with great power...

with the sudden change in environment, mj figured it’d be as good a time as anything to bring about her observations about him being spiderman. she’d kept an eye on him since he’d started acting weird during high school and mj was more than halfway sure she was right. “i mean, admitting that you’re spider-man.” she said with a shrug. “i know you’re spider-man, peter. it’s pretty obvious.”

𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬, one that could probably be accurate described as a personified version of the ‘surprised pikachu meme’. “w-wait, what?” he laughs nervously. “mj, what are you talking about? spider-man? i just-- i just take his photo for the bugle! i don’t actually know the guy, much less actually be him...” he tries his best to give a convincing lie, but he’s not so sure if it’s going to actually work on her. “what do you mean, it’s obvious? i don’t...” he trails off, shaking his head.

thor knew that voice anywhere and just within seconds the asgardian had descended upon his sibling, pulling them into a tightened hug that could rival the strength of anyone. strongest avenger and all that. “of course i know it’s you - i know you anywhere loki,” he responded, a smile on his lips as he pulled out of the hug and began to pat their shoulders. “it’s good to see you - i’m… well i suppose the sun is shining on us again, isn’t it? though it’s…” he squinted up towards the orange hued dome - “more of an orangey never-ending hued thing than the sun… but we can work with it. i’m sure it’s fine.”

𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐟 𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭, but within a few seconds they relax and return the hug. a sigh escapes from their lips as a feeling of relief washes over them -- maybe they wouldn’t admit it aloud, but they were glad to see their brother. “a sun is better than no sun, yes?” loki chuckles in response, a small grin forming across their features. “there wasn’t a sun where i was before here. or, at least, none that i could see.” they reply, their arms folding across their chest. “jumping through timelines with the tesseract, it got me in trouble. apparently there’s such thing as time police.” they tell thor, and with a wave of their hand their magic fades away to reveal the jumpsuit. “tacky, don’t you think? surely they could come up with better design ideas.” loki looks down at themselves before they magically change back into their pantsuit. “how long have you been here, brother?”

Steve woke up with a burning in his lungs and a pounding in his head. Which wasn’t necessarily an unfamiliar sensation, but it was certainly happening in an unfamiliar place. He got to his feet, and tried to take in his surroundings, looking for assets and resources. Shelter. He would need shelter, and water, and probably food at some point. His shield lay at the ground at his feet, and could hardly help with any of those.

Darkness was the last thing he remembered. Darkness that felt like a weight, like everlasting night, like failure. But it wasn’t dark here. Here everything was golden-orange, a perfect warm twilight. Steve kicked at the ground that seemed to be ever-shifting beneath his feet, as much liquid as it was solid. 

He couldn’t see anyone or anything, no matter which way he looked. He was alone. His chest seized with panic. He had no memories of being trapped in the ice, but sometimes he almost thought he did. He thought he could remember being frozen, an eternal wasteland, a world of silence and nothingness and no one, no one. He would wake up drenched in sweat, as if he had indeed been in the ocean, on the nights that particular haunting visited him.

He took several deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart. It hadn’t happened again. It couldn’t. Not even their broken world could be so cruel. “Okay. Everything’s fine.” The sound of his own voice, any voice, began to steady him. “We just need a plan.” He turned in a slow circle again, and his heart thumped painfully at the sight of a person-shaped blob on the horizon. He picked up his shield and began to run.

“Excuse me,” he called out as he got closer. “I’m looking for a plan.”

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝. sure, they’d been in prison before -- but that’d been a cushy asgardian cell. as if frigga would’ve let them sit there in discomfort, no. they’d hated that cell, and they’d used their magic to make it look different, but it wasn’t as bad as the one they’d just gotten out of. though now it seemed they’d stepped out of time prison and right back into a mess they, quite frankly, didn’t want to deal with.

their illusion magicks made it easy to hide the ugly jumpsuit they were forced to wear before. in mere seconds, they go from jumpsuit to a regular, black pantsuit with a scarf to match. hearing a voice speak up after the sound of footsteps running towards them, loki conjures a dagger, hiding it up their sleeve. turning around, they chuckle. “ah, of course. the man out of time.” they comment, arms folding across their chest.

“why are you asking me for a plan? i thought you were the ‘star spangled man with a plan’. quote-on-quote. surely you can come up with one for yourself?” loki raises a brow. “i doubt you would want any help from me anyway. or maybe i’m just not sure if i even want to help any of you hero types in the first place. give me one reason why i should? for all i know, i’m headed right back to prison as soon as i step out of this place.”

𝐤𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬, a brow quirking upwards as she looks over at the younger man, waiting for him to finish having his ‘moment of clarity’ like he’d said. “do... you have these often? how long’s it usually take?” she asks, her arms folding across her chest. “i’d ask if you got any clarity on why we’re here or how we can get out, but i figure that’s pretty unlikely, so... i don’t see much of a point to it. what’s it really about?”

𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬, his gaze falling from looking at maria to glancing at the ground beneath his feet. “yeah, i guess so...” he trailed off, sighing softly. “sometimes you wish you could. or, at least, i do. i can’t speak for everyone. i guess, now that i think about it, there’s a lot of things i wish i’d done differently. too little, too late.” he shrugs his shoulders. “and you can call me peter, by the way. if you want to.”

𝐤𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐲𝐥𝐲, her gaze shifting from the ground to meet bucky’s eyes. “yeah, who doesn’t? but still, everyone seems to have ‘em.” there’s the thought of how much she agrees with that statement, about disliking secrets, but she’s not sure it’s the wisest thing to outwardly agree with considering the fact that she’s definitely got secrets of her own. she has to wonder if it’d make her a bit of a hypocrite, to keep her secrets but dislike it when others do the same. yeah, no. “no matter where you go, i don’t think you can escape secrets. i wish it wasn’t true, but... that’s life.” she shrugs.

𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐧, peter nodded his head in agreement. “yeah, i definitely see what you mean. feels like there’s so much... area to cover. if that’s the right word? hope so.” he pursed his lips, his brows knitting together as he wrapped his arms around himself, resting his chin on the back of his hand. “i could use a nap,” he groaned out, laughing dryly. “what about you? i dunno what it is about this place that just makes me so exhausted, but...” he trailed off, shrugging his shoulders.

𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬, the corners of her mouth turning upwards in a sarcastic smile. “i don’t know how much it matters right this second given we aren’t in any sort of real, normal world, but i have a concealed carry permit. i can take care of myself and i know how to use this.” she says, raising the hand gripping her handgun. the safety’s on, of course, but she knows all too well one can never been too careful. especially given all that’s happened in her life, or namely the last few years. “i thought you had lightning powers? what, does thor use a gun now?”

𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐚𝐳𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐬, moving from the ground to tony, his eyes meeting the other’s. “you don’t--,” he begins to protest, but quickly stops himself and forces out a smile. “thanks. i... i appreciate it. i’ll do the same for you -- promise.” he replies, slowly nodding his head. “i guess.. that’s all we really can do, huh? our best? these days especially, i think.”

𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲, his thoughts running a mile a minute as he tries to process what mj had said to him, process what she might know. “i... what do you mean? confession?” he asks, playing dumb. he gives her a puzzled look, brows knitted together in confusion. “i don’t-- i don’t understand what you’re talking about. pain? pain for... what, mj?”

𝐤𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐬, running her hand over her face and through her hair as she inhaled deeply, trying her best to calm herself down. “as if it’s that easy,” she mumbles, more to herself than to america. “i’m fine, i’m fine, just... tired. i guess. but, then again, that could probably go for just about anyone and everyone else trapped here.” she says, pinching the bridge of her nose for a moment before she moves her hands to rub her temples, hoping to ease her headache. “don’t worry about it. i’ll be alright.”

natasha sat quietly to herself, perched upon the rubble of one of the taller buildings as she looked at the mirrored ground below. this had become one of her favorite spots to belong, a place she’d claimed for herself as she spent sleepless nights watching over tony (once he’d arrived). she knew that deep within her that there was something unnatural about this place, but given the circumstances of her death; she didn’t expect it to be natural either.

hearing footsteps land behind her, she turned her head and offered a softened but minute smile. “didn’t think anyone could figure out how to get up here.” she started, raising a brow. “guess i was wrong.”

𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝, peter had started climbing. weird way to go about doing such a thing, sure, but he was used to great heights -- and sometimes, it was calming to sit atop a roof and just... not think of anything. what he hadn’t expected was to find someone else -- let alone black widow herself -- up here. “uh.. feeling’s mutual, if it helps. but i’m really sticky, so--,” he trailed off, shrugging his shoulders. “spider-man. peter parker. you, uh, you remember me, right? from that fight at the airport... i stole cap’s shield and fought the guy with the wings and the dude with the metal arm? and there was ant-man but giant and we took him down at-at style like from that really old movie, empire strikes back?”

                      𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐓     𝐈𝐒     𝐎𝐍     𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇.     understandable     when     one     isn’t     on     their     own     turf.     since     arriving     under     these     golden     skies     a     mental     priority     list     has     been     made.     get     the     lay     of     the     land.     seek     shelter.     find     out     if     anyone     he     knows     ended     up     here     too.     get     the     hell     out     of     here     &     back     home.     he     isn’t     expecting     that     order     to     be     rearranged,     but     a     sound     has     his     fingers     reaching     for     the     handle     of     a     combat     knife     in     it’s     sheath.     yeah,     he’s     packing     heat.     but     he     doesn’t     know     what     the     sound     of     a     gun     may     bring     upon     him.     however,     the     grip     goes     limp     the     moment     the     sound     of     a     familiar     voice     reaches     his     ears.               ❝     karen ?     ❞               it     is     called     out.     his     guard     isn’t     down     —     this     place     far     too     trippy     for     one     not     to     wonder     if     it     can     pull     some     trick.     frank     is     also     aware     that     she     carries     that     hand     cannon     on     her     without     fail.     he     isn’t     in     the     business     of     getting     accidentally     shot.     his     approach     is     slow,     heading     towards     the     source     of     the     voice.     he     is     torn,     both     hoping     it     is     her     &     that     it     isn’t.     seeing     her     again     would     be     a     great     relief,     but     having     her     trapped     where     ever     the     hell     this     was?     he     didn’t     want     that     for     her.               ❝     karen,     it’s     frank.     you     alright ?     ❞

𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫 when she sees frank, glad to see a familiar face among the stress of waking up in this awfully unfamiliar place. she drops her gun back into her purse, and she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t relieved she didn’t have to actually use it. one could never be too cautious, of course, and karen knew that all too well. “frank,” she sighs in response, solace clear in her voice. “i mean... could be better, but i’m alright, otherwise. my feet and shoes are soaked but that’s just something i guess i have to deal with,” she laughs dryly, before taking a few steps towards him to wrap him up in a hug. half of her reasoning may have been because, yeah, she’d missed him, but the other? well, think of it as proof that he was real -- that her mind wasn’t playing tricks on her.  after a moment, she pulls back to get a better look at him. “what about you? are you okay?” she asks, raising a brow. “don’t bullshit me,” she adds, quickly after, giving him a knowing glance.