You remember dying.

You did not die heroically.

You died ugly, helpless, and alone. You did not live up to your full potential; whatever your grand destiny was supposed to be, you did not fulfill it. Your friends and loved ones never learned why you disappeared, never had a chance to grieve for you. One day you were just gone and sooner or later, you were forgotten.

You died with unfinished business and your death left an irreparable hole in the fabric of the Multiverse.

You remember a blinding white light, and you remember falling.

At Earth standard gravity, it takes less than five minutes to fall to Earth from the International Space Station. You fell for hours, fell for days through that blinding white light. You fell for an eternity.

And then suddenly you stopped. You land, face first, in an endless expanse of white sand; it is coarse and rough and irritating, and it gets everywhere.

There is nothing here but the sand. The sky is too perfectly blue, and the sunlight is too bright and too warm but there is no Sun to produce it.

There is nothing here but you, the sand, and as your eyes adjust to the light-- each other. You are all standing approximately fifteen feet apart, arranged in an evenly spaced circle, facing the other six inhabitants of this place.

Welcome to the eXiles.

Falling.

Like the ground just washed away from underneath your feet, and left you falling through the entire Universe.

Death, then falling, then an abrupt stop.

Sally Dane landed face down and spread-eagled on a mound of white sand. “Oh...oh...Om Shanti,” Sally gasped. When her stomach finally came to a stop with the rest of her body, Sally raised her head. Desert as far as the eye could see.

Grateful that loopiness passed, Sally pushed herself onto her hands and knees. Wrinkling her nose in disgust, she brushed the sand off her face, arms, and her violet & turquoise psychedelic print mini-dress. “I must have sub-consciously protected myself with a magnetic force-field,” she muttered. “Otherwise, I’d have skinned most of my legs!”

Sally brushed the sand off said legs and stood on shaky legs. She brushed back her straight, nearly waist-length black hair behind her shoulders. Once again, she surveyed the endless sea of white sands. “I must have tripped in Death Valley again.

Heavy.”

'Ya know, I thought being caught in the greatest of all explosions would hurt more... and aren't wormholes supposed to be colorful?  Krutack! If I was caught in the explosion, how am I supposed to see how amazing it was!?!'

Rocket is not a patient person.  An eternity of falling?  The first order of business of establishing where he is failed. He went over all the math of how he'd wind up in a wormhole, but that checked out.  He tried firing a few rounds to compare velocity, but it was rather hard to track with all the empty white space making it hard to tell which direction was which.  No evidence of changing velocity by that point, so he was going whatever his max speed was.  Exercise?  Filled a gap for a while, got bored of it.  Reconfigured his gear once, twice, who knows how many times.  Tried to make sure he had enough juice to land properly whenever he did see the ground.  More sleeping then he cared to admit, all that extra time was not favorable to him.

That said, it wasn't a true eternity, as he was quite rudely interrupted from one of his naps with a sudden impact to the ground. THUMP!  The uplifted rabbit quickly stood up, and vainly attempted smacking as much sand as he can out of his gun, his jumpsuit, and finally his lengthy ears.

“Oh my god, something different!  Finally!”  Quickly surveying the landscape now in front of him, and finding nothing but an endless expanse of sand.  “and it's nothing but a krutacking, empty, GOOD FOR NOTHING DESERT!  Wormholes aren't supposed to have ground!”

Raising a frustrated paw to his face, he continued his survey around until noting just behind him, several other... life forms.  Shielding his eyes with his paws to get a better look, he couldn't help but wonder.  'Oh, great.  Wormhole costume party.  I wonder if this is based on that 'Halloween' thing Quill wouldn't shut up about.'  Each and every person there got an inquisitive glare shot their way... some twice.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 18:53, Sun 24 Jan 2021.

*Ka-BLAM!*

A gun had ended it all.    A bullet right in the back of her skull.

A bullet -- how was that for some irony?   Prepared, she could bounce bullets all day long, even while stoned.    But she had not been prepared -- had been shot  -- assassinated -- right in her bedroom.

DEATH.

Initially, the fact of it had undone her, overwhelmed her --  but then it retreated into the past, becoming bearable, and leading her to become aware of the fact that she was still aware.

That bit didn't wholly surprise her --  a biologist by education, romantically involved and then married to a coldly scientific man for the better part of four years -- she was nonetheless a confirmed spiritualist.   Free falling through the blinding white light -- it wasn't entirely at variance with what she might have expected...

But when the hell was it going to end??

And then it did.

Endless white sand and pristine, blue sky were likewise not especially surprising.

That her heart was hammering, and that she was gasping was.

She was a biologist.     And she knew damn freaking well that she was alive...or at least in some very, very close facsimile of being alive.

Susan coughed...raised her head...there were others, she realized, as she did. And someone said what sounded like the Buddhist prayer for peace; echoed in the small, sterling silver symbol that hung about her neck.  Standing shakily, she brushed sand from the bohemian-style long skirt and halter-crop top that she wore.    And thought:

'Is that a f--king rabbit wearing a hat and packing heat-? Wait, no, it *couldn't* have been...'

Reflexively, her hand went to the back of her head where she had been shot.     Mind reeling at the thought the universe might have seen fit to have her rubbed out by a rabbit...
This message was last edited by the player at 07:23, Sun 24 Jan 2021.

Unseen, you can confirm that you have neither entry nor exit wounds consistent with any kind of gunshot-- you appear to be in perfect health. Currently.

"DOOOOMF!" Wade blurts through a mouthful of sand. He'd been falling for what seemed like forever, like a graceful swan having an epileptic seizure, and landed only slightly less gracefully than that. Grumbling, he picked himself up and brushed the sand out of his face. "Ah! Pismo Beach, and all the clams we can eat."

He wasn't alone, he realized. There were women. Beautiful women. On an endless white beach. He'd had dreams like this. (Although, to be honest, they were wearing a bit much for those dreams.) He must have gone to heaven.

How the freaking rabbit fit in, he wasn't sure. He wasn't any Bugs Bunny, that was for sure. He was probably a hallucination. Wade had certainly had those before.

"I don't know about you ladies," he said, "but I could go for a bucket of tequila and a lime the size of a M.O.D.O.K. right about now."

This dream wasn't so bad with the flying, but the landing had a lot to be desired.  Gwen coughs.  "Ugh, how did the sand get through the mask."  Her eyes start to adjust to what she considers an unreasonable amount of brightness.  Is that Sue Storm?  And a rabbit? she wonders.  This dream leaves a lot to be desired.

If this is a dream, why do I have a headache?  And why am I starving?

Then the rabbit talks.  Dream becoming more normal.  There's a protocol for going through a portal and finding a talking rabbit.  Oh, and there's a dudebro?  "No thanks on the Tequila, I feel like I already got hit with the bucket."

"Let me guess, you're late?" she asks the rabbit.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:45, Sun 24 Jan 2021.

Wind whips around the folds of the Iron Fist's costume as Danny Rand plummets toward the Earth. A flurry of half-formed thoughts and images flash through his mind as he falls, his eyes closed in what ought to be death.

"The Iron Fist is a weapon, Daniel. A tool to be aimed at our enemies. Nothing more."

"You will strike down the enemies of K'un-Lun, or you will be discarded!"

"This is your purpose. Your destiny. The people in that village are demons-- now, use the dragon's power and send them all to Hell!"

NO!

His eyes snap open and he braces for impact just as the Earth rushes up to meet him. The warm, sandy beachlike Earth. Where in Shou-Lao's name is he?

"Greetings," he says to the others, spitting some sand out of his mouth. Then, catching the tail-end of a Buddhist peace mantra, he adds: "Am I late for yoga?"

"Wowgr..." he said as his foot slipped slightly, the wrestling over the control for the time-bridge was going his way. Then, everything vanished as one foot went into the bridges threshold, and everything went strange. It had been damaged in the fight. Demons weren't usually the type to stand and fight, but this one had, of course for it was a mindless one, they didn't know they had already lost.   But under the spell of Dread Dormammu they fought.

He was always impressed by the lady, not that the flaming hair wasn't a beautiful look, he'd even said so before the fight began, and these things came flooding through a different gate entirely. He'd just sighed and braced himself, while the others did what they could, Strange was holding her at bay; Hulk was knocking Mindless ones left and right. He'd bounded between fights, aiding the others as he could. Can't be a good team if they didn't work together, was something Dr. Pym had drilled into him. She was more a looker than Dormammu, but was still on the rebound after Van Dyne.

He mumbled something about not looking at her tiny behind, when his foot slipped and now he fell. Where? When? He closed his eyes for a second then turned to look, just as he landed--impressed by the view as he landed barely on his feet. Then again, that's what cat's do.

"Why...hello ladies...." and after a pause "and others," a bit confused by the myriad of people about him.  He stands back and shakes the sand of his body and runs clawed hands through his dark colored hair. He smiled with quirk to it that showed slightly elongated canine teeth. Not that his orange fur didn't give away his handsome tigrish-physique.

"When and where are we? And has anyone seen Dr. Pym? She was just right beside me..." his tail swishes behind him, and a golden cat-head medallion should make him familiar to any heroes...
This message was last edited by the player at 04:13, Mon 25 Jan 2021.

