001 ☆☆☆ [Video]

[beganwithamask]

[Anonymous location]
So I gotta hand it to myself, this is one heckuva hallucination I've dreamed up.

[The face on the screen is young; he could probably pass as sixteen or seventeen still, though in reality he just turned twenty. The way he sits, the expression on his face, he's not trying to act any older - people let their guards down for teenagers, mostly, and he can use that to his advantage. His brown hair is combed neatly in a vaguely old-fashioned style, and what's visible of his shoulders are clad in something that could be US military - though, circa WWII if you would recognize something like that. He seems a little... bored? almost, leaning on his hand, elbow on the desk in one of the little cafes. He's already spoken to Toro, but he's still not sure he believes the whole story the kedan are feeding him.]

I'm guessin' I'm in a VA hospital somewhere, drugged outta my gourd. Might not have lost my looks in that grenade blast if the nurses are givin' me the good stuff. [His smile is easy, charming, that winning Bucky Barnes smile he's so known for. The 'grenade blast' is an obvious lie to anyone who might have heard of him in the modern day, not that he knows that, but he's trying to figure out if anyone else is here that he knows, trying to get some answers about what's really going on.] Shapeshifters, a city on a turtle, an' a 'world between life, death, and dreaming', what'll the morphine cook up next? Even these video talk consoles, bet the Army would love to go runnin' with that idea. Hey, if this is my drug-induced coma, my unit's prob'ly here somewhere, so hey, you see 'em, tell 'em Private James Barnes is lookin' for those guys. Especially you, Rogers, you big lug.

Comments

[video]

[withoutaworld]

[ Rikki's been staring blankly at her console for a little while now trying to process what she's seeing. The Bucky that's already here... she's gotten used to that. But this guy... he's her age.

He looks just like the pictures of her grandpa from the war. This is weird. When she finally comes to the conclusion that it's not going to get any less weird, she switches the video feed on. ]

Steve's here, but he's not... uh... really not your Steve.

...hi.

[video]

[beganwithamask]

[Aaaand now he's confused. Because he definitely doesn't know this girl, but she knows he knows a Steve?]

...Have we met? And whaddayou mean by that?

[video]

[withoutaworld]

Sort of? Not exactly.

[ She bites her lower lip for a moment, and then shrugs. ]

People come from different universes here. Sometimes they're different versions of the same universe, so there are people you know, but... not your people.

[video]

[beganwithamask]

Alright, now I know I'm in a coma somewhere. This all sounds like a Flash Gordon strip or somethin'. I need to stop readin' comics.

[usavatar]

....Bucky?

[What. What? What. No. He feels like he's hallucinating himself.]

[beganwithamask]

[And you, sir, get a raised eyebrow. Hm. It kind of looks like Steve, and he called him Bucky when he didn't give that name, but... He seems surprised?]

Security on these is probably pretty bad, pal.

[usavatar]

Right.

[How do handle a Bucky that is younger than him. Especially when Bucky's already here.]

I- do you know who I am?

[beganwithamask]

[Aaaand that sets off alarm bells in his head. Why would he be asking if Bucky knows him?]

Yeah, I do. Why the heck wouldn't I?

[zerotoawesome]

If we're in the VA, then I joined the military on accident, but I'm pretty sure I'm not allowed, so...

You could try thinking it's a collective dream?

[beganwithamask]

[There are rocks talking to him. Something made of rock? It looks like something one of the Skull's people would make and set loose on a village or something. Excuse him while he processes a moment.]

You're definitely a hallucination.

[zerotoawesome]

[Well, at least he's not not the kid with the red skull right now. That'd really get some attention now.]

You know, I tell myself that every day. And yet I'm not. Weird, huh?

[beganwithamask]

[Oh god it's good that it's not Mettle. There would likely be a fight.]

Then what the hell are you? [Sorry he's not... the most polite...]

audio;

[trainwrecked]

[I'll be damned. That's Bucky's first reaction. He watches through the interaction with Rikki, and makes a note to go check in with her. When his mind stops reeling. Then he... hell. He sets the setting on audio, because things're a little complicated. (And the kid doesn't look like him, but, who the hell knows, anymore.)]

What's the last thing you remember, before this place?

audio;

[beganwithamask]

Grenade blast. Figured you'd get that from the whole speech. [Terse, a little annoyed. He's lost most of his taste for being polite today. It's been too much in general, but he's still not going to give up the grenade story.]

audio;

[trainwrecked]

Not like there'd be only one of those, out where - and when - you're comin' from.

[They may not look alike, but they do sound similar enough when freaking out. Bucky tries to keep his voice - calm. Steady.]

Sorry, must've seemed a weird question, but this place does that.

audio;

[beganwithamask]

Believe me, you only get caught in those maybe once or twice in your life. [Because getting caught in them tends to end lives and all that.] What the hell does 'when' have to do with it?

[andaway]

[Aaand another teen. Kal is really losing the count on them lately.]

I'm afraid this is no hallucination, Private. You're not the first to think that's what's going on though.

[beganwithamask]

[Technically he's 20, but he's not going to correct anyone. Teenagers get more slack, and people underestimate them more. He needs every advantage he can get.]

That's what I've been hearin', but it's no afterlife either, so what the hell is it really?

[andaway]

Well, it's kind of a middle ground apparently. We're not really sure ourselves.

[video]

[magicalpadawan]

[--WELL. This is something, for a young woman who's become quite acquainted with the slightly older version of Bucky, as of late. She just kind of blinks and stares at her screen for a moment, a little uncertain. Eventually, she gives a wave. Enjoy the pretty young lady with the purpley-blue hair, Bucky.]

Private James Barnes, huh? Hate to tell you this, but you're definitely not in a VA hospital.

[video]

[beganwithamask]

[Yeah, he'll just be uncertain right back. What the hell are you kids doing to your hair nowadays. Plus, he's not sure he likes the slightly disbelieving phrasing of that question about his name.]

You ain't the first one to say so, lady. It's gettin' kind of old at this point.

[video]

[magicalpadawan]

Well, I don't have a lot to say other than welcome to the Turtle. It's a weird place, and it's not a hallucination even if it feels like it should be sometimes.

[Sorry, Bucky. She squints again, looking thoughtful.] World War II?

anon text | Sorry for the late tag! Feel free to ignore :3

[squint]

[ Cobb's reply comes noticeably later--he has to get to a cafe in order to be anonymous. It isn't until he's handed his tea that he starts typing. ]

There's a possibility we're all sedated, yes.

anon text | never late!

[beganwithamask]

[His first reply takes a short while, too, typing isn't exactly something he's all that used to and besides, he has to take a minute to decide whether or not to reply since it's anonymous. (Not to mention getting back to a cafe to do it.) Eventually he chances it since hell, he's not giving away his location either on these things.]

That's funny, everyone just keeps telling me I'm dead.

anon text

[squint]

I don't believe so--though it's possible to die and come back here. ]