"Most people, no. You're capes. Changer. I mean I, I guess my power changed when I fell in here? Wait, um. Are- Are those zombies going to come back?"

"If we leave, but they're scared of us. Well, Ink mostly. Haven't heard of capes before, and, uh, here Earth has nothing. Stuff like this only becomes possible elsewhere. Do you want to get out of this city? You'll be able to talk to people who aren't me and also like it's less dangerous in civilization."

...Earth Gimel?

"-Yeah I want to get out of here. If- If you can't take the whole tram gimmie a minute to pack?"

"We can get it, unless it's like way heavier than it looks." Glance at Ink. "Yeah, we can get it."

"Great it's- it's kind of all I have right now. I'm-" Maskless anyway, so, "Walta. You're Ink and...?"

"Nereus. And yeah, I get that. Uh, okay if Ink goes ahead and picks up the tram?"

"Sooner I'm out of here the better."

The tram rises smoothly into the air, as do Ink and Nereus, well above the city. The revealed landscape is mostly normal - the city's bay empties into a sea that's reclaimed several neighborhoods, and mountains rise behind it, and plains sweep between the mountains and the sea to the north. Their little group starts heading over the mountains, the ground falling away below them far quicker than any plane Walta's ever been in. Sound reasserts itself just past the last of the ruins - birdsong in the distance, and wind, and the beat of her own heart and the rush of her own breath.

Swooping through the air is just another scary experience to add to the list at this point.

"I can hear again! Sound is weird!"

...Still so very very extremely lost, though. After the one relieved outburst she goes back to being tense and scared.

"It's good you're out of there!" he calls. "We'll be at the town we're staying in soon. Sorry about the ride!"

Be cool and brash, this seems like that kind of hero team. Maybe. Ink is more... Broody.

"B- Better than being eaten by zombies!"

"List of things that're worse is pretty short. Still, you were doing really well for yourself."

She... Is not sure what to say about that. Maybe they don't realize she's a tinker because her power's been acting up, and this monstrosity isn't really impressive by tinker standards. And joy at being rescued is fighting with general paranoia and stress.

So she just shrugs and takes a deep breath.

A small town appears over the curve of a mountain soon enough. It clings to the steep streets, short buildings built into terraces - but it, at least, has heard of cars.

Old cars. Like, Model T's. But there's electric streetlamps and incandescent lights shining through windows and a few people out this early.

They land on the outskirts of town, in a wide lot near what's possibly a two-story motel, although the writing on the sign is incomprehensible. Seems to be pictograms, vaguely reminiscent of hieroglyphics.

"Well, here's where Ink and I are staying," Nereus says. "Our friends are a bit scattered right now, whole gang wasn't intending to meet back up until finals are over in a week or two. You can stay with us, or Miss Gloria'll probably trade a room for some help with the mechanical stuff, or someone in town might have a room."

"This place is... Really weird. The geography doesn't seem right... So you're like, a wandering hero group?"

"...Uh we fight Incursions and like assorted monsters if that's what you mean? And sometimes help shut down somebody doing something stupid and apocalyptic? But yeah, we're not really tied to one place, though we tend to stick to this region. And Ink and I are the closest to a proper group, others are just - kind of our friends we sometimes have reunions with or work together."

" - Oh, Incursions. You probably don't know what those are - they're kind of when reality gets really thin in one place and a bunch of monsters come through at once, or one really big freaky something, and we push it back long enough for evacuations pretty much."

"So like Endbringer fights. Yeah that's heroic alright. Uh... I don't suppose you know how to get me home."

"Not really? Ink's mom might, she's gone farther than anyone I know?"

"Yeah, that... Home, uh..."

Deep breath. Hands are staying still now, progress.

"I'm really overwhelmed here - I - Haven't had coffee in three days, I'm not on Earth and that oughta be impossible, I would have died half an hour ago if not for you, I kind of really need a shower and am maybe not at my best right now."

"...Yeah. I get that. Shower and coffee's totally doable."

"Of course that depends on what I'll owe for 'em... I don't exactly have any money and I could maybe fix some things but I won't know that until I look at them either."

"Cheap coffee's like less than a buck. Something fancy's like four. And that's assuming we go to like a cafe and don't just raid the free breakfast bar. Shower doesn't cost us anything, so it wouldn't make sense to ask you to repay us for nothing. That's really stuff me and Ink can just - pick up."

"Oh, right. Room with - you and Ink?" She glances over at Ink.

Well. It's probably not like they're going to drug her and pimp her out or something, which is what her father insisted any friendly strangers are probably up to. But something about this makes her anxious.

"I need new clothes too. Maybe I can pawn things. I got a few watches and stuff from the ruins."

"We'll talk to Miss Gloria, get you your own room, how about? She'll have a better idea what trade's worth what. And yeah, there's a pawn shop in town."

...They're heroes, they're not expecting anything in return maybe?

"Thanks. I appreciate it. Let me just..." Prime fuel pump spin up the little flywheel, yank a lever-

Ch-ch-vrr. "...I'll take a look at the engine later. Wasn't really meant for that."