-," she paused before adding, "sorry, turning off the teacher thing can be kinda hard. makes you wonder though, if the dinosaurs are really our biggest threat? we leave them alone, they leave us alone- until a presumably natural disaster hits. i don't know, one thing at a time. either way, i'm staying on your team."

To say Jean was relieved to see her best friend was an understatement. The excitement that shot through her the moment she saw Ororo here was so strong, she was unable to stop herself from running to her and wrapping her in a hug the moment she was on the ground. “Ro!” she breathed. Jean pulled away from her friend, a big smile on her face. “God, I’m so happy I found you-” right, she was completely ignoring everything she’d said- but she’d already figured they were stuck. She’d just thought she was alone til she’d found everyone else. “Yes, I know. That was the first thing I tried to do as well.” she admitted. “I feel like I keep hitting an invisible wall.”

"Jean!" Thank god... Ororo let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding when Jean's arms wrapped around her. She refrained from bringing it up but honestly, ever since Thanos- ever since she'd lost her again- she felt on edge every time she didn't know where her best friend was. If she was okay. Safe. Of course she beamed back as Jean pulled away from the hug though, clearly relieved. "You can say that again. Visibility isn't that great with all the, ah, vegetation in the way so I'm glad you found me first. Saved me chopping down trees," she teased before nodding thoughtfully, holding back a sigh. "That's what I was afraid of. If you can't feel anything beyond the hypothetical fish bowl then no one can. At least we're here together. We'll figure it out, like always."

Logan snorted in derision at the mention of him going soft. Yeah, in some ways he had, he blamed it on that damn kid, but Ro didn’t need to know that.

“Yeah, well I take that back then,” he shot back, glancing around at the scenery. “Hell,” he said quietly, upon hearing her explanation. “You sure this isn’t some kind of afterlife? Because I remember –”

Charles killing all of you.

“You know, this going to be weird but – what year was it, where you came from?”

"Of course you do," she grinned but it quickly faded as she watched him take in their surroundings, the look on his face hinting at something else. Something she was missing. Then he asked that. By now it wasn't the weirdest thing that Ororo had ever been asked. Yes, she was aware that things like time travel, different dimensions and worlds beyond worlds existed but this was Logan asking. Like that.

It couldn't be good.

"Weird's our thing, right? That and spandex," Ororo kept her tone light but her brow furrowed before she answered, "2024. What year was it where you came from?"

“good point,” jean chuckled in response, grinning over at her friend. “a fist fight with the weather – especially this rain – most likely isn’t something on anyone’s to-do list.” she nodded her head. just about everything lately had been overwhelming, and jean knew just about everyone felt that way, but they were all coping and dealing with it as best they could. “sounds good to me. as for any stragglers, i think we got everyone,” she paused. “did you hear about the fire? or see it?”

"maybe one or two of our students. or former students... some of them would definitely pick a fight with the weather and everything else in between," she joked, ignoring the brief squeeze in her chest at the thought of home. before. it felt like the second they'd managed to get back on their feet and heal, everything had come crumbling down all over again. speaking of- "good. this isn't the place to get caught outside. actually, this isn't even really the place to get caught inside but one problem at a time." ororo nodded, her lips pressing together before she spoke, "yes, as if genosha hadn't been through enough. i'm not sure it'll hold up if this keeps going."

“well… truthfully, i am a little worried, but these days… who isn’t?” wanda replied, giving the other a small smile. she had been on the luckier side that she had yet to be hit by the drops of the acid rain, thanks only to the psionic shields she’d been quick to cast. hearing that her words of inspiration had helped only widened the smile on her face. it was nice to know she was helping – plus, the last thing she really wanted right now was for the other to be panicking over all that was going on. “i’ll do my best,” she said with a nod as she began focusing her magic more on controlling the creatures in front of her. reading them was nearly impossible – unlike humans, of course, but that was to be expected – but she could at least influence them in ways that would benefit both herself and the others.

"that's a good point. shame no one equipped this place with an information desk or something; it might've taken the edge off." ororo found herself smiling again at the sight of wanda's. even the middle of all this, it was the little things, right? unexpected as their meeting had been (magneto's involvement usually spelled trouble), she'd been quick to warm to and welcome wanda in. friend of the family in a twisted kinda way, you know? either way, she wasn't going to see her hurt. now wasn't the time for licking her wounds. "couldn't ask for better," she countered before focusing her energy on keeping them both dry. taking a breath, ororo took the opportunity to fly up above them just enough to scout for anyone who hadn't already been rescued. up there, she couldn't help but wonder if this was something that often happened? the dinosaurs were definitely freaking out and the infrastructures- whether they'd come with those from earth or not- weren't holding up.

swooping back beside wanda, she gave her a small nod. "it looks clear enough but... i don't know, there might be something- one- just behind this pack. do you think we could manage to herd them in the opposite direction before they wind up stampeding us and everyone else inside?"

“are you alive?” ~ @born-inastorm

Guess he just really had to get on board with the fact that everyone he used to know was here in this hell hole. How was he ever supposed to have a chill life if these people were always going to be around to remind him of the truth? “You really think a little fire is gonna take me down?” Granted, he was sitting in his own little bubble within said fire, but so long as he didn’t fall asleep he’d keep living.

