Collision @imperfectsoldier

[hellrider]

It's not the first alien crash site New Mexico has seen in the last decade. At this point, the USA should be getting used to phenomena like this. First Thor and Loki, then the Chitauri, and now there's this monstrosity of sinews and tentacles and otherworldly components scattered across the shores of Lost Lake. No one was there when it landed, but the energy fluctuations in the area were off the charts for hours before it appeared, and they're still not under control. Some kind of dimensional shift, tears in time and space...Banner could probably explain it, if he were available. He's not, though, AWOL after the Ultron incident, and so it's up to others to put the pieces together.

Up close, much of the debris has a very distinct look, like the limbs of a giant octopus, complete with suckers. They arch across the natural landscape, smelling not of dead fish, but rather of ozone and copper. Deeper into the crash site, there are what appear to be biomechanical panels, half shattered and burning. If it were a more familiar vehicle, protocol would probably dictate a search for survivors first and foremost, but god only knows what could have been flying in this thing.

Steve and his comrades are spared the trouble of finding out the hard way, when a battered figure stumbles free of the wreckage and collapses to its knees in the shallow water nearby. It looks like a man, but his skin is a deep, inhuman reddish tone, he has a pair of jagged horns, and a spade-tipped tail curls behind him. Honestly, he looks like nothing so much as a Victorian era illustration of some sort of demon or devil, but the impression he makes as he splashes his face with water shakily is far from aggressive.

Comments

[hellrider]

Steve says 'enhanced' like it should mean something to Zevlor, and in a sense it does, though perhaps not the way he means it. Adventurers and others trained in certain professions usually develop strength and agility beyond what's normal for the average person of their race and build. Already, he's seen Steve run, and heard him describe Wanda as possessed of psionic abilities. He's classed them mentally as, perhaps, a sorcerer and a fighter, or maybe even another paladin.

The rest is a little harder to wrap his brain around. Changes size with a suit? He'll just have to observe as he goes.

He pauses at the door for a moment, face unreadable, as a wave of deep sadness washes over him. It shouldn't matter. It doesn't matter. But: "I'm the only one of my kind here."

It's a lonely thought, particularly after all he's tried to give for his kin. After a moment he shakes his head as if to push it aside. There's work to be done. As long as he has some sort of purpose to pursue, he'll be all right. "I'm fine. Let's go."

[imperfectsoldier]

Steve is leaning into the standard definition of enhanced and hoping it explains at least broadly what he means when he uses it to describe himself and Wanda. It's pretty much the only word he's got for some kind of umbrella term.

Mostly... the other things are more important. "I know." He touches right between Zevlor's shoulders briefly. He knows. He also knows that he doesn't know. Steve absolutely sees himself as just A Guy in general, and pretty damn out of place (feeling it always, more so since the ice) but he's not blind to the ways in which he's got some heavy advantages and privilege.

In being an attractive white guy. This is bigger and deeper than that.

"I'm down a lot of resources." Tony. Banner. He could use them now. "But we'll do the best we can all around. You ready to get out of here?"

[hellrider]

The tiefling's tail is expressive; it's drooping now, but the spaded tip weaves in the air slowly behind him. Thanks to his armor, he can barely feel the touch against his back, but almost unconsciously, he curls his tail against Steve's ankle. A touch in return, to ground himself. Presumptuous, maybe, but somehow he thinks it will be understood.

"I'm ready," he says, and gives him a slight nod. It does take a bit of courage to walk into a flying machine after just having crashed one, but bravery is something Zevlor has never lacked. He crosses over the threshold, ducking slightly to avoid catching his horns on the doorframe.

He pauses once inside, letting his eyes adjust, and looking ill at ease, painfully aware that to these new humans he's going to look borderline nightmarish, between his different appearance and the blood and ichor staining his clothes.

[imperfectsoldier]

Steve almost startles at the tail wrapping around his ankle. It isn't quite a startle, because it's not that fast, but he definitely stops walking and drops his eyes down to see what just happened.

Once he realizes what it is, though, he just smiles faintly and carries on and getting them inside.

He stops when Zevlor does, right beside him in a non-verbal and undeniable show of support - and reassurance for his people already on the plane.

Sam's response isn't much more than pivoting around in the pilot's seat and offering a "Hey, man". Wanda looks somewhere between alarmed and confused - and maybe fascinated. Scott opens his mouth and Steve... points at him and gives him a very firm "Don't" which results in the man at least temporarily shutting up.

