entranceway | video + action

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[Having captained the Waverider for well over a decade, there is no one more familiar with its twists and turns, long hallways and corridors. Rip strides down the halls with purpose, his goal being the bridge. They have a time jump to make, comrades to rescue, and a man of unspeakable evil to at last put a stop to.

What he does not have on his agenda, however, is taking a swim.

There is no explanation for it, no rational one anyway. He takes one step, attempts another, and instead finds himself taking what is both an unintentional and impossible dive into freezing cold water. He almost chokes out of sheer surprise, but training kicks in over panic. Air first, and Rip finds it easy enough to do: wherever he's fallen isn't so deep that he can't stand, breaking the surface while sputtering for precious oxygen.

Countless curses run through his mind, but none of which he can say just yet. He's coughing up the water he has inhaled, gasping for breath between, and each intake of air is cold enough to feel like daggers puncturing his lungs. A look around reveals absolutely nothing resembling his timeship; instead there is snowy landscape, a massive building a short ways ahead, and an impressive fountain which Rip is now standing in. All and all decidedly not the Waverider, and Rip finally manages to speak, calling out to his ship over the communication device he wears while making his way towards the fountain's edge. ]

Gideon, what the bloody hell is going on?!

===

[Well. Now that Rip has had an introduction provided by Mr. Snart paired with the opportunity to change into dry clothes, he decides to get straight to business. Never mind that he's been assured that time does not move within this realm, that somehow this fictional-based fantasy world is even more separated from time than the Vanishing Point. Despite that safety net (which he has not yet bought into, for the record), Rip possesses no desire to linger within these walls. Luckily the outdated technology provided for communication is simple enough to figure out. He turns on the video feed, making little attempt to put on a pleasant face—but he does have a British accent, so his voice sounds nice?]

Yes, hello there. My name is Rip Hunter, a just newly arrived prisoner of this—this sadly real version of seventies-era drug-induced hallucination.

[He might be a little frustrated here.]

I've been given an overview the way this dimension functions from one of my comrades here, most relevantly the supposed fact that escape is impossible. I would like to confirm this with the population at large.

[More to the point, he wants to know who is working to defy that rule. Raymond can't have been the only scientific mind brought to this world. Whatever efforts are being made, Rip wants in. He simply won’t say as much over the network, in case it is being monitored. Just as he remains certain that someone is trying to escape, he is equally sure someone is responsible for their imprisonment, even if their identity remains yet unknown.

Of course, wisdom dictates he be prepared for anything, and he pauses but a moment before continuing.]

I suppose I should also ask about some of the other things I’ve been told. While I have no reason to disbelieve those present from my own universe [liars and thieves though two of them may be], some of the things they described go well beyond the limits of what should be possible—and trust me when I say that given my own background, that is a definite point of concern.

Has there been any data collected on these so-called “events?” Any success in discovering how this world and the people within it are altered, seemingly at random?

[Anything at all that might show a successful resistance to all Rip has been told—ah, but he stops himself before that much spills out. Probably better not to piss off the general population on his first broadcast. He’s already got a disgruntled crew to manage, after all.]

That should suffice for now. Thank you all, for both your time and your cooperation.

[Now please, give Rip the answers he wants to hear.

With that done, Rip makes a few adjustments to the broadcast settings. The feed has ended for the population at large, but two particular residents get their own special message.]

Dr. Palmer and Mr. Rory. Mr. Snart has informed me that you are both present here. I'd like to check in with each of you to compare notes, as it were. There's a great deal I'd like to confirm before proceeding with...whatever it is we are meant to do here.

===

[With that, he ends the transmission, though his wait won't be idle. He has a sprawling landscape to explore now that he's no longer soaked from his earlier arrival. If he is to be stuck there for the duration, Rip intends to know all he can about this prison--which means in turn, he can be found almost anywhere over the course of the next few days.]

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[Leonard - theme and personality appropriately - likes the cold. Even more so as he still has some steadily fading bruises that appreciate the cooler air, so it's not that surprising that he spends quite a bit of time just wandering around outside these days.

Suddenly coming across his captain causing a splash in the fountain? That's admittedly a little surprising.

By the time he reaches Rip, the man had already gotten up or he'd have helped him not to drown in knee-high water.]

Don't think she can hear you, Rip.

[The words are drawled as usual and he waits for the reaction he'll be faced with. Is he a dead man walking yet to Rip?

He almost wants that, if only so he can see the reaction to Rip thinking he's being greeted by the dead.]