Sally looked the martial artist over with a bemused smile. “You look like you’re on time for the midnight show of One-Armed Swordsman at The Castro, man.” When Tigro spoke up, she raised eyebrows and gave a low whistle. “Now I’m seeing Tony The Tiger! Was I even in a fight with Sauron, or did Mesmero take the brown one again?”

She glanced around, giggling nervously. “Alright, Mesmero! Stop fooling around and bring me back!”

"Mesmero...?" Wasn't he some third-rate telepath with green skin and bad taste in clothes? Wade was pretty sure he was wiped out with the rest of mutantkind when the Emerald Witch did her 'Kill All Mutants' routine. If Wade hadn't been supernaturally protected from that kind of mystic crap by his own mystic crap, he'd have gone too. "Okay, my hallucinations are having hallucinations. Can we just assume for a moment that everyone here is real, and get some names to go with the faces?

"Who wants to go first? Me? Well, if you all insist, sure. I'm Wade."

Rocket rolls his eyes.  "Let me guess, first time getting flung into a wormhole?  Heck of an experience.  Usually more colorful, and involves a ship.  If you must know, I'm Rocket.  I'm assuming by the dumb glued to your collective faces that none of you have an exit, either."

He quickly reassesses himself after landing. Fur still intact and fluffy, feet and ears still big, tail still short, hands still capable of using tools, jumpsuit still lacks holes and has quite a few pockets, lack of boots/gloves as intended, gun still 2/3rds his size, coms still hidden in jumpsuit... 'what else do I still have in there?'

Rocket starts rummaging through his jumpsuit, pulling out and dropping various tools, varied bombs, random electronic scrap and wires, and a twig he carefully puts back.  He quietly mutters to himself.  "Krutack, the good stuff left behind."  He then proceeds to shake the sand out of his hat and jumpsuit, and puts all his removed gear back, dusting each item with a few shakes and pats.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:38, Mon 25 Jan 2021.

Nonplussed-?

Uh huh.  Nonplussed. That was the word.  Or maybe it just pure, unadulterated shock.  She felt like she was about on the verge of losing it...

She gazed about at the others, taking in a score of detail, none of which added up, or clarified anything, or made any sense at all...

But there was one inescapable, immutable certainty.

"I died," she said, softly but audibly.   And then louder, addressing the lot of them:  "I died.  And that means, you're all dead too!"   It sounded almost accusatory.  She grabbed her head, ran her hands through her hair.

And then one hand went over her beating heart.   "Except I'm alive." She looked down over her body, at her hands, any personal detail she could see.   "And no school of reincarnation speaks of being born into the same exact body!"    She glanced downward, started pacing, talking as much to herself as anyone:

"The Bhagavat Purana says if you've been good and pious, you'll go to the planets of the demigods - the heavenly planets. Where you'll know extreme bliss for millions of years, before rebirth on Earth.  In a subtle body - a psychic, finer body that doesn't exude excretions. Like sweat." 

She glanced down at her bare midriff.  Over which a bead of cold sweat now wended its way.

"And I'm sweating! I'm f--king sweating." She drew a deep breath -- that also betokened good ol', crude, biological life.  She ran her hands through her hair again.  Then glared at the rabbit, eyes narrowing:

"You sound like someone else I know. Knew. Did know. Whatever. Assuming everything yields to scientific rational.   Well, good luck on this one, hare-brain!"   

Finally, she addressed the man who'd asked for introductions:

"Groovy, let's break the ice, shall we? Hey, Wade! Cool to meet you! I'm Sue f--king Richards!"   
This message was last edited by the player at 14:31, Mon 25 Jan 2021.

"Spider-woman." That's what they get for now - Maybe I can keep my identity secret for more than 5 minutes this time?

The large amounts of sand that had accumulated on her suit on landing seems to have disappeared from everything except her backpack.

"I'm sorry, I don't know any of the people you're talking about.  Unless Mesmero works with Mysterio?  Sorry, I don't leave New York much.

Sue and I have met," she adds, motioning towards the other blonde woman, or the only one from these people's perspective.
What a disaster that was.  Focus on getting home as long as she doesn't try to choke you.

"Um, congrats? On getting married.  Not on dying. And I like the new hairstyle."


"So does anybody know where here is?  I'm not so sure about the dying thing."

Gwen can't be dead - dying definitely would have triggered her spider-sense.  And besides, before this she'd been in the practice space with MJ - and MJ wasn't any physical danger to her.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 15:34, Mon 25 Jan 2021.

"Nuh-uh." Wade shook his head. "Everyone knows that Sue f--king Richards is made of rocks."

If she was going to claim to be one of the most famous people alive, she should probably pick someone a little less recognizable.

"And the Bunny here is Bruce F--king Banner."

“You’re Sue Richards?” Sally asked incredulously, clearly delighting in the blonde celebrity synonymous with “Wholesome” unapologetically dropping the F-Bomb. “Where I come from, Sue Richards is 100% an Establishment girl. But here you are, swearing to put Abbie Hoffman to shame!