At that point and only that point does he point Zevlor to what would normally be the seat he chose, and the gangplank gets raised. "Get us out of here, Sam." Home? No, but Wakanda should be a given for this one. He hopes.

[hellrider]

Zevlor looks around the interior of the plane briefly as if trying to gauge where the exits are, in case he has to flee. This is, of course, not especially effective since there aren't many ways in and out of a jet. His nerves are almost palpable for a moment, as he relents and scans the faces of the people inside. Slowly, he nods a greeting, makes his way to the seat Steve indicates, and sits.

After a moment, he clears his throat hesitantly and says, "My name is Zevlor. My kind are called tieflings...I'm sure I look strange to you, but I don't mean you any harm."

Even as he speaks, it seems likely that what he's thinking is that he's a solitary being in the midst of four strangers. Steve seems trustworthy, and none of the others have given him a reason to distrust them, but he's still very outnumbered.

[imperfectsoldier]

Steve knows what kind of state Zevlor has got to be in. He's just come out of a hell of a battle, been dropped into a new world - and reality - and gotten into an enclosed space with people he knows nothing about. Shell shocked and exhausted are too mild for it.

It's impressive that he's doing it, much less doing it in a polite and reassuring way.

Making sure he's not going to have an issue makes Steve take a fresher look at his people on the plane than he has in a while, though. He has to acknowledge that better than Zevlor doesn't mean they're in good shape. It gets him up in the cockpit, making some quiet arrangements for all of them to get at least a few days.

Once that's done, Steve sits down on the floor with legs out and crossed at the ankle, back against the bulkhead between the open cockpit and passenger area. It's a casually strategic position. He doesn't anticipate problems from Zevlor, but having to walk over him to get into the cockpit isn't a hard safeguard to take and it lets him keep an eye on what's going on in both locations.

Once he's down and stops moving, though, he realizes that even he is hitting a wall. The serum can compensate for a hell of a lot, but there are limits. It's almost impossible for him to meet his caloric needs while on the run. He doesn't need nearly as much sleep as the others, but making sure they get it means he's in a deficit there, too.

Scott and Wanda end up falling asleep. Steve does not, but he stays where he put himself through the trip.

"Meet me back here in 72 hours." That's the full extent of his announcement that they're getting a damn break. He stays put until even Sam's gone though. "Come on. I'll stick with you until we're sure where they're going to put you, we track down food for both of us and everybody's more comfortable."

[hellrider]

Zevlor exchanges awkward pleasantries with Scott and Wanda--and would talk with Sam, too, and ask about his wings, but it seems unwise to disrupt the pilot's concentration. He seems to warm up to them subtly, although his body language remains too open and passive to be casual, like he takes it upon himself to project a non-threatening aura. When they quiet down and start to drift off, he stares out the window for a long while, too hypervigilant to take rest the way they can. He doesn't sleep on the flight at all, in fact, although there are a few moments where he curls up in his seat and looks like he's trying. Just never quite gets there.

Still, it's a physical rest, and he needed that.

He offers Sam an armclasp and thanks for the piloting as he departs, and then looks at Steve for direction. He is not disappointed. "Where 'they' will put me? Who is 'they'?"

Well, that's incorrect grammar, but he can't be blamed for wanting to know. He does seem interested in the idea of food, as well.

[imperfectsoldier]

"Wakanda." There's a bit of a tired smile, that says that's meant as gentle humor. "I'll make getting my hands on a map for you a priority." Or just a globe. "I dunno how much it'll help but knowing the layout of the planet and where you are on it can't hurt anything."

Telling Zevlor that it's a country in Africa isn't going to help until he knows w here Africa is.

Meanwhile - "Wakanda's one of the most technologically advanced and safest places in the world. Probably to some degree because they're isolationist enough to keep a lot of the world from knowing how good their capabilities and resources are." It's not quite formal enough to sound like a debrief, even if it weren't so condensed. "As for who they are... Speaking broadly, don't expect a warm welcome. Do expect that they'll protect you with their lives once they decide you're one of theirs." It'll be a good place for Zevlor, he thinks. At least as good as it's getting on earth.

Outside he squints a little at the sun again and takes a second to orient and decide on an order of operation. "More good than nice as a rule." People are people are individuals.