Chapter Text
The sun was setting on Helios, orange light cast onto the dunes of the wasteland from across the ocean, a town buried in sand overseeing it all. Hope, watching it from the balcony of her new residence, had gotten used to the sight ever since relocating here. Most of the underground had been in agreement to move further south after Doctor Doom's forces took over the north of the island, a majority deciding to settle in the town now known as Sandy Steppes. Most had taken up the less destroyed houses, with about five members moving into the mansion formerly inhabited by Griffin. The Underground's two newest members, Nisha and her brother Kavel had moved into the train station connected to the town, transforming the small building used for rest and the sale of tickets into a makeshift home.
Hope looked at the station and wondered why they had done this. The building was small and not particularly comfortable, a considerable distance away from anyone else, and a loud Doctor Doom-operated train passed by once every two hours. Maybe it reminds them of what they once had in the society, Hope thought. A nice, clean spot still beholden to a strict schedule, something that's become quite rare on the chaotic island. Or maybe, she thought, they just don't like having sand on their doorstep. Whatever the case may be, she decided to dismiss the thought as she saw Nisha leaving the small house at the train station, go through the tunnel, and emerge in town at the other end. It quickly occurred to Hope that she was walking towards her house. She wondered what she possibly owed the visit to, so she left the balcony and walked downstairs to greet her at the door.
Nisha barely got two knocks in before the door in front of her opened and she was greeted by the building's sole resident, Hope.
"Nisha. Hey. I wasn't expecting you to visit."
She didn't look like she was expecting her either, her hair was down and she was not wearing any of her combat gear or accessories. In stark contrast to Nisha, who was just as properly dressed as she was every day as a society boss.
"I apologize for the surprise visit Hope, but I believe there's some things we need to discuss."
"OK then, I can talk for a bit, I wasn't exactly busy anyway. "
"May I come in? It's getting dark, and this might take a while. I would prefer not to have this conversation whilst standing in the wasteland wind. "
"Sure, come in."
Hope opens the door further and moves aside, letting Nisha pass through. As she walks in and Hope closes the door behind her Nisha wordlessly observes the house she finds herself in. A very messy space, fold-out tables with weapons, books and equipment, fairy lights illuminating the space. Gear, crates and boxes littered the paint-splattered floor, which caused her to almost trip over a magazine. She turned to look at the eastern wall, adorned with two large murals. One of a piece of the pipeline spewing out nitro and another of the Underground's Jones in front of a red heart backdrop holding and firing a chug cannon.
"You like my art?"
Hope had come up next to her, having clearly noticed Nisha looking at the wall.
"Yes it's..."
She clears her throat.
"I'm sorry, I'm sure there is a lot to say about it but I didn't come here to talk about your art."
"Right, you said we had something important to discuss. What is it?"
Nisha sat down on one of the chairs in front of Hope's desk, and she follows suit taking a seat on the stairs across from her.
"I think we should consider what happens should we fail in our battle against Doom."
Hope sighed a heavy sigh, remaining wordless for a few seconds. Then she responded:
"You're right. I gotta admit, despite the fact I've done a lot of worrying about losing the battle, I haven't really thought about what we'll do if it actually happens. Funny, huh?"
She says the last two words in a tone that make very clear that she does not find it funny.
"I suppose it's good were having this conversation then. These last few months have taught me that it's best to have a backup plan."
Hope takes a few seconds to think, then she says:
"I guess... If Doom wins, we'll have to evacuate the island. We could do it by sea, but unless you know someone who with a spare ship or find a way to refuel the leviathan it's out of the question."
"Do we have any other options?"
"The rift beacons. We could use them to get to a safe reality, or at least a safe-ish reality while we regroup. I'm sure's somewhere we can go."
Despite the fact she had not thought about this in detail before, she seemingly had no trouble coming up with a plan. She continued:
"We'd have to gather everyone in one place, somewhere not controlled by Doom. But it has to be easy to get to."
"How about the Restored Reels theater? It's relatively central and most roads lead to it." Nisha chimed in.
"Good idea, I think we have a plan. If we can't defeat Doom we'll send out a message on all frequencies telling people to evacuate to restored reels and use the rift beacons to escape while the Underground and Avengers hold the position until everyone's through."
"Well Hope, that seems like a sound plan. I'm glad we were able to formulate it, be sure to inform the rest of the Underground, Jones and the oracle especially."
Upon hearing their names Hope's expression deflated. As Nisha was getting ready to leave, getting out of the chair and heading for the door Hope called out:
"Nisha, wait."
Nisha stopped in her tracks and turned around, seeing that Hope had stood up and was holding an expression Nisha couldn't quite read.
"Thanks for coming here and talking about this with me. Jones and the Oracle are always assuring me that we're gonna win, and don't get me wrong I'm grateful for their support, but in a way I guess it was nice to talk openly about failing."
Nisha smiled
"You don't need to thank me, I just wanted to make sure we had a plan."
She walked towards the door and opened it, and as she was leaving she turned around and said:
"Besides, I have hope we won't have to resort to it."