entranceway | [ video ] nor any drop to drink

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[ video ] nor any drop to drink

[It's a softspoken man on the network tonight, one presently struggling to cope with a world of disappointment and anxiety. There's some stammering at the start of the message, but as he collects himself enough to share information, his cadence relaxes and grows more confident. This isn't about him right now. It's about everyone else.]

Pardon me -- if I could have everyone's attention for a moment? I'm sure we've all gotten a glimpse of what's gone on. I've some reason to believe that this might be a particular incident related to -- well -- that's not important. But I'd like to urge everyone to be mindful of the level of air presently available to you. As long as the number of available rooms continues to be infinite, it ought to be possible to make it through without incident as long as we stay in motion as necessary, provided that the doors continue to resist the rules of water pressure upon opening. I've done some calculations using what we know of the average unclaimed room. I believe that humans ought to be able to sustain themselves without incident for about eight hours without incident, though this is most likely variable for those of you with alternative physiologies. With that in mind, we may wish to consider that longterm planning might be an element to our survival. We may have to make efforts to organize our activities and movements to ensure we can all stay prepared for the week ahead of us.

[He pauses to take a breath, squeezing his fingers into his palm before continuing.]

Please be aware that since the oxygen-to-square-footage ratio provided is a rough estimate that may be impacted by people collecting together in groups, vigilance will also be important when it comes to recognizing the early signs of oxygen deprivation. If you notice an increase in heart rate or shortness of breath, please consider setting yourself into motion sooner rather than later. The same applies if you're with others and notice dilation of the pupils, or that they've started to display visible motor impairment.

I also hope that we can utilize the network to communicate distress when needed. I'll be in touch with a few of you soon with regards to some plans for relief and rescue.

Let's see if we can't all make it out of this in one piece, yeah?

===============================================
Text to Peter Parker

Your webbing is water-insoluble. How much do you have on hand?

Please tell me that the answer is "a lot".

===============================================
Text to Philip

I hope it isn't gauche to contact you this suddenly, but I believe there might be some need of you soon.

===============================================
Text to Steve Rogers

Can I count on you?

[It's a highly loaded question.]

===============================================

[OOC: I think I'm also going to use this as Fitz's catch-all for the event this time around, so feel free to throw action-sized stuff in here too if we've discussed anything that ought to take place later on.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

i've got no problem coordinating fieldwork. don't worry about that.

i've contacted a telepath as well, so don't be alarmed if there are unexpected transmissions along that route.

And be safe, Peter. Don't try to do too much at once.

Hey, safety's my middle name.

You be safe too.

"peter safety parker" is a curious combination to write on a birth certificate.

imagine when i was in trouble, sends mixed messages. like i'm in trouble so i get the full name usage, but also, they want me to be safe.

[and then a second or two later since he'd type that up in a room he'd popped into nearby to catch his breath, peter parker's opening the door to fitz's room, stumbling in, and shutting the door behind him. dripping in his red and blue spandex, he's here to get that rebreather from fitz. he'll have to pull the mask up to use it, but he always feels more capable of doing what he needs to with the whole mask and suit on.

plus, he sticks to stuff better when there's less material in the way. he carries a backpack at his shoulders which mostly has cartridges of webbing and food and water in it.]

[Fitz really ought to be packing things up by now. He's starting to pant when his attention wanders, a clear sign that he's under-oxygenated. But there's so much to do. He can go for a bit longer, he reasons. It's at least ninety more minutes before things get dire.

He doesn't look up from his device as Peter enters, rapidly firing as many texts as he can manage.]

Glad you could make it. Has Jemma sequenced the chemical composition of your web fluid yet? When this is over, we'll need to replace what we're using now.

Fitz.

[Peter's voice is sharp, and it's all Peter for once, concerned, sharp. Usually, Spider-man has a few quips up his sleeve. He makes jokes to seem more confident than he's feel outside of this suit, and he keeps it light so he doesn't feel any of the fear at the edges of his rib cage.

The air in this room's thin.]

You need to get out of here. C'mon, what do you need?

Nonsense, there's time left.

[Time to obsess and plan and make sure everything is fine with everyone else. He's only been at it since a little after midnight. It's fine.]

Aquatic apparatuses are just ... near the closet -- haven't had a chance to move them closer to the door, so ... apologies for the lifting. [His sentence breaks in odd places to give him time to gasp for air, but that's all less important than pushing out the information.]

The longer you go without air. The harder it's going... to be to move when you have to. You know that. I'm not letting you suffocate or drown because you're busy helping everyone else.

[He's not going to go over the results of oxygen deprivation with Fitz when he knows. It leads to confusion, to lack of coordination. Scuba divers die under water because they can't tell up from down anymore. Peter moves to the rebreather, picking it up, sliding it over his shoulders without any effort at all as he picks up another one so he can help carry it too.

He's worried. Peter will be checking in on him regularly to be sure, Fitz has moved when he needs to move.]

I'm helping you get out of here. C'mon.

And I've... no intention of doing either of those things. [He just needs to type a few more things really...] But hypoxia is quick and leads to permanent damage even ... without death, and it's important to...

[Did Peter just lift two of those things?]

... You weren't joking about your strength level.

[Peter picks up another one, slinging it over his shoulder. The big difficulty now is just in having not enough arms to carry them all (that's not something he is sad he missed out on when it comes to spider powers), turning back toward Fix. He shakes his head. Not joking. He can carry about 10 tons. Not that there's anything that heavy that needs carrying around here.]