[Well, Mr. Snart: wish granted. Very little could give Rip pause as he pulls himself out of the freezing water into the equally frigid air, but the voice of someone who should be dead is enough to manage it. Even someone so well trained at dealing with the unexpected as he cannot help but take a moment to simply stare at a face he believed he'd never see again.

At least, not under normal circumstances.

An oddity within the timeline, then. Rip regains his composure after that moment, stepping out of the fountain and beginning the task of peeling off his coat. Leonard must be from the past, but not so far back that he pre-dates Rip's recruiting him onto the team. Thank goodness for small favors.]

Mr. Snart. If that is the case--[which, given the lack of reply from Gideon, is likely]--then perhaps you might be better able to answer my question. Unless you have only just found yourself brought here as well.

Edited 2017-01-02 23:44 (UTC)

[That look Rip gives him tells him what he needs to know, especially since for once Leonard actually has more information to go on than Rip, something that shifts the power balance. Not that it should matter so much, here, but there's a certain satisfaction in that anyway.]

Been here a while.

[He watches him, taking a step back to avoid being hit by any errant drops. Between Rip and Ray, that's two teammates feeling the urge to strip in front of him. Neither of them he'd want to do so.]

You fell down the rabbit hole, Alice. This is Wonderland.

[Truthful and ever so unhelpful.]

Yes, fantastic. Then you'll know the way around that building up ahead.

[For the record, Leonard, a man can have a need to remove his clothing that has absolutely nothing to do with you. In Rip's particularly case it's more about avoiding hypothermia, given that the soaking wet clothing would only make his body temperature drop faster if he left it on. This is also the reason that he begins to walk towards the nearby mansion, regardless of who owns it; he needs to get inside so he doesn't suffer dangerously from the cold.

...Or lose whatever sanity he has remaining through some previously undocumented form of brain freeze, apparently. Although he's shivering by this point, Rip stops in his tracks, turning to give Snart with an exasperated look.]

Very cute. I'm so glad to see you haven't lost your sense of humor in all of this. [Really, Leonard? Wonderland?] There's being flippant and then there's acting as if one of us has all semblance of sense.

[When Rip stops he just keeps walking, aware that not everyone likes the cold like he does and that very few people appreciate hypothermia. He may not always be on the same page as Rip, but he doesn't want him to die of exposure either. Or to expose himself much further, for that matter.]

For once, I was just saying the truth. This place is supposedly Wonderland. [He's aware of how stupid it sounds.] Some strange pocket dimension. Takes people from different universes and times, plants them here.

[And then, tactfully.] How long have I been dead, Rip?

[Pocket dimension Rip can at least get behind; the claim that it's apparently themed after a fictional work noteworthy for its nonsensical setting is a bit harder for him to accept. Needless to say he's still highly skeptical, but the sharp chill and Leonard moving forward is a good reminder for Rip to do the same.]

All things considered, you'll forgive my disbelief. [It's not as much a lack of trust in Leonard this time, moreso the possibility of his claim. Clearly nothing to take offense over, yes?

Besides, the man slides almost immediately into a much darker topic. Rip presses his lips together, considering how to answer that question. In most cases revealing the future remains dangerous--but Leonard doesn't truly have a future to spoil, if the implication of his question is true.]

A few days. [He glances down, his frustrations for the moment outweighed by his lament. Leonard Snart had done what few would--and ensured the freedom of Rip and the other Legends in the process.] I suppose that answers the question of when you've personally been drawn from.

Still don't always believe it myself. [Which is to say that - no - he isn't overly offended and he holds the door open for Rip to go inside. What a gentleman.]

Yeah. I came here right upon impact. [He opens his hand to mimic and explosion.] So to say.

[He lets the door fall shut and turns to look at Rip, sliding his hand into his pocket.] I owe you an apology. You somehow only lost one member of your crew, who'd have thought?

Believe it or not, Mr. Snart, your cynicism in this case comes as something of a relief--ah, thank you. [So polite. Rip moves past Leonard, then stops just on the other side of the door; as the other man is more familiar, he would presumably be playing guide.]

I'd be a great deal more worried if someone like you had been fully convinced of something like that. [Snart's morality might be questionable on any given day, but Rip wouldn't typically describe the man as mad.

He watches the movement of Leonard's hand; perhaps a bit simplistic, but it is Snart's death. Rip can only imagine how one might cope with the notion.]

So to say. [Although he does still know how to twist the knife, doesn't he? Rip frowns, shooting Snart a sour look before once again turning towards the path before them.] Technically there's still time for you to be proven right. Savage has both Kendra and Carter; we had been about to make the time jump when I found myself--taking a swim.

[Details he wouldn't normally share so freely with someone from the past, but--well. Again, Snart doesn't exactly have a future to mess up, does he? And getting his thoughts straight would help Rip better come to terms with whatever's happened to bring him here, Wonderland or otherwise.]

Hard to fully convince me of anything. [No need to point out that he's never been fully convinced by Rip either, that's pretty much always been out in the open and he's just alluded to it. He does note what Rip tells him, realising that he has to be from before Ray. Interesting.]

Raymond's here. At first he was from the Fifties. [Which should explain enough. Time travel.] Then he left here for a while and when he came back, he'd been at the Vanishing Point.

[He leaves that for Rip to dissect while walking past him up the stairs. He's sure he'll know what questions to ask.]

Edited 2017-01-04 05:35 (UTC)

Believe me, Mr. Snart—I have learned that lesson well. [Because no, Rip has not forgotten that Leonard remained cynical throughout his time on the Waverider. Frustrating as it has so often been, Rip cannot say with full honesty that he hasn't also benefited from it at times.

He also will not make any such indication aloud.

Rather he listens carefully to what Leonard offers up, precious information that Rip truly does need that time to parse. He follows up the steps, barely looking where they're going as he breaks apart the implications of all those few words have offered.]

So Dr. Palmer was brought to this world, then removed with seemingly no memory of his tenure here. [Given Ray's proclivity for talking, Rip has no doubt that the man would have mentioned being trapped in such a place had he remembered it. All the more concerning then, as that means the likelihood of outside help is negligible.

There are also other aspects to consider: no one among the crew had noted his absence, that unlike Snart both Rip and Ray have seemingly been brought from points when they are very much alive. First, however, Rip thinks he should find out a bit more about the resources available.]

So, yourself, Dr. Palmer, and me...is there anyone else from the crew around?

[There's a hesitation before he answers, because he doesn't think Rip necessarily has the right to learn this from him and he's fairly sure Mick would prefer him not to. However, the very fact that he hesitated is likely enough to give things away to Rip, because who else on the crew would have him do that?]

Mick's here.

[As his bruises may be enough to illustrate. Some things are hard to hide and these might be enough to draw some more conclusions.

Moving on.]

Way it works here is that you can pick a room, any room, and the closets provide just about anything you want, within very little reason. You might want to do that, don't think it's the right season for anyone to walk by and crown you King of the Wet T-shirt contest.

[Indeed, if that pause lasts any longer Rip might spare Leonard the trouble by filling in the blank himself. Since the other man does manage the answer, however, Rip is once more left to draw his own conclusions on the unsaid. It's quite impossible to miss those bruises, after all, and few people truly could lay it thick on Snart like that.

It also wouldn't be the first time that Mick took out his anger on Leonard.]

And has Mick been to the Vanishing Point just yet? [The question is two-fold, and Leonard no doubt knows it. Unlike everyone else in the crew, Mick's first trip to the Time Master's headquarters had been when they first turned him into Chronos. Leonard is inarguably protective of his partner--but if Mick is wandering around this mansion while still brainwashed to be the Time Master's puppet, then there are going to be more pressing issues to deal with than his wet shirt.

Not that he isn't thankful for the information, mind. They've reached the second floor by now, leaving Rip the opportunity to look around at the doors.] No, I'm perfectly fine with not claiming that particular title, thank you. [The closets providing isn't that unusual, given the fabricaators on the Waverider. More pressing, however, is figuring out which rooms are empty--and exactly where in the mansion he wants to say, given the size of it from the outside.]

Which rooms belong to you and the others?

No, he hasn't been. Close to his first visit there though.

[And there's nothing he can do about that. His partner will be changed forever, again, it's on him, again, and he has no way to stop it from happening. He'd rather Mick hated him forever than to know that there'll be a stranger looking at him from those eyes again. But there's nothing he can do either way.

He pushes it back and turns around himself, now that they are on the second floor. One hand in his pocket, the other pointing at doors.]

My room. Mick's room.

[He points at the tiny door next to his own, unmistakable.] Raymond's.

[Well.]

He had some size issues at first. Can happen to all men, I hear.

[So not Chronos, but it seems that Mick has been taken from perhaps his lowest point before the Time Masters found him in that deserted patch of land. The news is both comfort and not; while they won't have the menace of an anger-fueled bounty hunter trained to pursue and capture targets throughout all of time on their heels, Mick remains anger-fueled and dangerous. Leonard has obviously had some sort of reckoning, but who knows if it's enough this go around?

