Escape
Rating: R
Fandom: Runaways
Characters: Yorkeses
Prompt: Faith
Notes: For the Lover100 challenge.
Warnings: Discussion of genocide.
Disclaimer: This is me owning nothing.
Summary: Sometimes all that remains is a leap of faith.
027: Faith
"Do you… Do you really think it will work?"
Stacey clutched his hand and stared up at the time machine. Dale squeezed hers and sincerely hoped so.
"It’s worth a try. Better than the alternative," he pointed out.
Angry policemen were waiting outside. They’d already tried to get in and were searching for another entrance to the museum. Stacey and Dale still weren’t sure what they’d done wrong. Something about treason, and crimes against humanity.
"What do you suppose we’ve done?" she asked, voice shaking.
"I have no idea."
They took another look at the time machine, heard the doors crack. Stacey jumped up and turned dials and pressed buttons. Dale followed her a second later.
They disappeared just as the police broke through the door.
"Dale," Stacey said, very evenly. "Where are we?"
Dale looked around them. "I think we’re in hell. Wait." He checked a reading. "Says here we’re in 6069. There was a war that year, wasn’t there?"
Stacey opened her eyes. "Yes." The sky was dark. The air was foul. The landscape was not there. "Oh, God."
Dale wrapped his arms around her and turned her away, hoping to catch her before she saw the bodies. He was too late.
"Dale, we landed in Australia during the fifth Holocaust, the one against natives."
"I hope this damned thing works again. I don’t want to stay here."
They tackled the controls and spun dials until Stacey noticed the screen. "It’s a visual readout," she mumbled. "There. That’s good. Maybe we can get a description of the era, then."
Dale couldn’t care less, as long as it was out of there. He flipped the master switch and they disappeared, landing this time in 7190, in the re-treed rain forest.
"That was awful," Stacey moaned.
"It was."
She leaned against his chest and shook until realization sank in.
"Dale!" she cried, grabbing his shirt and shaking him. "Dale, we broke the fourth wall!"
He gaped at her. "What? We’re not on stage…"
"Time! The fourth dimension! We cracked it!"
He smiled. She was back to being his technophile girlfriend again. She threw herself on the controls and twisted dials until she knew the vast majority of important buttons and knobs.
"Oh, this is wonderful! Even the creator didn’t test it out!"
Dale thought about helping her, then decided he wasn’t putting his hand in the middle of that. He watched her indulgently.
"Oh, Dale!"
"Stacey."
"Oh! We’ll need supplies. Place to stay, food, water, tools, other stuff…"
"And where will we put it?" he asked, hoping he wasn’t bursting her bubble.
"Start looking around for storage space. These panels can’t all be machinery covers."
He chuckled to himself and started in on the panels. She returned to the controls.
Maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad. Or, maybe, he was insane. As long as she was happy, he couldn’t care less.
Fandom: Runaways
Characters: Yorkeses
Prompt: Faith
Notes: For the Lover100 challenge.
Warnings: Discussion of genocide.
Disclaimer: This is me owning nothing.
Summary: Sometimes all that remains is a leap of faith.
027: Faith
"Do you… Do you really think it will work?"
Stacey clutched his hand and stared up at the time machine. Dale squeezed hers and sincerely hoped so.
"It’s worth a try. Better than the alternative," he pointed out.
Angry policemen were waiting outside. They’d already tried to get in and were searching for another entrance to the museum. Stacey and Dale still weren’t sure what they’d done wrong. Something about treason, and crimes against humanity.
"What do you suppose we’ve done?" she asked, voice shaking.
"I have no idea."
They took another look at the time machine, heard the doors crack. Stacey jumped up and turned dials and pressed buttons. Dale followed her a second later.
They disappeared just as the police broke through the door.
"Dale," Stacey said, very evenly. "Where are we?"
Dale looked around them. "I think we’re in hell. Wait." He checked a reading. "Says here we’re in 6069. There was a war that year, wasn’t there?"
Stacey opened her eyes. "Yes." The sky was dark. The air was foul. The landscape was not there. "Oh, God."
Dale wrapped his arms around her and turned her away, hoping to catch her before she saw the bodies. He was too late.
"Dale, we landed in Australia during the fifth Holocaust, the one against natives."
"I hope this damned thing works again. I don’t want to stay here."
They tackled the controls and spun dials until Stacey noticed the screen. "It’s a visual readout," she mumbled. "There. That’s good. Maybe we can get a description of the era, then."
Dale couldn’t care less, as long as it was out of there. He flipped the master switch and they disappeared, landing this time in 7190, in the re-treed rain forest.
"That was awful," Stacey moaned.
"It was."
She leaned against his chest and shook until realization sank in.
"Dale!" she cried, grabbing his shirt and shaking him. "Dale, we broke the fourth wall!"
He gaped at her. "What? We’re not on stage…"
"Time! The fourth dimension! We cracked it!"
He smiled. She was back to being his technophile girlfriend again. She threw herself on the controls and twisted dials until she knew the vast majority of important buttons and knobs.
"Oh, this is wonderful! Even the creator didn’t test it out!"
Dale thought about helping her, then decided he wasn’t putting his hand in the middle of that. He watched her indulgently.
"Oh, Dale!"
"Stacey."
"Oh! We’ll need supplies. Place to stay, food, water, tools, other stuff…"
"And where will we put it?" he asked, hoping he wasn’t bursting her bubble.
"Start looking around for storage space. These panels can’t all be machinery covers."
He chuckled to himself and started in on the panels. She returned to the controls.
Maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad. Or, maybe, he was insane. As long as she was happy, he couldn’t care less.