icecoldfrost | Falloutverse // The Wasteland Proper // Saturday Afternoon

If you had asked Emma Frost a few days earlier what her plans for the weekend were, scavenging about in the ruins of an abandoned outpost while stuck in another world -- again -- had not ranked high on her list of priorities.

"Find anything?" she asked her partner-in-crime. "I think this might be a box of Twinkies."

Alex Karev	"Twinkies would survive...whatever the fuck happened here," Alex said grimly, using his foot to kick through a pile of debris. "I might have found someone's nose." Or something. It looked gross whatever it was.
Emma Frost	Emma blanched slightly. "Fantastic. Well, now I'm not hungry for Twinkies-or-whatever," she muttered, setting the box in the meager pile of things they'd collected. Bodies didn't freak her out, not after living with Hank, but the idea there was just a nose laying around... that was a bit disturbing.
Alex	"It could be a chicken nugget," Alex said, swiping a hand across his brow and wincing. "I don't know, maybe it's a rock. It's not like I'm looking that closely." Since it could be a nose and all.
Emma	"Chicken nuggets are still gross, they aren't even chicken," Emma quipped, trying to take both their minds off of it. "I practically lived off those for a year. Never again." Mostly because she couldn't stand the smell anymore; they reminded her of being homeless and hungry. She gave up on the boxes she'd been going through, climbing up on a counter to start rummaging through cupboards. "There's, like, chemicals from Silly Putty in them or something."
Alex	"How the hell do you know so much about chicken nuggets?" Alex asked, glancing over his shoulder and back at her. "You do a stint at McDonalds?"
Emma	"Couldn't sleep one night and started clicking links on the internet," she admitted. "I don't even know where I found that or how I got there." "Why? Do I scream 'former fast food employee' or something?"
Alex	"Everyone's got their dirty little secrets," Alex said, picking up a twisted piece of metal and wandering closer to her. "That might be yours."
Emma	"Oh, I've got all sorts of sordid little secrets in my head," Emma answered, giving him a tired, if genuine, smile over her shoulder. "Most of them belong to other people, even." "But none of mine are so mundane as hiding a past career in fast food. I'm much more entertaining than that."
Alex	"What the hell are you looking for up there?" Alex wondered, peering blearily up at her.
Emma	"I don't know," she exclaimed, frustrated enough to loose her temper just a bit and start slamming cupboard doors. Hard. "Something. Anything. Something that makes sense or that we need or is whatever the hell we have to find to make this all stop."
Alex	"I don't think you're gonna find a spaceship up there," Alex said dryly, shaking his head. "Or a rocket pack but, if you think you might get lucky, keep looking, by all means."
Emma	Emma muttered something snide under her breath about not 'getting lucky' for over a week and kept slamming through things. "If you've got a better idea, I'd love to hear it," she snapped, the loud banging of the doors covering up the sounds of creeks and groans as some of the cracks in the wall began to expand. "But I can't sit around and do nothing while this place tries to kills us."
Alex	"Maybe you should sing Kumbaya," Alex said in a sarcasm laden voice. "Maybe you could fashion us a fire out of your bra and some kindling. Maybe you could calm the fuck down before you give me an ulcer."
Emma	"You want me to run around without a bra, you can serenade me with Kumbaya," Emma retorted, and she was sorely tempted to pitch something at his head. "And I make no promises." "And I am calm. Just." Emma made an inarticulate sound of frustration and scrunched her fingers into her hair. "I need to be doing something. At least the last time we got zapped somewhere, I could feel useful." She'd never thought she'd prefer that vampire-world to anything, but right now, Emma would take that familiar terror over this unknown one.
Alex	"Are you comparing this place to the fucking vampire world?" Alex asked incredulously. "What the fuck, Emma? Stop freaking out or I'm going to muzzle you."
Emma	"I am not freaking out," Emma replied, indignant. "I am tired, frustrated, dirty, and have a headache the size of San Diego from trying to get a read on anything."
