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[ To say bringing up her sister was entirely an accident would be a lie. Their relationship is different from the others, but no less important. Begrudgingly, she admits no less important for Peter - if only for Peter. ]

[ Nebula gives a slight cant of her head before turning it away - attention half on him as if to read him. As far as she knows he hasn't made contact with her sister and as of yet hasn't asked about her again (but she has spoken to her). She tosses another item into the bag: ]

An army? I'd be outfitting kids. [ There's hostile disdain at the thought. She may have done a lot of things, but one thing she wouldn't do is have a child grow in the same way as she had. As a weapon and a tool to be used, even if that meant getting them home. ] No, but we need to know what we can work with. Which so far isn't much.

There are a lot of kids, yeah, but there are a lot of adults, too.

[ And most of them seem able-bodied.

Weird as fuck, sure, at least from what Peter's encountered, but surely capable of lifting up a big whacking stick, if necessary. ]

Just saying, there's just you and me. [ And Gamora, too. Whenever the shit hits the fan, he has no doubt about which side she'll likely go with. ]

Even if we do make, like, a gazillion spears or clubs or whatever it is you wanna make, we've only got so many hands.

One of the only adults I've met was jumping around on the train tracks like it was a game.

[ An immediate return. Because somehow she keeps running into the kids and weirdos (I'm sorry). It's the tone of someone who doesn't think she can rely on them for much. ]

And Gamora.

[ He doesn't say it, but she does. The fact she doesn't even reject that he'd be of use is practically a compliment, isn't it? ]

I wasn't going to make a gazillion. [ She rolls her eyes. ] And I have been trying to find others.

Edited 2023-08-01 03:45 (UTC)

[ Mostly because, yes, he's run into a couple of kids, but he's also spoken with (or texted with, as the case may be) with adults, too. So—

He's doing some mental math, here. ]

Hold on. Have you mostly been talking to kids?

[ Man if only she spoke more on the network versus just stalking it :( ]

[ She pauses at that, raises a brow. Wonders if he's thinking something strange and answers: ]

No. But I might as well be.

[ Okay. Well, that might be a little true, and the corner of his mouth quirks a little with a smile. ]

Fair enough.

[ He spurs himself back into motion – this time plucking up a couple boxes of wound pads and a few boxes of adhesive bandages that, mysteriously, go into his own bag.

His voice takes on a sort of sing-song tone: ]

And have you been making friends?

[ In the same way a mother from an old black and white TV sitcom might ask, "Are you getting along with the other boys?" ]

[ For a moment — a too long moment — she thinks about chucking the box she had picked up at his head rather than dropping it in the basket. It wouldn't hurt much and it'd satisfy her bridling annoyance for the moment. ]

[ Especially when he continues in what she can only decide is a mocking manner (it's not, but still). In the same deadpan way as before she questions back: ]

What do you think?

As long as you're not picking fights.

[ Not like he used to, as a kid. Years and years later, he knows he was acting out and picking fights with assholes because he wanted to feel in control of something and wanted to be the hero out of some fantasy, swooping in to save the day.

Mostly, though, he just got his ass beat.

He's heading down the aisle way, apparently bored with medical supplies for the moment, before grabbing something bland. Like un-branded toothpaste – recommended by 9 out of 10 nameless dentists! ]

Anyone interesting?

I don't start fights I can't finish.

[ THAT IS NOT THE POINT NEBULA? It is not what he means? (She thinks it's what he means) ]

[ Regardless of how plainly - blandly - she says it, like it's not even a thought to get stuck on, she does consider his next question. Thinks minutely of the girl who's probably too innocent for a world like this thinking she's likeable and nice. And she's not sure what to do with that — ]

No.

[ Said too quickly, added just as quickly: ]

Someone who is Asgardian. Someone who agreed with Thanos's rhetoric. And an idiot jumping on tracks.

[ There's more but they're the first ones that come to mind as interesting. The first is the one she possibly considers as most valuable. ]

Edited 2023-08-01 04:48 (UTC)

[ His nose wrinkles in distaste at— well. All of that. But his attention catches on the bit that matters.

