woundedwinter | Sandbox thoughts

Sandbox thoughts

Torchwood.
The last place Bucky was looking to find answers was in Cardiff, of all damn places, but he had run out of options.

Seventy odd years ago he was a solider, a sniper in the 107th and he had everything a fella could want. A best friend, a damn good career and a unit he cared for. A mission in the mountains had gone wrong. They were ambushed and in a desperate attempt to save his friend, Bucky fell. He didn't tumble down the side of the mountain or crash into the ice, though. He was swallowed up by a burst of blue-white light and six months ago he dumped in the middle of New Mexico with an artificial left arm and no memory of what had happened to him or why he'd been flung so far into the future.

He called in what favors he could, talked to anyone who would listen, desperate for answers. What had happened to him? Where had he gone? The Howling Commandos were long gone. He had nothing left.

It was easy to strike the deal in the end. Work with Torchwood and try and find the answers. They dealt in the weird and unexplained and god knows Bucky had enough of that.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Steve feels so much better when Bucky is there. He’d tried to busy himself with getting the blood out of his hair but it’s just not working. His hair is matted for all eternity.

“I think I might be done with plane rides,” Steve says, still scrubbing at his scalp. He turns off the water and leans out to grab a towel. “And France. And—. Where actually are we?”

Bucky will pin Steve down and fix his hair once they're out of immediate danger. He can't let go of his instinct to take care of him and he's happy to continue with that once they're safe.

"It's an eight hour drive from Wales, which is where we're based. Cardiff. Right now? We're in Antarctica. Land of snow and ice and damn little else."

“And eight more anomalies,” Steve gripes. “Antarctica. Well I guess you really do end up seeing the world when you join the Army,” Steve mutters and ruins the towel with goop that hadn’t come off of him. He looks better now than he had before, and considering he’d recently been inside a blob, he thinks anything is an improvement.

They should clear out for Sylar either way. The guy still looks like he’d gotten into a fight with a red paint store.

And he wants to talk shop with Jack.

By the time they get back to the others, Peter is bundled up and poking at some of the panels, trying to supplement the power until they can get out again. Constantine is at least upright, but in no shape for another battle.

They'll have to track the other anomalies, but with luck they can wait until the return to Cardiff.

Sylar takes a long time in the bathroom as Jack crouches by Peter to observe what he’s doing. The kid is bright, it’s not all that often you find someone so good with their hands. He even compliments him. Jack is the nicer, more dad-like version of Tony Stark. He’s just as much a genius with machines but he’s down to earth about it. And enjoys being a father figure.

Steve waits until Jack has a moment to ask what they’ll be doing next.

“We have at least two more hours until the vortex manipulator is fully charged. Gabriel used to be able to teleport but he lost it. He’d only be able to take us one or two at a time anyway. When he’s done cleaning up, we’ll go back out. You lot stay here.”

Steve snorts. “I’m coming.”

“No offense but you’re a little too green.”

Mr. Harkness is nice, he listens and asks questions and doesn't make Peter feel like a kid. He likes him. Not every adult goes to that level of effort.

"Two more hours? I can make sure everything is running for another week if you need to!"

Bucky grins at Jack making friends with the kid. He's always been good with people. It's nice to see.

"Two hours huh? Okay. If we can get a signal back to Torchwood I can radio in and let them know what the situation is."

“That’s not a bad idea,” Jack says. “We are no where near a population center so I’m not too worried about u leashing mayhem on unsuspecting people,” he grins. “Not like what happened a few weeks ago. I still keep thinking I smell the sour milk at the grocery store.”

Jack laughs with Bucky, and the arched eye brow the blond gives the Captain goes without answer.

“There should be an array back in the lab. Just don’t release the spiders.”

"Never gonna let me live that down, are you?" Bucky smirks before clapping Steve on the shoulder. "C'mon pal. Let's get a signal back to the others so they know we have company."

Peter brightens, "I can help, I know the systems up there. I mean, they're pretty old but I can get them working."

Leaving John Constantine to his own devices isn’t something Jack really wants to do. Bucky will be close, but a guy that can shoot fire from his hands trumps a metal arm. And that’s just science. He still parts ways with Bucky by putting a hand in his shoulder and squeezing. “We can be back in two minutes,” he tells the man before he takes Sylar back into the facility.

They deal with some run of the mill Rift dwellers, and call back their progress as they go until they get separated sometime after they hit the fourth anomaly. The old Main Room where the Rift had once been managed had go into time dilation.

Jack was caught in it…. But Sylar wasn’t. He’s aware of the problem as his feet take him back into the living quarters where John had been resting.

“The flame throwing. How do you do that?”

John is sitting up, scrubbing a hand through his hair when he hears footsteps. The darker haired one, is it? He's attractive but John's instincts are screaming at him. The man is no demon, but he's dangerous.

So best tread carefully.

"That? That was your run of the mill pyromancy. Magic, mate."

When Jack doesn't return right away, Bucky will drag Steve, and probably by extension Peter, to look for him. Socially he might be late sometimes, but never when he's on the job.

If he’d been operating at full Sylar capacity, he would not have let the others in the lab know he’d come back. Alone. Perhaps it’s a good indication that he really doesn’t want to cause problems the way he’d used to. Hurting people isn’t just game anymore, but he’s still coerced by the very nature of his aptitude.

He wants to know how things work. He wants to know how they interact with the universe. He wants to take something apart to see the gears turning and the springs vibrating.

