[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]

ON THE ROAD; 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.]

[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. ]

[anotheroldsoldier]

Everything leads me into trouble. And don't call me that. [He neglects to sass back that technically what he said was sarcasm, not a lie. He sounds slightly distracted, between checking his copy of the map and checking out the window of the truck as it rumbles slowly along.] Are we getting anything yet? [Magic-wise, he means.]

[ikols]

Imagine the first fuzzies after a few shots. Nothing notable. [ Magic-wise, as he assumes he's supposed to report. ] And can I ask, why do they call you Bucky when Jamie is so much more an obvious choice?

[anotheroldsoldier]

[He jots that down dutifully but then he makes a slight face at Jamie.]

Because it's my name. Call me Jamie and see what happens. [It's not a serious threat, honestly; there is less bark in his tone and more... apathy, really. He's not looking to start a fight out in the middle of the jungle.]

[ikols]

Jamie, Jamie, Jamiroquai! You, you give me something! Ooo, will you, will you gimme something?

[ Without missing a beat as he fans himself with his copied map, Loki wheedles the lyrics while peeking ahead at the road. Unafraid of retribution, he reaches to point when his equivalent of a sorcerous sixth-sense tingles. ]

Over yonder.

[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.

[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. ]

[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?

[ikols]

[ Since he can't seem to do anything but bother the Avenge-bros, he nods amiably without a shred of real visible reaction. ]

Can you never cut those things free from your body? Are you stuck like that forever, a man-bird cyborg?

[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.]

[wingedman]

It can be reversed with another operation, they said. [Sam shrugs, then winces as he regrets the motion.] Once it heals, it'll be more convenient than the jetpack. A lot less weight on my back, although I gotta get Stark to make me a new carrier for Redwing. And faster in emergencies, too.

[ikols]

What if someone decides they want what you have, while it's still connected to you?

[wingedman]

[Uh.]

Wouldn't work too well for them, for one thing.

[As for the other, there's suddenly a gun in Sam's left hand. Useless against Loki, he's sure - he doesn't even bother to click the safety off - but he's going to make the point nonetheless.]

I don't know about the Sam you're used to, but I got a whole lot of military training behind me. [Not just with guns, but with knives and fists and feet, too.]

[ikols]

[ Quick eyes flick to the gun, hands raising in a playful Don't Shoot gesture. Loki arches a brow. ]

I'm just saying, you've made yourself a target of worth. [ Can he resist this next part? He could, but, ] Felt like you had none, surrounded by super-soldiers? Is that why you upgraded?

[ Funny how such a word can sound so dirty, implying Sam's choices were flawed, but that's Loki's angle. To seek out the truth. ]

[wingedman]

[As quickly as it appeared, the gun is reholstered. Sam simply purses his lips at Loki's words. The god isn't entirely wrong, and Sam suspects he knows that. But like hell he'll admit to it.]

It seemed interesting - closest I'll ever get to unaided flight, anyway. [And maybe he could've had unaided flight, but come on, who wants to deal with all that flapping?] If it all goes wrong, you can just call me Icarus.

[ikols]

[ That's not a real answer and Loki's smirk shows it. He tosses his hair, lightening the mood with a careless huff. ]

Whatever, 'Thou doest thou' as we say in Asgardia. Can I see your jetpack now that you're not wearing it?

[ Wanting to get his hands on it. ]

[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.

[bespredel]

Hey shitbag, anyone ever teach you how to shut the hell up? [ Yuri had kept to himself for most of the ride, refusing to feel out of place. He had been invited for a reason, after all. Even if that reason is just 'getting some field experience'. So he's trying to be at least, be somewhat civil for the most part. But he has a breaking point, and listening to Loki has been fraying on what little control over his temper he normally has. ]