Thoughtfully, ]

Asgardian, huh?

[ He's reasonably sure they're alone in the store, but he pauses, listening. Maybe he's paranoid as fuck, and he can count on one hand the number of people he trusts in this place and still have fingers leftover. And maybe it's silly, considering whoever their captors had some ability to watch over them.

Still, he tries to make sure they've got the store to themselves, at least for the moment. He knows his senses aren't quite as keen as Nebula's, which is why he drops his voice. ]

Anyone else here?

[ She sees no point in hiding whatever it is from their captors. They've clearly got eyes on them somehow - somewhere - though it's unnoticeable to any of them how. ]

[ Watching for a moment, brows and mouth bowing low as she does, and pauses. It's not hesitation, exactly, but something in her throat. Her hearing and eyesight are mechanical and those are some of the best the universe had to offer — It was rare she didn't hear something. ]

[ She's capable now - still - but it hasn't gone unnoticed that the scale has decreased. That once again this place had messed with her body, already not entirely her own, and she wonders what's the point if it cannot function? It's a small moment, not quite hesitation - perhaps frustration. ]

[ A frustration that catches in her throat in a way normal frustration doesn't, pales her tone as she answers: ]

If I thought there were would I be speaking freely?

[ No one is there, but that's not why she stopped. ]

[ Concern flashes across his face at that little display. A novel in micro-expressions, he might think if he were a more poetic person.

Instead, he thinks, Well, that wasn't good.

He doesn't claim to be an expert in reading Nebula's expressions, but he likes to think that he's gotten a decent amount of practice, over the years. He frowns then, shifting his backpack from one side to the other.

He files this away for later. ]

Met a guy, seemed like he was from our world. Knew about the Infinity Stones. Claimed he got one from the vault that opened up, too, but if he did, I doubt he'd just be sitting on it.

[ If Peter had an Infinity Stone, for instance, he would've already wrecked the place.

Then, as an afterthought, because Nebula and Rocket surely had more affection for these folks than Peter ever did: ]

Mentioned the Avengers, too.

[ ~~It's nothing. Surely it's nothing.~~ ]

[ She won't linger on her own stray thoughts - doesn't want to - but she does scowl at the mention of Infinity Stones. They still existed now, for them, but someone holding onto one here and now? Not good. ]

[ The addition earns a pause. She'd had enough time to get acquainted with them and the team that answered to Romanoff. Not nearly sentimental with all of them, but between the mentions it's enough.]

Clearly not Thor. Guy got a name?

[ She can have a guess. Her memory's got the files from those discussions for the time heights - The tesseract was one and someone was a name in it. But best not assume. Her expression says she might have an idea now, though. ]

Edited 2023-08-01 05:52 (UTC)

[ They haven't gotten to introductions yet in their thread oops, so Schrodinger's name mention may or may not go here. ]

Tallish guy. Pale. Black hair. British accent. He had a sort of cultured undertaker vibe to him.

Morticia Addams, but a dude.

[ Not that Nebula will understand the reference, but as with most of his references, it was more for Peter's benefit than anyone else. ]

He called the thing a Tesseract.

[ And Peter only ever knew the Infinity Stones by their proper names, not the fancy names they were given later – Power, Space, Time, Soul, Reality, and Mind. ]

[ Someone else might ask who Morticia Addams is. Part of her wants to, but she dismisses it as another bit of Peter reference nonsense. The description matches what she knows of the man she met, at least, and she tilts her head. ]

The Space Stone, then. It was in New York with Thor's brother, Loki... It adds up.

[ Because names might not have come up in either of our conversations yet... But I realized late last night she would know thanks to time heist discussions ~~and that's how Thanos found out~~. She taps a finger against her leg. ]

But do we really think that this place would bring in a working Space stone?

[ He snorts out a laugh. ]

Yeah, absolutely not. I figured it had to be a replica, but he seemed convinced it was the real deal. But if it is, then whatever is keeping everyone from tapping into their normal abilities is affecting an Infinity Stone, too.

