[closed] [mission log]

[anotheroldsoldier]

who: Bucky Barnes [616], Steve Rogers [616], Steve Rogers [MCU], Michael Scofield, Stephen Strange, Loki, Sam Wilson, and Yuri Plisetsky. Feat. Tony Stark as remote consultant.
what: Mission: Healing Spring
when: Forward-dated to the week of April 23rd-29th
where: Out in the wilds beyond the wall
warnings: Possible (definite) violence/monster attacks. Will update.

[ooc: Headers below for each 'stage' of the mission. This is going down mingle-style fast and loose. If you don't want threadjacks in a particular thread, just say so in your header, else it's all fair game. It might get chaotic, so if/when anything major happens I'll summarize up here.]

• Much bickering is to be had.


• Sam has cool wings.


• Michael puked out a window.


• Steve needs laser safety classes.


• ROCK LOBSTER- I mean, golems.


• Michael and Sam actually find the place.

Comments

PREPARING TO LEAVE; April 23

[anotheroldsoldier]

[anotheroldsoldier]

[Rumors abound about a spring deep in the jungle with supposed healing properties. Science and magic can't agree about whether or not it exists, and whether or not it can actually heal a person, but frankly that doesn't really surprise Bucky. Do those sides agree on much at all? He figures they'll find out, since their team includes Stephen Strange and Loki, and Michael Scofield, who is more firmly in the science camp.

Armed with a vague map of where the spring is theorized to be, and a dossier that consists of a collection of rumors and legends about it, a group of eight has been gathered to go on the expedition.

They're well-supplied. They'll be taking two trucks as far as they can, at least until the paths are too small and close and they have to continue on foot. Bucky is dressed for the wilderness, out by one of the trucks, loading a hiking pack into the back of it and mentally going over the supply lists. He's got the shield strapped to his back and a rifle leaning up against the truck's wheel.]

ON THE ROAD; April 23-?

[anotheroldsoldier]

[ikols]

Are we there yet?

[ Leaning over the partition in the first truck, this may be the second or seventieth inquiry during the past half-hour. Somehow, Loki has got hold of the map and has Sharpie'd on annotations here and there (some useful and indicative of possible magical traces to do with the spring, others specifying idle observations such as Stephen needed to stop and pee by a tree) which currently flaps in his grip as he peers forward at the road ahead. ]

[anotheroldsoldier]

[Bucky is sitting in the passenger's seat currently, a copy of the map on his lap (because of course he made copies, they can combine all the useful bits onto one map when they get back to the city), charting the path they've taken so far through the largely-unmapped jungle. The paths are getting sparser and even less frequently trodden-upon the deeper they go.

To his credit, he doesn't react in irritation or anger to Loki's seventieth inquiry of 'are we there yet?', because it's definitely the seventieth. He just says flatly, not looking up from his paper,]

Yes. We're there yet.

[ikols]

Lies will lead you into trouble, James.

[ This sage advice comes as Loki doodles the metal-armed man on his map, thunderbolts sparking from Bucky's fingertips. ]

[wingedman]

[There's a certain smug feeling that Sam hides from the others once they're stuck trekking through the jungle on foot and he keeps scouting ahead by air. At least the smugness helps him ignore the ache in his back - he has prescription painkillers for extreme situations, but chooses to stick to the over the counter stuff for daily use. (Yeah, maybe going on a mission right after an elective surgery was a bad idea, but at least he's not dumb enough to try and use the new wings for extended periods of time yet.)

He returns to the group around lunchtime, such as it is - more like a chance for everyone who isn't a super-soldier (or a god, or just crazy like Bucky) to rest for a bit while eating boring trail rations. Sure, he could eat and keep scouting out, and he has done it before. But right now, it's better to scout shorter distances in different directions, limited as they are to the speed of traveling on foot.

Sam slips out of his harness for a moment - steps away from the group and continues, taking off his jacket and peeling off the sweat-soaked tank top underneath. The skin around the metal implants in his shoulderblades is red and sore-looking, and he's got a tube of salve to rub on it. He just doesn't want to do it around everyone else.]

[ikols]

Tweet, tweet.

[ Guess which godling is suddenly leaning against that tree, right there. Yes, that one, where no one stood before.