Alex	"How about getting down, first of all?" Alex asked, shaking his head. "You're this close to throwing a tantrum and I'm this close to throwing dirt at you."
Emma	"I'll throw it right back, so help me," she threatened, rolling her eyes. Still, it wasn't going to hurt anything to oblige him, and Emma slammed the last door just for spite before jumping down, prepared to stuff dirt down his shirt if necessary. The wooden floor creaked and groaned as she landed, and very visible cracks radiated out from her landing point, joining up with some of the ones on the walls, and Emma froze. "Um. Alex?" Later she would be proud of how even her voice stayed and that she didn't panic, but she did turn slightly pale.
Alex	"Don't move," Alex snapped quickly, trying to keep his feet still so he wouldn't cause those cracks to get bigger. "Just don't move. Stay still. Maybe it's over." Alex didn't really believe that but he had to say something to calm the nerves that had jumped up in his stomach.
Emma	"Not moving," Emma agreed, holding as still as possible. "Believe me, not moving." She watched as the ground buckled and cracked a little more, wide gaps appearing as some floorboards fell away. Soon, however, it appeared to have settled; occasionally creaking, but no longer moving. "I'm thinking you should start backing out? So we don't put too much stress on it?"
Alex	"You're lighter, you start moving first," Alex reasoned, trying not to sound as nervous as he felt. "Just...walk light." Alex didn't know what walk light meant but he hoped that she did. He kept still, barely breathing and desperately wishing for a cigarette.
Emma	Emma just nodded, sliding one foot forward carefully, and then the next, starting to inch her way towards Alex at an agonizingly slow pace. "I very rarely wish for any power other than my telepathy," she said, focusing on staying steady. "But right about now, flying or teleporting would be awesome."
Alex	"Just don't panic," he said, keeping his eyes on her feet and trying to ignore the sweat that had appeared on his head and the back of his neck. "You're doing fine and we're fine," he said, trying to be encouraging. "Just don't panic."
Emma	Emma crept along, flinching hard -- but not jumping -- when some floor directly beside her gave way. "Fine," she echoed faintly. "We're doing fine. Piece of cake." She took a deep breath, and her eyes flickered up for a moment to give him a brief grin. "At this rate, we'll be home for sup -" Emma didn't have time finish the thought. The entire area behind her gave way, pulling Emma, the cupboards, and small sections of the wall and ceiling down with it, too fast for her to even scream.
Alex	For a second, it looked like everything was happening in slow motion. The walls giving away, the cupboards falling in and Alex didn't know what to do. He stared for longer than he should have before he moved and tried to actually grab Emma so he'd take the brunt of the impact. Of course, when he moved, more things started to crack and fall and he silently hoped that he wasn't going to die this way.
Emma	Everything seemed frozen to Emma, like some surrealist painting, until she saw Alex reach for her. No. No no no no no, he needed to be running the other way! Emma lunged for him to try and push him towards the door, but the floor was already falling away and all she could do was hold on and try to cover both their heads as the ruins crumbled down around them. By the time the dust cleared, there was nothing but a pile of rubble where they'd been, and all was eerily quiet.

Alex	Alex woke up coughing. Or the coughing caused him to wake up, he didn't know. All he knew was that he woke up coughing and his head ached. He couldn't really think about the rest of him yet. It was dark and dusty and it took him a moment to remember what happened. He coughed again and then tried to croak, "Emma? Are you there?" He hoped she was.
Emma	"Alex?" Emma asked, her voice calm but curious. "Yes, I'm here." It sounded like he was very close, and she carefully extended her arm to try and find him, and hopefully not bring more things crashing down on them. "Are you hurt at all?"
Alex	"I fucking hurt all over," he griped, showing his attitude was still intact. "I don't know. A lot of things hurt." Well, shit had just fallen on them. He knew his head was cut somewhere and his shoulder was aching like a motherfucker. He ignored it. "Are you?" he asked, blinking and trying to pick her out in the dimness of the collapsed structure.
