Stuck In Limbo (Open)

Participants: Nico Minoru / Open
Open/Closed: Open
Location(s): Somewhere in Limbo
Time of Day: Hard to tell with two suns
Weather: Hot and dry
Summary: Following a rough fall, Nico Minoru has found herself trapped in a realm not her own. Unable to remember exactly how she arrived there, she now needs to find her way out. Perhaps someone else was with her when she fell into this Limbo, or maybe someone has been waiting, trapped, for quite some time...Either way, they might need Nico's help to make their way home.

She hit the incline hard, rolling and sliding down the steep, rocky surface. Her hands grasped and flailed as she went, hoping to catch onto something, anything that could slow her descent, but she found no purchase, no outcrop onto which she could latch. She reached the bottom of the slope after what seemed like an eternity, slowing enough to come to halt when the ground levelled out. Skidding to a stop, she lay still for a moment, before letting out a single, pained groan. Her body burned white hot, and it took all her mental strength to push herself up into an awkward sitting position.

Nico's dark eyes took in the state in which she found herself. Her usually tattered fishnets were even more shredded than usual, and cuts and scrapes covered her legs from the thigh down. Both arms had experienced similar trauma, and there was a dull, persistent ache in her shoulder that suggested a bruise was fast forming. Still, looking on the bright side, she was alive, which she found somewhat surprising given the severity of her fall.

Taking a few more moments to catch her breath and steady her spinning head, she rose slowly to her feet, wincing. Once a bout of fleeting dizziness had passed, she hobbled in a small circle to ensure she still could. Though it pained her, she managed a full turn without collapsing. It was only then that the witch looked up, taking in her surroundings.

Her brow immediately furrowed.

Where she expected to see high-rise buildings against an overcast horizon, instead, towering spires of red rock jutted upward into a noxious sky. Beyond a green haze of thick cloudcover, two heavenly bodies hung, casting a dim light on the world below, seemingly devoid of life, a world apart from the hustle and bustle she'd experienced only moments ago.

“Well...I'm not in San Francisco any more.”

Turning on the spot again, gazing open-mouthed at the strange reality that faced her, her eyes caught sight of a familiar object, laying grounded no more than five feet away from her: a black, metallic stave, topped with a golden ring. The Staff of One still glowed faintly, an eldritch mauve light pulsating about its head. Memories came flooding back to her: a busy street, a hand in hers, a long foreboding shadow...fragments of an image that she was unable to piece together. Raising a hand, she pressed her fingers, tipped with chipped nailpolish, to her forehead.

“What did I cast?” she asked herself quietly, racking her brains in a vain hope to recall the last spell she'd uttered, the one that had, most likely, pulled her into a realm not her own. For a good few moments she tried, but found herself unable. Letting off a frustrated huff, she extended her hand, and the Staff slowly rose from the crimson dust in which it lay and floated toward her outstretched palm. Once her she had it in her grasp, she stuck its base firmly into the ground, using it to prop up her injured form.

Using it again, with her memory hindered, was unlikely to produce favourable results – it was renowned for its unpredictable nature. It would, however, serve as a fantastic crutch until she was able to work out where she was, why she was there and how the Runaway could find her way home.

Teddy was going to kill him. When he'd wished to get out of where he'd been - trapped under rubble but he'd been fine, a barrier had made sure he wasn't hurt - he'd stupidly forgotten to specify where. He opened his eyes, fully expecting to see New York and the relieved face of his fiancé. Instead, well, let's just say if he'd been in Kansas, he could've made a reference right then and there. Not that there was anyone for him to say it to. Where was this? It clearly wasn't anywhere on Earth. There were... Two suns?

"Great," he said out loud, "I'm on Tattooine." Except this looked nothing like the fictional planet. It wasn't Asgard. He didn't think this was Hell so that must have been a good sign... Right? Right? He took in his surroundings. It wasn't definitely otherworldly in the afterlife sort of sense but he didn't think it was an afterlife. Could it be... Limbo? He'd read about the place before but hadn't really studied it and hadn't geeked out over it so his memory of that knowledge was small. But if it was Limbo, well, his parents were going to kill him too - both sets of them.

There had to be a way out, right? He looked down at his hands, blue magic sparking from his fingers. It was faint, weaker than before. Teleporting between dimensions, even accidentally, had taken more of his magic, his energy, than he would've liked. He was becoming more aware of an ache in his muscles, a throb behind his eyes. Perhaps he could use his own magic to return to New York City but he clearly didn't have the strength to in that moment. He'd have to wait it out, his magic needing to recharge.

He looked out at the landscape before him. He didn't know what dangers this place held. He didn't know if there was a time limit to getting out of here before he was stuck permanently. The thought sent a shiver up his spine. His life wasn't perfect - He still had a lot of insecurities, anxieties, and depressing thoughts to battle off each day - but it was his life and despite all that, he quite liked it and wanted to return to it.