“Magic.” Magic isn’t real. It’s just science in another package. “How do you do it?”

"I imagine the same way you do your thing, or how the lad can climb walls like it's nothing. Magic is a skill you're born with." He holds out his palm, levitating his lighter a few inches above it.

"You either have the ability or you don't."

Time dilation.
Wonderful.
Bucky snarls under his breath and starts directing both Steve and Peter on the best way to pull Jack free from it.

This either works very well in Sylar’s favor…. Or it doesn’t. Of course Bucky, Steve and the kid get themselves stuck— it will be fine. Time for them will be slow, just a few minutes really. It’s time enough for Sylar to really discuss things with John.

His eyes are already too focused, pupils blown wide open. “Your spider friend was not born with his ability,” Sylar says. It’s likely the only reason why he and Steve are safe. “I would really like to know how yours works.”

Maybe not the telekinesis part. Sylar has that one already.

Bollocks.
The man may not be a demon but he's dangerous. He can see that in his eyes and the way he's carrying himself. John pulls himself to his feet. "Don't go down that path, mate. This isn't a power you can control without consequences."

Like demons. Other mages. Darker forces of the Pit.

“Honestly, heard that one before,” Sylar says,” his hands inside of the pockets of his parka specially to keep himself from reaching out. He doesn’t need his hands to direct his telekinesis but it feels better doing it. The swipe of a hand through the hair, followed by the unseen force sweeping something or someone in the same manner, gives him a lot of pleasure.

He keeps his head very still for the same reason.

“I’m not…. I don’t want to take it from you,” he lies, anger at himself seeping into the way he looks at John. “I just want to know.”

"This power takes everything from you," he warns him. "And everyone."

Constantine has tried so hard to do right with his power and his skill but for every person he's helped and every life he's saved, he's buried friends. Lovers.

Or he's watched them pulled into Hell.

"There's no knowing. There's only doing. Go down that path and it'll consume you."

This hits Sylar hard in his chest, and his face contorts as he openly stares at Constantine. “That’s….” His eyes close as he pinches the bridge of his nose. “That’s too late for me. My ability consumes everything.”

He’s never spoken to someone like him.

“And leaves just me. It is just me. And Jack Harkness.” And you, John. And you.

Oh but John recognizes that expression. He fishes in his coat and shakes out his cigarettes, offering one over to Sylar. "Well. Aren't we the trio of fun then? Three lost souls working for, well, whatever it is you work for."

Sara Lance is going to be right pissed when he finds his way back to the Waverider.

"Don't make matters worse, mate. If your ability comes with a cost, no sense in compounding it."

“I try, you know…?” Sylar rubs his hand through his hair and then shoved that hand back into his pocket. “I try not to slip. It’s been years. But you’re— You're setting me off harder than anyone has since—“

Sylar turns and leaves the room. He’ll need a breather. But standing at the door, he does pause.

“Jack and the boys are hanging out in a time dilation. You have anything for that?”

There's a flicker of empathy as John nods. He is no stranger to addiction and he's lost more friends than he can count to drugs, liquor and an addiction to magic.

He'll have to tamp down on his power until he can find a way home.

"Time you say?" A smirk. "Yeah. Take a breather mate. I've got this."

A little plasma stolen from the time stream should give them just enough of a jolt to pull free. So much for saving that for a bigger spell. Ah well.

"Welcome back lads."

It’s not as if Jack hadn’t known what had happened. He’d seen Gabriel speed up and shoot off. He’d seen Bucky and Steve come by almost twenty minutes later with the kid right behind them, and then get stuck too.

For the last two hours, he’s been a nervous wreck about what he’d find upstairs. That’s why he’s so thrilled to see John and he moves immediately to hug the man and waft his truth fantastic smell in the blond’s direction.

“Where’s Gabriel?”

Constantine doesn't shy away from that hug, turning his face into Jack's neck to breathe in that amazing smell. Speaking of addicting.

"He told me what the trouble was," he answers smoothly. "lucky for you blokes I came prepared."

Bucky helps Steve and Peter to their feet, offering quick reassurances that yes he's been through that before and yes it's really fine. "Come on fellas. It shouldn't be long before we can get out of here."

Jack’s hand lingers on John’s shoulder. “Thank you,” he says, and then takes the cold iron stairs up towards the main level. His greatcoat catches the back of each lock as he tries to get to one of his kids.

That leaves Steve more confused than ever as he looks at the other three. They all seem to understand what’s going on, but Steve really doesn’t have a clue.

At least the world’s slowed down again (from his perspective).

“So is that three down…?”

"Not quite," Bucky starts steering them back to the living quarters. "It's a time dilation, like a hiccup in time. This isn't the first time I've seen one."

A nod to Constantine who pulled them out. "Leave Jack to talk to Sylar. By then we should be able to get back to Cardiff." Maybe not home for Steve or Peter but he's got an apartment and a place for all of them.

Gabriel isn’t exactly receptive, even when Jack strokes his ego and tells the other man how proud he is of him. Something is different about Constantine, and Jack can’t decide if it’s a good something or a bad something. Either way, the man is sexy as hell and Jack will have a hard time keeping the flirting to a minimum.

It’s not too long before they get the communications array up and a man answers the line with a smarmy voice that sounds half drunk and half high. “Well! Finally! Sergeant Barnes, all your limbs still attached?”

Klaus has always liked Bucky. The guy is one of the few that doesn’t look down his nose at him.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject