video + action

[directed]

[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 Luckily the outdated technology provided for communication is simple enough to figure out.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.]

Comments

video }

[deathlessness]

[Freya is in a bar. No one is surprised. But she is a friendly smiling face, if nothing else.]

I wouldn't say escape is impossible, exactly. It's just simply not on our timetable. Or there is also the risk you will simply be ... boomeranged back again.

Re: video }

[directed]

[Rip has indeed heard about the bar, although he hasn't headed there himself just yet. He's perfectly capable of moping while stone cold sober, thank you very much.]

So seems to be the consensus. Is it really escape, however, when it seems there's no control or choice in the matter? [It sounds more like being released in Rip's mind--but as this woman says, there's no promise that the freedom would last.]

Yes, so I heard. Apparently such a thing has happened to someone from my world. It's far from a comforting thought.

[deathlessness]

No, I suppose none of it is. But we take what little comfort we have when there is little to be found.

[directed]

Such as the seemingly unlimited supply of alcohol? [Well, since she's there, clearly it's fair for Rip to throw that one out there.] And of food, provided the events fall in our favor. But outside of that and arguably a few extra lives, I'm failing to see what comforts there are to be had in this world.

[deathlessness]

[Hey. Don't knock an unlimited supply of alcohol. Sometimes in Wonderland you need it. But since he brought it up ... ]

Some of us don't have much to return to. Here we are allowed to spend time with friends or family who are no longer with us, or allowed to spend time with family who we are currently separated from and have no idea when we may be able to return to them.

[Sometimes those things are a very comforting in the face of interdimensional kidnapping.]

[directed]

[He certainly shouldn’t, particularly since as someone else pointed out, he can have a tendency to drink in his room alone at times. Not only it is unlimited, there’s also easy access—

Yet with some of the faces Rip knows also present in Wonderland, there remains a downside.

And so it goes, it would seem: Freya mentions the possibility of second chances, of having family and friends present whom have already passed in their world. Each time it’s brought up he cannot help but think of Miranda and Jonas, and how much he would give for the chance to truly hold them in his arms again.

To have them return that embrace, instead of lying cold and dead on the ground.]

So I have been told. I take it such is the case for you? [Freya doesn’t seem to make this point as mere observation, which makes Rip curious. He cannot justify the thought of wanting his family to suffer through all he has heard, yet the temptation lingers.] You don’t see it as selfish, wishing for the presence of those you hold most dear here, with all that reportedly happens in this world?

[deathlessness]

My world is not exactly ... calm and safe either. But at least here, the tortures aren't designed to punish my family specifically. At home, the enemies were of our own making, but certainly made life complicated.

[There's a pause as she considers the proper way to phrase it.]

It feels less ... personal. And at least if they are here with me, then we are in it together, rather than one of us suffering alone.

[As long as they're here with her, she can't forget them. Their presence will always be a reminder of their importance to her.]

[directed]

You make it sound as if your family is rather notorious. [And potentially quite dangerous in their own right; Rip hardly misses the moment when Freya points out that their enemies are of their own making, implying that she and her fellows might in fact deserve some of the potential retribution they face.

It would be rather naïve to think that Wonderland had only brought heroes and protectors to it’s world, after all.]

So you’ve found comfort in knowing that there isn’t a specific vendetta against you or those you care for. [Strangely, it rather makes sense when spelled out as such. Rip has for so long believed that the universe itself wanted his family to die—and hadn’t been entirely wrong. Wonderland is by no means safe, yet it seems to approach them all equally.

The things that allow them to take heart.]

And that outweighs the knowledge that they still suffer.

[deathlessness]

For now, at least.

[Things can always change, but for now, Klaus isn't being tortured by Marcel and her sister isn't under a curse she can't break. And Camille is alive. That counts for so much more than whatever schemes Wonderland is plotting.]

It is better to be together than not at all.

[directed]

...I'll keep that in mind.

[And yet even so, can Rip truly hope that his wife, his son, the people he betrayed the Time Masters for might suddenly be in this world?

Somehow he doubts that he would find that answer regardless of how long he spends within the walls of Wonderland.]

Was there anything else you might be able to tell me? About escaping this world, or the events, I mean?

[deathlessness]

So far, no one has been able to find a definitive way to do either. There are some events where awareness comes later or we are able to mitigate the damage, but events are a bit like a tidal wave.

[You can't really avoid them or outrun them, you just have to hope you can hold your breath just long enough.]

[directed]

…I rather apt description, given that whatever force saw fit to drag me here dropped me off in the fountain outside.

[Or perhaps it’s coincidence. Regardless.]

I suppose I shall thank you for your time then, Miss.

[deathlessness]

Of course. Good luck with the adjustment period, Mr. Hunter.

[And with that, she will disconnect and let him keep sorting through responses. /scene]