And whether it is or not, Rip knows he has his own apologies to make, ones likely to be received even more poorly.]

Good to know. [Both the truth of Mick's point in the timeline, and where the three have chosen to live. Strange that Mick would opt for a place so close to the others given their current situation, but Rip won't complain about that. Instead he reaches for the door of the first seemingly empty room near the trio.]

Somehow I suspect Dr. Palmer's problem was a touch more unique. Issue with his suit, I take it? [Stepping inside to a rather ordinary room, as Rip has not wished it to be anything except what it is, he heads immediately for the closet where he can supposedly get some clothing. Of course, what he would expect to find would be a technology similar to the fabricator. When he opens the closet, however, all that's there...

Is a closet. Ordinary, unremarkable, not a touch of tech in sight--and definitely not a stitch of dry clothing, which Rip desperately needs.]

...Alright, I give up. How does this bloody thing work?

Seems like it. He was tiny for a time when he first got here, then he was too big for a while. Now he's as close to "just right" as Goldilocks is going to get.

[He follows Rip, only to stop in the door-frame, leaning against it as he watches. No, it doesn't surprise him to see him fail, it took him a while to figure it out himself and acceptance? He's not even sure he's reached that yet.

Wonderland is a lot for any rational mind to wrap around.]

You just gotta believe with all your heart.

[Dry. Dryer. The driest.]

[It's likely best for all of them that Ray's managed to find whatever setting his suit required to let him be his normal size. He's fortunate to not have been stepped on while small, and Rip cannot imagine anyone being pleased with the idea of Ray looming massively over them.

There is, however, one question he still has.]

If he's got the problem fixed, then why hasn't he moved rooms? [Rip cannot imagine it being comfortable, having to shrink every time Ray wants to go to sleep or otherwise find a private moment.

Back to the matter at hand though. Rip huffs out a frustrated breath, equally due to Leonard's phrasing, and the likelihood that the man is being entirely serious.]

This day is just going to continue to get better, isn't it? [Welp, here goes. He closes his eyes, trying desperately not to imagine how ridiculous this all looks as he closes the door again. He pictures his own outfit, minus the soaking wet aspect, shakes his head as this is the most idiotic thing he's ever done, and opens the door.

And of course, it works.]

Bloody hell. [He reaches for the clothes, all nice and neatly hung.] You know, I've seen--countless impossible things in my day, but this? This is a special brand of utterly ridiculous.

You're asking me to explain Raymond. I don't even know how he doesn't fall down more.

[For his part, he just misses being able to put an upturned teacup over Ray and call it a day, but that's another matter.

He's still glad he's normal-sized now, at least as normal as Ray can get. Seems safer, on the whole.]

Oh, yes. You don't know half of it yet.

[At least there's some dark amusement to be found in Rip's obvious frustration. He doesn't disagree with him, but it's still more fun from the outside.]

I'll be outside.

[No further explanation needed, he's just done having people strip while he watches. So he draws the door shut and waits for Rip to come back out.]

...Fair point.

[They can all agree that there is no explaining Raymond Palmer. If he is content in his minuscule room, Rip certainly won't stop him.

Besides, there's so much else to look forward to, as implied by Leonard a moment later. Rip's at least glad for the man's offer of privacy, although truth be told he had no intention of stripping until he was alone anyway. It's simply good to know they both hold the same opinion on the matter.

It won't take Rip too long to change; he spends more time thinking of things from the closet than actually peeling off his clothes or putting the new ones on. Coat hangers, shoes, and then just to see what the bloody hell will happen, he attempts to wish up the Waverider. Why not, when this is apparently the land of fairytale magic and other assorted insanity?

Spoilers: it doesn't work as Rip intends.

When Rip does at last open the door, now wearing the dry version of what he had on before, Leonard might notice the perfect scale model of Rip's timeship sitting in the otherwise perfectly nondescript room.]

Well then. As you were saying.

[He moves back inside the room, stepping next to the door so he can lean back against the wall. His eyes fall onto the small version of the Waverider and there's a smile for a moment. He lowers one hand, fingers ghosting over the handle of his gun.]

Some things you can't pull out. I had to build the gun myself too.

[Given that obviously he hasn't had it with him, but Rip ought to know that. He draws the gun finally, aiming it without even looking and using it to take out the mirror in the room - however temporarily.]

Don't like being watched. There's a mirror-world, mirror-versions of everyone who gets here. They can see us, we can't see them. And everything rebuilds itself. That mirror will be good as new in an hour.

Is that so? [Well, if they are trapped for the duration Rip supposes he would in fact have plenty of time to pull out the pieces needed to reconstruct his timeship--provided the closet cooperated more than it had when he wished for the finished version. Of course there are countless other problems with that idea, intricate parts that Rip can identify but not necessarily piece together from scratch, and Gideon--no. She is one key component Rip simply cannot recreate, not with all the supposed magic this world has to offer.

But something good might still come of the idea, in time.

At present, Rip unsurprisingly braces himself when for seemingly no reason, Leonard unleashes his signature weapon and fires at--the mirror? The explanation comes several heartbeats later--pounding heartbeats that Rip can easily count off, thank you--and for his trouble Snart receives a rather flat look.]

Something which you couldn't be bothered to tell me before I stripped naked, of course. [Of course. He walks over to the now shattered glass, which to all appearances would be nothing more than an ordinary (if icy) decoration.]

Through the looking glass; appropriate, I suppose. [And no more believable than anything else he's heard thus far. Rip shakes his head; there's a great deal he's expected to take on faith, but this brand of lie is also far too vast for even someone who delights in giving Rip a hard time.]

So what other impossible things do I need to know?

[He inclines his head in acknowledgement as he puts his gun away.] My mistake. If it helps, if your mirror watched, it ain't nothing he hasn't seen.

[Always one for comfort. Leonard looks at the remains of the mirror and considers the question. He purses his lips finally and lifts one shoulder for a shrug.]

This place is strange to begin with and can get even stranger. Varies widely. Sometimes for a few days, your entire being gets changed. I was a meta once. Another time I was a child again. It's disturbing. Supposedly these... "events" are drawn from the same places the people are. Which is unsettling, given not that long ago, everyone was in Hell for a week.

[Yes, quite. Rip is completely reassured, thank you Mr. Snart.

But how does the saying go? "Ask and ye shall receive." Rip gets more than he bargains for in Leonard's answer, delivered in his typical monotone and self-described as "disturbing" none the less. From the sounds of it Rip is inclined to agree with that assessment; even before he gets to the part about Hell, it all sounds like too much and nothing Rip wants to deal with.

Especially not with delivering justice to Vandal Savage still on the agenda.]

So just like that, they change the entirety of what we are. [Temporarily, with not explanation as to how offered. Rip's frown deepens, the man stepping away from the mirror to being a slow pace about the room. He has seen the so-called magic of this world at play in the closets. Just how massive does the scale of it go?]

You realize that this goes far beyond anything we've encountered before. [Rip had been all but broken by the Time Masters when they revealed the power of the Oculus, its ability to not only see but manipulate time. But this...] What you've described is a far, far greater power than the Oculus could have ever provided, wielded with something that sounds less like "intent" than it does "whim."

I realise. I've been here over six months. [He's realised quite a lot, but he's also aware that it's not something one can just take in quickly, so he lets Rip summarise it and finally he nods, looking down at his own hand as he runs his fingers along his thumb.]

A whimsical place, yeah. [Obviously said in a dry voice, hardly surprising coming from him.] If there is rhyme or reason to the 'why', I don't think anyone has caught on to it yet. There's theories abound, but nothing to give you a clear answer. Or a target.

[It's quite considerate of Leonard to give Rip the freedom to spell it all out. He does need that time to wrap his head around everything—including Leonard's extended presence in this world, which does earn him a brief glance. Mostly, however, Rip stares ahead, the blank walls providing an excellent place for his eyes to not focus on anything.]

All the more unfortunate. [Even in the case of the Time Masters, Rip and his crew had been able to fight, to try and reclaim their freedom of will. From what Leonard has said, he's endured months of psychological attack, being transformed into whatever is wished of him without say or control, or promise of when it all might end.

And now Rip can look forward to the same.]

There has to be something we can do beyond sit here and wait for the next--change to strike. [He mentioned theories; if there are theories, then perhaps Rip can find the authors.] Considering the size of this place, there must be at least a couple hundred people here. Certainly something is being done to try and put a stop to all of this.

Certainly. But I've also met people who have been here for years.

[Another detail to take in. Leonard, well. He's dead. His drive is different than Rip's, who's very much - who always has been - a man on a mission. He understands that. He just doesn't think that it will get him any further.]

Plenty of scientists doing their thing, trying to figure the place out. I talked to someone who could tell me patterns of the events, but actual data is insubstantial, as they say.

[He can talk science, he even has a good understanding. Dropping out of school has never hindered him much.]

I want to try going to the mirrorside. No other reason than that whatever authority does exist around her doesn't want us to. Seems like a good starting point.

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