Right on!” Sally raised her fist in the universal gesture of solidarity and “Power To The People”. Her love beads (complete with a Peace Symbol) swayed as she crossed the sand to stand beside Sue. “I don’t know when you turned on, but I’m digging this new ‘You’!”

When Sally heard what she’d said, she paused with a thoughtful smile. She pondered a wild notion, but one certainly no wilder than dying and experiencing rebirth in the desert. “Unless you aren’t the ‘Her’ I know. What if it’s like Schrödinger & Everett’s theories, like what Michael Moorcock wrote about in The Sundered Worlds? Like, we all died in other worlds and transmigrated here.”

Sally sighed with a dreamy grin on her face. Then, she brought herself back to the topic. “Oh. We were introducing ourselves. I’m Sally Dane, college dropout and devotee of The Brotherhood (although I’m gonna get the Sisters recognized soon).”
This message was last edited by the player at 23:26, Mon 27 Sept 2021.

She didn't grasp the reference Wade was making to rocks.  "Yes, well, I wish I was stoned, let me tell you!" 

Next she looked to the chick in the Spider-Man like costume, and made a vague gesture.   "I'm sorry-?   Have we met?  I don't think I recognize the voice. Spider-Man's girlfriend, or something like that?"   

And then the dark haired gal, who supplied some point of familiarity within a pool of the unfamiliar.   But she could only shake her head, bewildered, at the off-assessment of herself.  And again:

"I know I haven't met you.  None of you.   And I'm not exactly famous. Not out of costume, anyway." She let that slip.  What did it matter, in this situation?  "So...other worlds, transmigration." She bit her lip.  "You may have something there.  But I died; I know I did."  She shivered.    Then looked to Sally again, as something struck her.

"What 'The Brotherhood'? As in Magneto's Brotherhood?"  The look in her eyes was wary.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:53, Mon 25 Jan 2021.

“You’re saying that you’re just some nobody, huh?” Sally chuckled. “Wow, you must come from another dimension! The Sue Richards I know is more famous than Jane Fonda & Liz Taylor combined. Your wedding was bigger than the Beatles playing The Ed Sullivan Show!”

What a trip! Magnus occasionally spoke about the likelihood of many-worlds.” Sue’s own question hadn’t gone unnoticed. “Yeah. Well, he only goes by ‘Magneto’ at the Anti-War protests, but he’s the founder of The Brotherhood of Transcendent Mutants.”

Leaning closer, Sally muttered, “The first city we find, we can break away from the squares and score some grass.”

Rocket will shoot Wade a suspicious glare.  "I don't care if you wanna call me a fake name or use them yourselves, but I want to get out of here first.  Please tell me one of you have communication systems I can sync to?  We can talk while looking through this endless desert for that first city place or wherever.  Hopefully a space port.  I'm tired of standing in a creepily perfectly spaced circle, and would rather be productive."

Rocket will make a point of this by hopping three feet backwards.  Pulling out his coms, he'll push his intergalactic sync button and hope they aren't all from some backwater planet like the ones Quill and Drax are from.

((Sorry for the edit, really should have addressed the 'bunny' part the first time.  Shouldn't affect anything posted.))
This message was last edited by the player at 17:51, Mon 25 Jan 2021.

"I've got a cell phone," Wade said, reaching into a pocket. The phone came out in pieces. "Damn. Third one this week."

Anyone who is carrying an intact communications device of any kind can now discover that it's completely ineffective. No signal, no GPS, no available networks. Same thing with any kind of sensors-- nothing but error messages.

This includes any local or ad hoc networks, even between each other's personal devices.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:41, Mon 25 Jan 2021.

"Girlfriend?!  Who the fuck is Spider-Man?"
 Is Jesse Drew trying to steal my gig? she wonders.  "Look, if you want to pretend that growing up on your family's reality show doesn't make you famous, that's fine.  But I thought you'd remember the time you tried to suffocate me with those force-field bubbles and take over the city."

After the rabbit talks,  Rocket.  He has a name. Gwen takes off her backpack, and starts pulling a few things out of the main compartment.
Two sets of drumsticks.  A college genetics textbook, and accompanying notebook.  A bag of Kale Chips, squished flat and apparently leaking.  A cd for "The Mary Janes". Headphones.  Smartphone, latest Oscorp model - No signal.  Spare battery.

The phone is the most useful thing in there, so she holds it up - "No signal.  Sorry Mr. Ra-" pause "Rocket."

OOC: I'm trying to play Gwen's background without any prior dimension-hopping.  It's a little difficult since she does a lot of it.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:14, Mon 25 Jan 2021.