They haven't really spoken in private since their shared breakfast which ended on sourer terms than it began. During this adventurous trek, Loki has envied Sam his bouts of flight and found the jetpack-wings have drawn his attention more than any graceless mistakes he could needle for fun; now that he has an unobstructed view and it's not as he suspected, not at all because those aren't something he can steal (so easily), he cocks his head. ]

Maybe you should have requested reinforced legs, Falcon. We could have renamed you the Emu. Way scarier.

[wingedman]

Please. If I get anything, it'll be knives on my feet, and then you can call me the Cassowary.

[...what? Sam likes birds, he knows things about them. And while falcons are much cooler-looking than cassowaries, the latter are birds you definitely don't fuck with.

Sam reaches around to his back, rubbing the salve on the sore skin. It's mostly healed by now, but being under the weight of the harness all day makes it tender.]

Is this my appointed slot of Loki-bothering time?

[starspangled]

[steve would've liked to keep going, but he knows that's asking too much of some of their party. he's not tired, but he is hungry, and he's tearing into those rations while keeping an eye out for anything that might ambush them.

he's also keeping an eye out for sam, so when his friend lands and quickly slips away, steve puts down his trail mix and follows.]

I thought you might like a drink.

[steve offers the canteen, that hunch supported by sam's sweat-drenched clothes. his eyes go right to the other man's shoulders.]

You okay?

[wingedman]

[Sam knows it's important to keep hydrated, and he's not dumb enough to turn down water. He takes a canteen with him while he's flying - wearing his tactical gear under the harness is enough to make him sweat like hell, and he keeps drinking regularly. He hasn't had a chance to refill his own since stopping, though, and he takes the water Steve offers gratefully, tipping it up as he takes a long drink.]

Just sore, that's all. I'll be fine.

{Which is mostly true. Even if it weren't, that's still what he'd tell Steve anyway, and they both know that.]

[livingsymbol]

[Despite being mostly quiet for the trip, Steve is paying attention to his teammates. He keeps an eye on them, making sure to note what they do so Bucky can concentrate on leading the way. And he notices Sam slipping from the group. Following after, he comes up behind Sam.]

You okay?

[prisonking]

[ It's a long ride out into the wilderness. Michael's spent the past couple hours with a binder across his lap, catching up on his past-due paperwork. He's almost done signing off on the last of his damage reports when the road starts to get rough.

It's fine, at first. Just a little nausea, on top of his Jamiroquai-induced headache. This isn't Michael's first road-trip. All he needs is some water and a little fresh air. He'll take a drink and open the window as soon as he's finished reading. Between the bumps and the bickering, Michael's focus is already strained, he doesn't want to lose his spot. ]

Guys, could you give it a rest for a couple minutes? I'm-

[ Michael claps a hand over his mouth, his face going white. He'll crawl over as many laps as it takes to get to a window. Of course, even on the moon in an alternate dimension, there are safety locks on the doors and windows.

Michael needs an assist, stat. ]

[starspangled]

[it's been a long time since the last time steve was sick, but not so long that he's forgotten how it feels. nausea was practically a part of his daily life, brought on for one reason or another. so he knows the look, understands what the desperate crawl over his lap means. he's already got the window down, a hand going to the back of Michael's head to help guide him. he winces at the sound. yeah, that brings back some memories.]

Easy. Deep breaths.

weird camping things.

[ikols]

[ Once, a decent amount of time ago, Verity took Loki to an art museum. She found him cross-legged as he stared up at a painting and when she asked him what he was looking at so intently he replied, There's so much to see. The eyes of the godling observed everything her mortal pair couldn't; twists in direction from a paintbrush that emoted through the picture's design, a story written without words about the artist and their temperament. The heart that moved paint from palette to easel. Arthritis reshaped and shaped again, forgotten shapes remastered by a dying, determined mind.

He read the lives of the men and women and felt full.

The forest around the Avenge-party is noisy at night and tells a story too, one from animals to stars and back again, every shift in the weather affecting the mood of the night from the bugs to the behemoth snoozing far away. Magic beats in the breast of the dirt and boles, a second heartbeat thumping somewhere ahead in the hidden hills that tells him the spring is here, this way, but it's part of the land and Loki is not.