A laugh might have escaped her if circumstances were different- whether that meant their location or history, she wasn't sure. Either way, Ororo was at least glad to see that he was alive and, naturally, unburned. Still a smart ass though. "No, you know enough not to take a power nap in the middle of a fire. Are you planning on relocating anytime soon? You might be able to walk through the flames but-," a crash interrupted in the distance as another part of Genosha's castle crumbled; Ororo's face fell a fraction more, "Mother Nature's got more than one trick up her sleeves. How're you at digging yourself out of rubble-," she stopped herself for half a beat, less even, "Pyro."

“Yeah? Can’t say I’m surprised. Figures that if this hell-hole was escapable, someone would have found the way out by now.”

Logan sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Can’t say I’m not glad to see you, though. What the hell happened here? Is this Earth or did something go wrong?”

After all, the last thing he remembered was dying. Apparently, his healing factor still wasn’t done with him. 

"Logan." Ororo did her best to suppress a terribly fond smile as he sighed one of those endlessly disgruntled sighs. At least that hadn't changed despite the shift in location. Of course there wasn't time to dwell when even her answers for the how, why, what and where didn't quite make the cut.

"Sounds like you're going soft in your old age but I can't say I'm not glad to see you too. Truthfully? I don't know. Wherever we are... It's like it has a glass case around it or something. I can't fly out, telepaths can't reach out beyond it. There's buildings from our Earth here but no power, people came from different dimensions to help with Galactus but wound up here too. He won and that was supposed to be it, big ending, world consumed but we're still here."

Wherever here was. "Guess we're just not that easy to beat, huh?"

It seemed like it had been forever since Elektra had arrived in this hell hole and she hadn’t managed to make any progress in finding a familiar face (not that she was betting on running into anyone she could call a friend). It would, however, be a bit reassuring to know that she wasn’t just abandoned here as some sick and twisted punishment for her past sins. With her ears finely tuned in carefully to the noises around her, she picked up on something unfamiliar and new.  She lifted her head up to the source of the sound to see a woman landing on the ground. “Guess daddy’s jet is no good here.” A small, dry laugh accompanied her attempt at making a joke out of a bad situation; they say that humour can help start friendships with people. “And now for the good news?”

"Afraid not. Here's hoping the skies stay friendly at least even if there's no using it as an escape hatch." Ororo flashed a grin at her. After all, if you couldn't laugh then you'd have to cry. It was best to make the most of a bad situation. Besides, she was happy to find anyone alive and well out here. There was no telling how this place might try and hurt them, Ororo wanted everyone to be safe and if that meant doing another hundred laps of the perimeter to seek any other survivors out then she would. "You might have started off with an easier question," she joked before offering another smile. "You're not alone for one. There's a few buildings here from the city- no idea why- and while power's still an issue, we're doing our best. And we can hit shelter on foot that way if you're interested. I'm Ororo," a pause, "Storm. X-Men. Really just stuck in this prehistoric hellscape with everyone else."

Emma coughed as she swatted away whatever Ororo’s winds picked up as she landed. “And people said I was a drama queen.” She muttered under her breath. “Good to see you again, Ororo. I presume such a setting becomes you.” Emma said casually. As she said about there being no way out, Emma rubbed her temples. “I can’t seem to stretch my telepathy past this God forsaken place. It is like a telepathic dead zone. I feel…nothing.” Emma said, giving her own feedback on the situation.

A little half smile tugged at Storm's lips at Emma's albeit muttered reaction. "I've had the opportunity to learn from the very best." Of course she was glad to see her though. Looking her over, there were no obvious injuries and, to be honest, not even a hair out of place on her. Ororo held off from rolling her eyes but frowned at the news; if Emma Frost couldn't telepathically reach beyond this place then they really were trapped. Really were entirely lost from home. "That's not encouraging. If you can't feel anything then... I don't know, maybe there isn't anything to feel. Maybe we're in an entirely different place from home, Earth. Which would take 'time travel' off the table at least, which is something." Ororo paused before adding, "And it's good to see you again too, Emma. I presume such a setting does not become you in the least. How are you doing though?"  

"You sound worried. I'm just here taking a break in the middle of all the acid and dinosaurs, no big deal." Joking probably wasn't the best use of her breath after just being winded but acting like she had it completely together was second nature. Hearing Wanda say that though- an inspirational pick-me-up that Storm couldn't have said better herself or, if she did, might have added the word 'hope' in once or twice- did make her smile. "Okay, you got me-," she pulled herself back up, masking a slight wince before giving Wanda a definitive nod. "I'll keep any rain from burning right through and you keep the bad guys- saurs- from doing the same?"

Ororo paused for a second, mulling that one over in the middle of all this chaos. After all, what was new, right? Storm and Jean facing off against the unbelievable, unbeatable and usually really weird. "I admit, it's always a little tempting but if there's something that I know better than anyone, it's that you can't fight the weather and win." She added a quick wink just for good measure, a quick smile tugging at her lips. "We can make ‘fists of fury’ our plan B. ---Is there anyone else we need to get out of here?"

THE BASICS

NAME/NICKNAMES: Ororo Munroe

ALIAS: “Storm”

AGE: 34

PREFERRED PRONOUNS: She/Her

AFFILIATION: X-Men

FACECLAIM: Anna Diop