...Emma?	Emma hesitated a moment before answering. "I don't think I'm injured," she said finally, "but I feel slightly...odd." And she seemed to be made out of rock or something, but she really didn't want to freak out Alex.
Alex	"Slightly odd?" he asked, smacking the side of his head to try and stop the ringing in his ears. "Slightly odd how?"
Emma	"Nothing hurts," she assured him, "my head just feels, well, empty. My telepathy isn't working." Which she should be freaking out about, but Emma only found herself mildly disgruntled. "And stop hitting yourself, darling. I can hear that from here, and I'm sure there's plenty of people who might say you don't have any brain cells to lose."
Alex	"My ears are ringing," he said, slowly trying to move a little closer to the sound of her voice. "Your telepathy's not working?" That sounded a little more serious than she made it out to be. His shoulder continued to throb and he wondered if he'd separated it or something. "I'm trying to move towards you," he told her, "so don't move."
Emma	"You're the one that's wounded," she pointed out. "I'm going to come to you." Boys. Seriously. "But yes, it seems to be 'off' as it were. I'm not hearing a single telepathic peep from you, and nothing I do lets me hear you," Emma continued, inching closer. "It's like I'm thirteen again. I hated thirteen. Dismal age."
Alex	Alex was about to argue but, instead, just listened and stayed still. He rotated his shoulder, trying to...well, he didn't know but it kept aching and he cursed quietly. "You're pretty calm about this," he said, keeping up a steady stream of chatter so she'd know where he was.
Emma	"I'm alive, and you're alive, so we're a lot better off than that could have been," Emma pointed out. She really wasn't sure why she was so calm, they were hardly safe, but she couldn't manage much in the way of panic. "Would you rather I was flipping out?" A pause, then, "Alex, please don't flip out." He was close enough for her to see, and Emma was feeling mildly self-conscious about 1) the building collapsing on them and 2) whatever the hell had happened to her.
Alex	"Fuck you, I don't flip out," he groused, shaking his head. "I'm not a fucking pansy ass. I've been in worse situations than this." That...was a lie. He'd been in some crappy situations but he'd never been buried alive. He tried not to think about that.
Emma	"Did I call you a pansy ass? I think not. I'm very much a fan of your ass, even if it's private property these days," Emma retorted. "Although I do enjoy it when you make an ass of yourself, because that's fun for everyone." She fit herself in a space next to him, settling down and watching him carefully, wanting to make sure he wasn't bleeding and trying to hide it. "Hey."
Alex	"Aww, it's nice that you still want my ass," Alex said, glancing over at her and squinting. "What...is going on with you? Are you covered in paint or something?"
SHINY SHINY EMMA	"I remember trying to hold on while everything caved in, and the next thing I knew, I was here and looked like this," Emma said, giving a small shrug. "It's not paint, whatever it is." She held out a hand for him to poke at if he wanted. "Everything even feels different."
Alex...is just gonna go with it	Alex did reach out to poke her arm experimentally, looking from her skin to her eyes and back down to her skin. "Riiiight," he said, shaking his head and blinking a few times. "And you're not hurt?"
Emma	"Other than missing my telepathy and looking like a victim of a glitter-bodypaint-riot, you mean?" she asked dryly. "Fabulous, darling."
Alex-who-does-not-glitter	"Well, you're doing better than I am," he grudgingly admitted, sitting back and shifting when a piece of debris dug into his back. "Did super strength come with that bodypaint?"
Emma	"Well, I did pass first aid, so if it hurts to do something, then don't do it," she suggested. "I've got some aspirin in my purse, if I can find it in here." "And powers don't generally come with a guidebook, Alex," Emma sighed. "This could be it. Or I could be able to fly, not that it would be much use right now." Still, she picked up a fairly solid-looking piece of wood, to see if she could light it on fire with her eyes or make it disappear or something. Anything that could be useful. Instead, it splintered as she closed her hand around it, and Emma's eyes widened in mild surprise. "...that's new. Did you get my telepathy or something?"
Alex	"I can't read your fucking mind," he said grouchily, attributing that to the pain in his head and the pain in his shoulder. "I'm just gonna start kicking shit off us in a minute."
Emma	"Do we even know which way is out, smartass?" she asked. "We should probably pick somewhere to start."
Alex	"Up is out," Alex said snippily, glaring at her. "Duh. It fell on top of us so obviously, up is out."
Emma	"We got separated when everything fell in, so maybe we got turned around, too," she snapped back. "I wasn't really paying attention, I was too busy hoping we weren't about to die." "But if you're so sure, then fine, up it is." Emma started experimentally tapping at things, to see what would shift, and what was holding other stuff up or away. "But if it all falls in on us again, it's your fault."
Alex	"You're the one that's covered in some fucking weird paint, you're not gonna be the one to die," Alex griped, shaking his head. "Stop complaining. I'll be the one to die. You can mourn me and then go off and do some other shit," he said, using the arm that wasn't aching to pull aside some debris.
Emma	"And here I thought the emo was your girlfriend's territory," Emma retorted, needling him for the hell of it while they worked. "Nice to see it rubbing off on you." "...huh. I found the Twinkies, if you're hungry."
Alex (and denial)	"She's not my fucking girlfriend and you don't know a thing about her," he snapped, shaking his head. "Don't be jealous, Emma. It's unbecoming. And I don't want Twinkies."
Emma	"Emo, goth, whatever," she shrugged. "Don't be so cranky, I like Effy."
Alex	"Don't tell me what to do," he retorted immediately. "And I think I have a right to be fucking cranky. You can see where we are, can't you?"
Emma	"Now who's the one that's five seconds from a tantrum?" she asked snidely. "I'm not covered in paint, Alex, I'm made out of rock, and I'm not cranky." Which was really sort of strange, that she was taking all of this so well, but Emma couldn't seem to care. She eyed the pile above them, thinking. "There's light filtering in from somewhere, since it's not pitch black in here, so we can't be that deep, right? We can do this."
Alex	Alex bit down on another retort and peered up at the top of the debris. "Look, I think I separated my shoulder or something. I can move shit but I can't do a lot. Don't ever fucking tell anyone I admitted that."
Emma	"Then you're the brains, darling, and I'm the muscle," Emma replied, a silent promise that she never even heard him say that. "You tell me what to do and where to go, and for once, I'll actually listen and do as I'm told."
Alex	Alex eyed her uncertainly but decided not to argue. "Do you see anything that looks stable? Like a foundation that's holding this up? Don't move those."
Emma	"If I hand stuff down, can you put it under us? Like building our way up-top?" Emma started nudging things, seeing what shifted easily, and what was actually stable. Easily loosened pieces were handed down first as she talked.
Alex	"Yeah, just don't drop anything on me," he requested, nodding and getting to his knees. "I've already got a headache."
Emma	"I feel like I should make a dirty joke out of that," she teased, nodding in agreement. "Don't worry, darling, I'll be gentle."
Alex ‘Emma, you are full of shit’ Karev	"Yes, because you're so dainty," he joked, shaking his head. "God, I need liquor."
Emma ‘haz priorities, rlly’ Frost	"And a smoke," she agreed, making a face. "Oh god, I lost my bag in the fall. My cigarettes!" She climbed a little higher, working carefully. "There's aspirin in there, if you see it anywhere. Help yourself."
Alex	"If I see it, I will," he said because he was really aching. Stupid, stupid debris. "I've got cigarettes in my pocket. If I didn't crush them falling, we can share one when we get out of here."
Emma	"If you've got one to share, I might love you forever," she admitted, moving higher yet. The tunnel she was creating was small, but so far stable, and hopefully big enough for Alex to squeeze through. It felt like it took days, but finally, her fingertips broke through to feel nothing but air, and Emma gave a small whoop of delight.
Alex	"Later," he promised, scooting closer to the sound of that noise. "I hope that's a good sound, I really do."
Emma	"It's the 'I think I feel the top' sound," Emma said, trying to wriggle as far back against the rubble as she could so Alex could get a little closer. "Help me clear the rest of this away."
Alex	"Yeah, right," Alex said, carefully getting closer to her and using his own working arm to start clearing debris. He could smell the, well it wasn't fresh, but it was air and took a deep breath. "Fuck, I'm gonna be so sore when this is over."
Emma	"When we get back to something resembling civilization, we'll get drunk until you don't feel sore anymore," Emma promised. "I think we earned it." Someone was going to be very disgruntled when she discovered she could not get drunk while shiny. She pulled more debris loose, tossing it up and away from the hole they'd carved out and blinking as light hit her eyes. "Finally."
Alex	"Is it safe to just push ourselves out?" Alex asked, hopeful. "I'm sick of being buried alive. Not my idea of a good day even with you."
Emma	”No offense, darling, but I feel the same way." Emma looked at the hole and poked experimentally at its sides. "I'll boost you up, and you can tell me if it's stable enough I can push us both out?" she suggested.
Alex	"Are you gonna be able to climb out?" Alex wondered, brushing some dust out of his hair and wincing when even that slight movement pulled at his shoulder.
Emma	Emma very, very carefully reached out to brush the dust from him. If she was really that much stronger than usual, she didn't want to end up injuring him worse than he already was when she was trying to help. "Stop that," she chided. "I should be able to, as long as the edges are stable enough to support my weight."
Alex	"All right," he said, pushing himself up and keeping his arm close to his body. The debris stayed still which he thought was a good sign. "If you wanna boost me out, I'll climb out and do my best to make sure you can get out."
Emma	She formed a cradle with her hands for him to step into. "Up you go then," she said, doing her best to keep him steady as she lifted him up. "And if we can't...just go get Skywalker and make him get me out." Jedi were good for that sort of thing.
Alex	"Even when you're lighting up like a Christmas tree, you're still bossy," he said, sliding out of the collapsed debris slowly. He pulled himself out, rolling onto his back and holding his arm. "All right, I'm out," he called. "Come on. I think we're good."
Emma	"I do not look like a Christmas tree," Emma argued, scrabbling for purchase. It took a few minutes and it wasn’t gracefully, but she eventually hauled herself out, and then promptly mimicked Alex by flopping over on to her back. She held up one arm experimentally, blinking as it shimmered, throwing small glimmers of light in all directions. "Well now. Fascinating."
Alex	"You're a fucking Christmas tree," Alex said, sighing and breathing the still dirty but fresher air. "I'll add an ornament when we get back home."
Emma	"I am not green, I do not smell like Pine Sol, and I do not have needles," Emma pointed out. "...I think I'm the star for the top of the tree." This was absolutely surreal. "I think I want to go home now." So much that it actually ached. Emma wanted to pull the blankets over her head and never get out of bed ever again.
Alex	"Me too," he said, nodding his agreement at that. "Should we go find everyone else? I need some fucking painkillers."
Emma	"You should probably go first, so they don't think I'm some sort of monster come to eat them," she sighed, a bit of bitterness coloring her tone. They seemed to have some shoot-first-ask-later types in their group, like that crazy Russian girl and her boyfriend, and Emma didn't want to take any chances. Still, she pushed herself up to a sitting position, looking around at the utter wreck that had formerly been a ruined building. "...is that my purse?" Well, at least they still had aspirin for Alex, and the bottle-caps they'd found earlier. Today wasn't a total loss.
Alex	"Thank goodness for small favors," Alex said, cradling his arm close to his body and working his way towards the entrance "I'll go first, you're not a monster, Emma."
Emma	"I know, darling, but you'll forgive me if I don't trust our classmates to be rational, considering they're already scared out of their wits," Emma replied with a shrug, scooping up her bag and following after him. "But thank you." For everything, so far, really, but Emma wasn't going to say that. "At least I do look rather spectacular in the light, don’t I?"
Alex	"Nice to see your ego's intact," Alex said, smirking lightly as he slipped out of the collapsing building and reached back for her hand with his uninjured arm. "Come on, Christmas Emma. Let's go."