Unless he chooses to be.

This is a tale of beasts and men so he chooses the former, the dominant, and slinks off each evening to keep watch, letting the lay of the moon and its allure shape his form into something more natural at the time; a fox sits on a pile of boulders in the silver light, whiskers twitching as perky ears swivel. Green eyes reflect the flecked sky overhead as he keeps watch over the party from a small distance, horns glinting golden, sharp.

The land has so much to say, it's safer if someone is listening. ]

CAMPING CAMPING

[livingsymbol]

[The travel is hard. Long road trips are tiring, and the breaks they do take come with the work of setting up camp and making sure the area is safe. Steve tries to make that easier by collecting wood for the fire and setting up camp himself, but of course it's more than a one man job.

And then there's finding food. They want to get more than travel rations after all. He's glad to have any help he can get, although even through the hard work, everyone can see a certain energy about him. He's glad to be out on this mission. It feels like home.

Maybe a little too much like home, because suddenly he calls out:]

Heads up!

[And that would be a laser heading someone's way a bit too close for comfort.]

[anotheroldsoldier]

[This has been good for Steve. Despite the irritations of a big group in a too-small cluster, Bucky can tell that Steve seems a little less restless, a little more energetic. It's good for him too, honestly. Good to be doing something. And, if they actually find this spring, if it turns out to be all the rumors say it is, they'll have done something good.

Bucky is leaving the circle of the campsite to go help Steve with whatever he's doing, shield on his back, though he thanks god he has good enough reflexes to duck that laser, rolling to the side.]

What the hell was that!

[bespredel]

[ He may be the youngest in their party by far, but Yuri has done everything he can to keep up. He doesn't complain, he works hard, and he throws himself into whatever task James asks of him.

He doesn't really listen to anyone else, but that hadn't seemed to have caused too many problems thus far. It wasn't like he was actively disruptive, either. Not like some people. (Looking at you, Loki.)

But still, any fifteen year old kid is liable to get tired after a few days in the jungle, all of them tough. Maybe even gruelling.

Yuri had one of his purple leopard print sneakers off, sitting on a log and rubbing the arch of his foot, trying to ease their throbbing. He was no stranger to pain, and so knew the ways to relieve it, at least a little. Later he would have blamed himself for taking this moment, seeing as it meant he hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings like he should have. He'd let his guard down, because he'd figured hey- they'd stopped for a little bit. Sure they weren't camping yet, but thus far nothing had really come up. He was just glad that it was a lesson he was able to learn from, and not something that had been more... final.

At the other's shout, Yuri leapt to his feet, hand snatching at his spear where it had been resting, shoe forgotten as he whirled, trying to discern what the reason for the alarm was- and then jerking backwards, throwing himself back over the log that had been his seat to get out of the way of the laser. The log sent him sprawling, landing hard on his back and shoulders his hands clutching tightly to his spear, hugging it to his chest. His head bounced off the ground, disorienting him momentarily. ]

Shit. [ He swore, hissing and sitting up, every muscle in him feeling tense as he tried to focus his vision enough to figure out of the laser was coming back; and to check that he still had all of his limbs. That he had avoided it. ] What the HELL!

ROCK MONSTERS we need some action in here

[anotheroldsoldier]

[The trip certainly hasn't been easy, but it was easier with the trucks. They'd had to leave them behind, covered in camo netting in a small, hacked-out clearing a few miles back when the vegetation grew too thick to drive through. Since then, they've had to take turns hacking the path with machetes (lucky Sam gets to fly and scout ahead - Bucky envies him a bit) and have taken it on foot, carting just the essentials in hiking packs.

The terrain slowly changes, the trees slowly start to grow farther apart, leaving more space in between, or- they're knocked down, splintered and piled on the ground. Strange rock formations, covered in moss, jut out of the soil, dotted across the landscape at scattered intervals.

Bucky marks them on the map as the party makes their way, not paying them much mind. At least until they start rumbling.]

Uh... Did anyone else feel that?

[livingsymbol]

[Steve is marking the terrain, sketching when they stop or sometimes along the road because he's fascinated by the change in scenery. It's actually fun, if he's really honest with himself, and entering into that abandoned space is something he hasn't seen before. It's worth drawing.

The rumbling pulls his attention out of his musing. He tenses up, staring at the formations as they seem to tremble under the vibrations.]

It's big. Whatever is coming is coming fast.

AT THE HEALING SPRINGS, April 29

[anotheroldsoldier]

[prisonking]

[ While the others are still busy fighting, Michael and Sam are making themselves useful scouting ahead. Michael covers ground on foot, keeping an eye out for any signs of the spring, and Sam watches his back from above, making sure his route is clear and calling out any landmarks of interest.

He nearly slips hearing a loud crash from behind him, loud even from a distance. The clash of shield against rock, or maybe rock against rock. It's too far away to tell, and it doesn't matter. His focus needs to stay on the path in front of him. The jungle is treacherous, and just keeping his footing as he runs requires his full attention.

Michael knows his strengths. He's only a liability and a distraction on the battlefield. He doesn't waste time feeling guilty. Everyone has their job to do. His is to take back enough information and samples back to Riverview for this trip to be worth the effort. He won't let the team down.

There's a break in the foliage ahead. Michael stops running, cautious as he steps out from the coverage of the jungle and into the clearing.

What was once a temple, or mausoleum, is now a ruin. Few of the tall, stone towers are left standing. Most have been toppled, and lie covered in ivy against the cobbled ground. Most architecturally impressive is the central structure, weathered with time, but still remarkably well-preserved and uncompromised. Michael's never seen anything like it out, not in real life. The closest he's come are pictures of Ta Prohm in an anthropology textbook.

The entrance is sealed by a large stone slab. Michael knows at a glance there's no moving the obstruction, whoever had closed the shrine hadn't intended for it to be opened.

As Michael strips the sticky backing off the blocks of C4, setting them at strategic points within the archway, he's almost loath to blow it up. If Michael's calculations are correct the charge should only take out the slab, and leave the frame itself intact. Safety is his highest priority, but he can't help but put some thought into preserving the surrounding carvings. ]

Hey Sam! We clear?

[wingedman]

[Sam's circling like a bird of prey; most of his attention is on watching Michael's path, but he spares the occasional glance back for the fight. He's just as useless against the rock golems as Michael is, and knows he's better off helping him find his way to the spring, but there's a part of him that's maybe a little too eager for a fight. (It is, he suspects, the part of him that's spent too damn much time around Steve Rogers.)

Once they reach the ruins, Sam tacks lower, weaving around the remaining towers and the main building itself. The ruins are impressive, beautiful and covered in intricate carvings, and Sam wonders what sort of beings created them. There might be clues in the carvings, but there's no time to spare to study them. Maybe later he'll take some pictures and video with his phone.]

You're good! [Called back from within hearing distance. Sam unholsters his pistols and waits; if there's anything around, the sound of the explosives might scare it out into the open.]

[anotheroldsoldier]

[Once they actually reached the springs, he lets the resident scientist and magic expert do their things. The pool of water is deceptively peaceful, and Bucky prowls around the edges of the temple-like ruin, curiously inspecting the strange and colorful vegetation.

Bending down, he touches a finger to some large, open flower-like plants, and promptly coughs when the light touch shakes off yellow pollen that makes his eyes water.]

Touching these things is a bad idea. For future reference.

[ikols]

[ When the Avengers & Co have finished their scientific bumblings (Loki munches on a chocolate bar in the interim of their investigations, feeding some to an omnivorous plant on the sidelines of the temple) the godling steps up to the edge of the pool and stretches his fingers; he draws Gram, the Sword of Truth, from thin air and its golden glow warms the immediate surroundings. He's so glad it isn't still broken in the hands of his brother. Recalling it feels like a friendly handshake, its pressure familiar in his palm when he twirls it around.

Loki kneels down and dips it into the pool. When nothing happens (no explosion, no exorcism of covert traps that would suggest the pool is cursed or poisoned, Sigurd's blooded weapon acting all but bored as if Fafnir's blood gives no fucks) he sloshes the hero's blade back and forth. Splish, splash! He pays attention to how some weeds seem to stand taller and grow greener when flecked with water, satisfied. ]

... Cool.