He took off into the air, though he didn't fly too high. He didn't know if this place's atmosphere was different from Earth's - the air and sky certainly looked different. There was a chance the air would become too thin to breathe sooner than it did on Earth. As he flew, he noticed something - or rather someone - out of the corner of his eye and quickly flew over, landing gently right in front of her.

"Nico?" he asked, recognizing her easily - the Young Avengers and Runaways had teamed up (and fought) multiple times before after all. But last he'd heard, he hadn't thought any of the Runaways were in New York City or even New York state. It couldn't have been a coincidence that they were both here, right? "Are you okay?" he asked first because obviously that was the most important priority and then, "Do you - Do you remember how you got here?" He really hoped his magic hadn't accidentally brought her here - She'd probably be pissed if it had.

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549 words
Nico Minoru

She hobbled through dust and sand for what seemed like forever, the twin suns beating down upon her back, scorching her pale skin an angry pink. Sweat clung to her brow, plastering her angular fringe to her face. The ground underfoot was cracked and barren, and no matter the direction she looked, she saw no signs of life: no flora, fauna nor water was obvious to her. As far as she could tell, she was alone. Totally and utterly alone.

It was no surprise, then, that when the outline of another appeared, suspended amidst thick clouds, little more than a dark shape upon the horizon, she initially thought it a mirage, an illusion conjured by dust, light and heat. Shaking her head, she muttered at herself under her breath, berating herself for seeing things that weren’t there. However, when she looked skyward again, the shape was larger, closer, and coming into focus.

"Nico?"

Mirages didn’t talk, nor look that much like Billy Kaplan – as far as she was aware. Before she could fully comprehend his sudden arrival, he’d landed in front of her, clad in crimson robes, and began asking her questions, obvious things like ‘Are you okay?’ and ‘How did you get here?’ She stared at him for a long moment, eyes wide, before raising her staff to poke him gently in the midriff. When it didn’t cause him to vanish, his very real body providing very real resistance, she sighed and dropped her head back in relief. “You’re real. I thought I was going crazy.”

Collapsing into a sitting position, she took a deep breath, and then looked up at the Young Avenger, raising a hand to shield her eyes from the ambient suns’ glare. “I’m…tired. Thirsty. Hungry. Slightly injured. Very confused.” She counted off her responses on her fingers, before shaking her head a bit and raising her shoulders in a defeated shrug. “And I have no idea how I got here. Or…where here is.” Chewing on her lower lip for a moment, she looked about herself. “I usually hate the ‘damsel in distress’ trope, but I won’t complain too much if you’re here to save me.” She paused, then quickly added. “Scratch that…It's been a really long morning and apparently I'm saying things I don't mean.”

Nico didn’t mind getting help from other people, but she’d given up getting ‘saved’ long ago. It had taken her a young lifetime of battling heartbreak and self-loathing, but she’d come to an understanding that she was all she needed to save herself.

Billy Kaplan

She wasn't saying anything. She was just staring. That couldn't have been a good sign. Billy's own worry only grew the longer the silence stretched on but he didn't think pressing for an answer was a good idea. Whatever had brought them here, maybe it had put her into shock? His eyes searched her for any injuries or any clear signs that something wasn't right. He knew she could heal herself but if she was in shock from whatever had happened, he had no problem of taking care of that for her. That's what friends were for after all.

She finally moved, just enough to raise her staff. He watched her, confused, concerned, as she poked him with her staff. Nothing happened because she hadn't said a spell and he still remembered that was how her magic worked. Unless that had changed. He didn't think it had... How long had it been since they'd last seen each other? Too long most likely. The fact that she'd been thinking he wasn't real certainly explained the silence and the poke.

"As real as anyone," he replied with a teasing smile, the most he could muster over his continued confusion mixed with concern. Was it a coincidence that they were both here? Two young magic users - They had a decent enough in common to lead him to wonder if it wasn't a coincidence. Did they have any enemies in common? One could argue being heroes meant they had every enemy in common but there were some that the Runaways and Young Avengers had dealt with directly. Some that might still hold grudged over that.

Unfortunately Billy didn't have any food or water to offer her as he sat down next to her. "Sorry, I didn't bring breakfast," he admitted with a sheepish grin. He held a hand up, blue magic sparking between his fingers. "But I can help with those injuries if you want?" He understood if she didn't want help or to be saved - She had that in common with Kate and he knew Kate quite well so it was easy to understand. But there was also nothing wrong with accepting help, and considering how little of their situation they knew, it was probably best if they were both in as good of shape as they could manage.

He stretched his legs out and looked up at the sky. "I haven't tried to magic my way home yet," he said with a small shrug, "I feel... drained. I don't know how I got here but whatever did it, it took a lot of my magic. I can try teleporting us back but I don't know how successful that would be right now." It probably wouldn't make the situation worse - It would either work or it wouldn't work. But there was a chance it would drain what little strength he had left. It was certainly an option to be weighed but it was also a risk that needed to be calculated carefully.

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499 words
Nico Minoru