And I seriously don't wanna think about what it says about this place if anything like that is possible.

[ Because the implications of that are. Not great. To say the least. ]

If any place can get a hold of the stones so easily then we're all in danger.

[ It's stating the obvious, but it's an obvious point she feels needed to say. Because he's right, it means that whoever has got a hold on them has the ability to get all the stones if they wanted... and that the could suppress them. ]

[ No one should be capable of that. ]

Things just got a lot worse.

[ Falsely bright, ]

So, what. We thinkin' ten spears? Twenty?

[ Because joking about it is way easier than facing the reality of it. ]

We could probably make a few slingshots, too.

[ She frowns at him, because while he can joke about it she's not quite at that level. Getting closer some days, but this is turning more into 'defensive mission' mode than it's not by the day. ]

We need a reliable team.

[ Is this her saying she misses the other Guardians? Yes. Yes it is. Do~~n't~~ call her out on it. ]

[ His demeanor dims a little – not that it was very bright to begin with, but still. ]

Yeah, probably. Wouldn't want them to get stuck here, too, but...

[ So apparently they're on the same wavelength, on this front. For all Peter's talk about there being able-bodied adults around here, he'd much prefer to have the other Guardians on their side rather than an assortment of untested strangers.

He sighs quietly, before forcing himself to put that thought aside for now. No point in wishing for something; better to work with what they have. It's his specialty, after all. Improvising.

He jerks his head toward the exit. ]

Hardware next?

[ 'But'. ]

Doesn't matter anyway. [ Her immediate response is more than a touch understanding. There's no use getting caught up in what could be. She's worked with what she had for most of her life, getting sentimental now would just cause problems. ]

[ Mumbled, half to herself: ] Sped up talking to Gamora, though.

[ Because speaking to her sister about helping them was always on the table. It'd just been backburnered to allow her time and peace. She was here and maybe if they played their cards right they could bring her back — That'd already been something Nebula had mentally decided had to be an objective in anything they do. ]

Hardware it is.

Find anything else out?

[ His gaze flicks over to her when she mentions Gamora – again – and while he doesn't say anything aloud, he nods. Maybe a little more curtly than would be expected of him, but—

It's complicated. It's so complicated. It's quantum physics complicated.

He leads the way out of the store, and when they're back on the eerily deserted street, he glances around to get his bearings before leading them off down the block. At her question, he lets out a noncommittal hum. ]

Mostly finding out that folks around here have a whole lotta baggage, but that's nothing new.

[ Lots of people with lots of trauma. And isn't that just wonderfully familiar? ]

Been listening to people's theories about the place. Folks think this could be computer simulation. Someone else thinks this could be an astral projection, or else some kind of psychic world. Dunno how much water either of those ideas hold, but we can't rule anything out.

[ Nebula notices that look, but doesn't say anything. If he has a problem with it he'll need to speak up for him to do so. While it was somewhat of an unintentional knife at him, it's still a matter of fact; Above anyone else, Gamora was so often her battle partner in life that she's going to think of her. Without the rest of the Guardians... ]

[ She shakes it off. Scoffs. ]

Who knew. [ Agreed, deadpan: ] Maybe it's a reality television show.

[ And they're the actors having to go through it. That's not something she wants to think about. ]

We can't know who's closer until something gives. No one shows up to refill the stores, but they always refill. Things move orderly, like they're supposed to. Always.

Which kinda gives weight to the idea of this being a simulation.

[ Not that Peter cares all that much about which theory, if any, is right. He's more interested in figuring out what the hell is going on so they have a more stable base to work from. ]

What about you? You find anything out?

Nothing concrete.

[ Mildly, brows furrowing. Which is a problem. ]

Someone suggested a science from their world. One in which the reality of the world alters to your perception. Might work for a store having food, but with this many people here we'd see a mess of a city if it were the case.

[ Or maybe not, given there's so many humans. She knows this isn't what she considers 'normal' however. She doubts Peter did either, at least before. ]

... The computers house no information. There's no way for me to access anything because there is nothing to access, the files are missing or corrupted.