ELEVENTH WAVE

[astrogate]

CHARACTERS: any and all
LOCATION: Gravity Couches and beyond
WARNINGS: maybe some swearing, or even some violence, and more than likely some implied (and possibly explicit) nakedness.
SUMMARY: Another month, another jump, another round of new faces.
NOTES: Keeping up with the tradition and copy pasted like always from the last one


You wake up in darkness.


There's a breathing tube jammed down your trachea, and you're suspended in a tube of clear blue fluid. Upon registering your level of consciousness, the gravity couch drains the fluid surrounding you and retracts the breathing apparatus; the doors in front of you open, and you're deposited on the floor of a stark, sterile medical bay.

You are not alone.


There are others who have come before you, others who are awakening beside you. Some may be familiar to you, perhaps even friends. Others have much less amiable plans. Some are merely alien and inexplicable, but there are always those who might mean you harm.

After you catch your breath and your vision returns, you notice a number on the inside of your forearm. Maybe it's a familiar number. Maybe it means something. Maybe it's just a number. But the number—completely unique to you—is a tattoo, and it does not come off.

If you enter the room adjacent to the medbay, you will find a small locker with your number on it, surrounded by rows upon rows of identical lockers. Inside, you will find a few of your personal items, a communications device, and a ship's uniform in your exact size. The comms device is fully powered and connects directly to the ship's network; it's your only means of communication beyond physical conversation. Upon turning the device on, a neutral, automated voice will say, "Please take the blue lift to the passenger quarters." Any other attempts at communicating with the rest of the network are met only with static.

This is your welcome party.

Comments

[akidfrombrooklyn]

You don't have to take my word for it, but I hear I'm pretty reliable. [ He absently follows his gaze, keeping an eye out for some of the people he knows, taking note of the faces he's not seen before. ] It's, uh, kinda my job.

[bring_em_down]

I don't doubt it. You're Captain America, It's in the job description from start to finish.

Don't get offended, but you seem a little nicer than the one I'm used to.

[akidfrombrooklyn]

You've never seen me when I'm angry. [ It's a bad attempt at a joke, but he's definitely interested. ] This other me, how unfriendly are we talking?

[bring_em_down]

Hope I don't. He's the kind to hit first and ask questions later.

[akidfrombrooklyn]

Yeah, that doesn't sound too much like me.

[bring_em_down]

Well, that might be a little hard for me to get used to.

[But he says it with a smile. Cap's a trip.]

[akidfrombrooklyn]

Guess I got my work cut out for me, then, huh? [ He returns the smile easily enough, unsettled still at the thought, but not offended - this other version of him, he might have his name, live a similar life, but he's not him. ] You settled in okay outside of all this?

[bring_em_down]

Sure, but I'll give you a chance. Everybody who doesn't piss me off deserves a shot at impressing me.

[He nods, though, in answer to the question.]

Not so different from working out of SHIELD HQ.

[akidfrombrooklyn]

Not sure there's much to impress with, but I'll give it my best shot. [ His smile isn't as confident as he aims for, but it's close enough, and he's not in any hurry to go annoying any of his fellow teammates from his reality or others. ] You got the Helicarrier?

[bring_em_down]

We got it. [A nod.] You guys have the Triskelion?

[akidfrombrooklyn]

[ The baffled look is probably enough of an answer. ] Not as far as I'm aware of, but I'm still kinda new.

[bring_em_down]

SHIELD HQ. It's pretty big, you'd know if you had one.

[akidfrombrooklyn]

Then I guess we don't have one. [ It's something that would have been mentioned, right? So he's safe in the assumption. ] How big we talking?

[bring_em_down]

The Triskelion? It's a series of compounds. A few blocks end to end.

[akidfrombrooklyn]

That big, huh? It's gotta be hard to keep it secret.

[ He's guessing. But then again, the Helicarrier did that fascinating invisibility thing. ]

[bring_em_down]

It's not a secret. Everybody knows we exist, the Ultimates.

[akidfrombrooklyn]

[ He doesn't look as surprised as he thought he might feel, and after their own merry band were exposed in New York, well, secrets are harder to keep than not. But the headquarters? It being known would, surely, open them to threats. ]

That's what they call you guys, huh?

[bring_em_down]

[Cap, you have no idea how often the Triskelion has been nearly blown up. Security is a lot better lately, but still.]

Yeah. I'm in the Avengers, too. Black ops.

[akidfrombrooklyn]

[ He might have to encourage a tale or two out of him one day. ]

And here I thought being on one team was a full-time job.

[bring_em_down]

It is. We just had a little issue with the Ultimates for a while, there.

[akidfrombrooklyn]

Not sure I should ask, but if you ever wanna give me an insight I'd be happy to sit and share stories sometime when you're more settled in. What d'you say?

[bring_em_down]

I think I could share some stories, if you'll do the same. Might as well. What else are we doing here?

[akidfrombrooklyn]

Can't speak for everyone, but I got a job working security. Might be something to think about. And, well, the ship kinda keeps us busy from time to time with its own special humour.

[bring_em_down]

I've been thinking on the security thing, but I'm not always the kind of guy to blindly follow orders. Key word's blindly.

[akidfrombrooklyn]

[ Aware that he isn't the Clint he knows from his world, and he can't even claim to know him that well at this point, but he's definitely picking up on the somewhat rebellious trait. ]

Well, if you do consider it, I can put in a good word if you want. Could always find something else after if it's not for you.