I'd really rather not play the super strength card and just pick you up too, but I will... if I have to. [He slides his mask up to ready the rebreather. Air's too thin, and now that Peter's here, he's taking up more of it in the room.]

I'm going-- to move these to another room with way more oxygen. You... finish up with what you have to do and pull together what you need, and then we'll head there together.

Right, of course. Just one moment, Peter...

[Peter might sense that Fitz is using his "I stopped listening to you when you stopped saying interesting things" voice and has turned back to someone else's concerns.]

Pets. Oh dear, I hadn't considered...

[Peter is welcome to leave and come back and literally no progress will have been made.]

[Oh, Peter recognizes that voice, which is why he's not even surprised when he returns to find no progress has been made by the time he returns beyond the progress of what air remains leaving the room.

He moves over to Fitz, pulling the network device directly out of his hand. The difference in air from this room to the one he was just in? Telling.]

We're leaving.

Now.

[It's fine, really. He's experiencing some chest tightness, but that's just the first step. There's got to be another thirty or forty-five minutes left before there's cause for alarm.

When the device is pulled away, it takes a moment for him to react to it. He squints at Peter, confused.]

Leaving now? ...but we still have to...

[He's not entirely sure what the end of that thought is, but he's certain there's much to do.]

It's not gonna take us long, and you can do what-- [He's trying to take small breaths because he's actually breathed in real, full air] what you still have to do when your brain's got enough oxygen to help you form sentences again.

[Peter reaches down, lifting Fitz up with one hand and tugging him towards the door.

Don't pass out, don't pass out. Peter knows plenty but he's not super confident in his ability to perform CPR.]

[He doesn't dispute the sudden movement, but pinches at the bridge of his nose, struggling to find the words.]

No, it's fine -- it's only... the.. what's the word... the time -- there's a limit... and I've not... um....

[Okay so maybe it was easier when he was just typing to people.]

[Yeah, this whole inability to talk thing is starting to scare, Peter, but he's still got the mask on so he's still confident, outward hero]

Here's the part where you hold your breath.

[Peter says these words just before he flings the door open, taking Fitz along with him. He's thankful the room's not far.]

What's left of it. [and now he's tugging him through the water and to the room as fast as his spider legs will take him]

[The sudden rush of water is enough to prompt a reaction at last. It's instinctive and terrified, as he clings to the spider-suit with a white-knuckled grip.

He manages to hold his scant breath until they burst back into a dryer space. Only then does his grip loosen, if only from his sudden gasping and coughing as his body clamors for the air that suddenly seems so much more available than before.]

[It's impossible to miss that reaction. Peter rests a hand against his arm as Fitz struggles to catch his breath. He reaches up to pull the mask off his head.

His hair sticks up every which way, wet and-- Well. It's not until Fitz seems to be breathing properly again that he speaks.]

Are you okay?

[How embarrassing! It's one thing for Jemma to be with him during water transport, but he'd been trying to stay professional in front of Peter. When his pulse has returned to a normal place, he grimaces.]

I'm fine -- I. ...Sorry. I don't -- I.

[He pauses, takes a deep breath, and tries again.]

I'm not great with water.

[Peter twists his mask out to release some of the water from it if only to give Fitz the space to work out how he's feeling, to work through it. His hand still sort of rests on the other man's shoulder though despite himself. Everyone has something that scares them. Everyone's been through their own hells. He tries never to forget that anymore.]

This has happened to you before, hasn't it?

Or something like it at least. I doubt anyone's ever experienced this exact situation before. [A whole mansion flooding with water in the middle of Wonderland's a unique situation]

[He gives Peter a long look, debating how much ought to be shared. But doesn't Peter share himself openly? He's been a trustworthy companion for weeks now. But since when has being a companion prevented betrayals from happening?

After Klaus, Fitz is sure he shouldn't.

But he does it anyway.]

We've all had our share of near-death experiences. Everything heals in time.

Not everything. [The words come out softly, a quiet concern. Peter doesn't know if there's been enough time regardless, but he doesn't press the matter at all. They've got limited time, and he-

They both have a job to do. He wants to ask him more about it after, but trying to heal from a wound like that while in the middle of the living embodiment of that past experience is going to be nearly impossible. He drops his hand back down, holding the network device out to Fitz again.]

Listen, I'm going to keep checking in on you.

I'm not going to let you drown. Or suffocate.

[He accepts the device with a quiet smile that doesn't quite meet his eyes.]

If you have to choose, then always take care of Jemma. She's more important. I'll at least know what to expect if something goes wrong.

[Peter freezes abruptly. Peter's someone who believes any person that ends up dead- that he's responsible for it, for not getting there fast enough, for not being there when he should have been. The very idea that there might be a time when he's supposed to choose (who to save and who to let die) leaves him feeling so violently ill in this moment that he almost feels like he's going to be sick.

How high is that possibility now? And why does Fitz think so low of himself that he'd not- not think himself important in comparison to another person? To actually verbalize that feeling?]

You're both incredibly important. Every life is important, and you are too. You're important, and I care about you, and-

I'm not going to choose. I'm just going to save whoever needs saving.

[He says it as if it's easy, shoving the mask on his head again and trying to swallow past what feels like a knife in his throat from the strength of the emotion lodged there. And then he's gone back through the door so he won't have to wonder or think about it or-]

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[ video ] nor any drop to drink

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