The first thing Pippa became aware of was how her face was uncomfortably smooshed into some cold, hard surface. She was definitely lying on the floor, although she had no idea how she got there, and the floor tasted like metal and rust. Or that might have been blood. Oh god, had she been in an accident? Was she dying...? Blinking, she tried to turn her head, but moving felt... hard. And her head was throbbing, as if she had hit it against something. Probably the floor. Damn that floor. Pippa groaned, trying to reach up to see how bad the damage was, but her hands were not cooperating. Or her arms. In a moment of sheer panic her eyes flew wide open and she struggled. Oh god oh god OH GOD AM I PARALIZED?! Making some panicked sounds she finally managed to roll onto her back, and the pain shooting up her arm slowly spelled out a not much more reassuring answer: she had her hands tied behind her back.

"Sh*t!" it was dark around her, or rather the faint light coming from somewhere was not enough to make out much. But she was definitely on a floor with her hands tied. Kicking, she felt her legs free, which was a small relief. She'd already kicked one of her heels of. How did she end up here? Was she alone?... Sifting through memories, the last thing she could recall was... the charity gala. Leaving the charity gala. With Sabine.

"F*ck!" did Sabine finally decide to get rid of her? Pippa craned her neck, trying to see more things. Or find the light source. Or anything. "HELP!"

Sabine liked being in control. When she took orders, she accepted them and generally had the authority to handle things her way. Surprises were unwelcome, so she worked to put her in positions where she was conscious of herself and her surroundings. Some people might call her paranoid, but she was still alive and in her prime when more reckless agents caught their own consequences.

Which is why it was so infuriating to wake up, groggy, sore, and unsure of where she ended up.

The situation came into clarity in slow waves. Pippa’s voice was the first thing she heard, shouting, waking her from unconsciousness. She was on some hard flooring; cold, uncomfortable, probably metal. That made sense; if she was knocked unconscious, someone would want to secure her. This ruled out being buried in a coffin, which was nice.

With effort, Sabine tried to right herself, realizing with annoyance that her hands were bound behind her back. That was what she expected, but she did not have to like it. Her eyes were still blurry and struggling to adjust to the darkness. The shouting was only a few feet away, so Pippa was in the same position and likely in the same space. ”Ugh, I don’t think shouting is going to do much,” she groaned, trying to shuffle over.

She felt some part of Pippa against her arm, which confirmed that they thankfully were not in separate cages or something. Little victories. ”If we’re somewhere with limited oxygen, we shouldn’t waste it calling for help. I doubt we’re anywhere someone would hear us.” Not if the people who did this were at all competent. ”Fuck, I wish we had caught a look at who grabbed us. That’s the last time I listen to ‘don’t be so uptight. Relax for once.’ Relax once, get abducted. Typical.”

>>”Ugh, I don’t think shouting is going to do much,”

Pippa jumped at the voice, and the brush against her arm. She recognized Sabine's voice, and as her eyes were slowly adjusting to the darkness, she could make out the shape of the woman next to her on the floor. This was no nefarious villain monologue, then. Sabine was a victim too.

>>”If we’re somewhere with limited oxygen, we shouldn’t waste it calling for help. I doubt we’re anywhere someone would hear us.”

"Limited...?" Pippa gasped before she bit the rest of the sentence. Nope, she was not going to entertain that idea. Not yet.

>>”Fuck, I wish we had caught a look at who grabbed us. That’s the last time I listen to ‘don’t be so uptight. Relax for once.’ Relax once, get abducted. Typical.”

"I... don't remember what happened" Pippa admitted, rolling over. Lying on the floor with her hands behind her back was awful. She felt exposed and useless. She wiggled some more. She could at least bring her arms to the front, right?... Pulling up her knees she began the process, but she rolled to her side again, which made the already humiliating performance even more awkward. "Do you?... I just remember being in the car..."

SUPER trained agents for various situations, and she heard plenty of her more junior agents complaining. When would they need to deal with being kidnapped and waking up in an unknown location? They assumed they were more the kidnappers than the kidnappees. Sabine, thankfully, was a good student and, with her luck, was always going to end up in a place like this eventually.

She did feel bad having Pippa dragged into this, though. She was a PR person; this is not what she signed up for, regardless of the “I know what I’m getting myself int” shpeal from their first meeting. Sabine wanted to keep Pippa from freaking out, for both their sakes.

Pippa was maneuvering, but Sabine still could not make her out just yet. ”Most of it is a blur,” she admitted. ”We had just left the event. You were giving me grief for not being genuine.” That was ironic to Sabine, considering the whole point of socializing to her was reflecting a person’s personality and energy back at them. Inherently ungenuine.

”We did make it to the car, but… I don’t think I remember the car starting. They probably knocked us out when we got in the car. Gas, maybe, or needles in the seats.” Sabine sighed, but cut it quick when she thought about flooding a possibly enclosed space with carbon dioxide. ”I think we got ambushed. They probably got to the driver, then waited for us where they knew we’d go.”

Pippa wiggled, moving her bound wrists along her legs. It helped that she was not a very long-limbed person. It didn't help that her chest was already crushed into a bra and a dress. And her head hurt.

>>”Most of it is a blur. We had just left the event. You were giving me grief for not being genuine.”

"I said you could have pretended to not hate the whole thing a little better" Pippa pointed out, trying to roll back on her back as she kicked off the other shoe. Not that any of that mattered right now. The shoe dropped with a metallic thump.

>>”We did make it to the car, but… I don’t think I remember the car starting. They probably knocked us out when we got in the car. Gas, maybe, or needles in the seats. I think we got ambushed. They probably got to the driver, then waited for us where they knew we’d go.”

"You think?" Pippa huffed, managing to tuck her feet in enough to bring her arms to the front. He sighed as she lay back, catching her breath. Her eyes were slowly getting used to the low light. "Oh. That's... that's how SUPER would do it, huh." she lifted her wrists, testing whatever was binding them together.

If Sabine had a say, she would have loved to be kidnapped in a more practical outfit. Dresses were great for looking flashy in a fight, but pants would have been much more convenient in an escape.

”I pretended fine when talking to anyone. You already know I didn’t want to be there, so why would I pretend around you?” The metallic thump caught Sabine off guard. ”You need help over there with something?”

The way Pippa brought up SUPER made Sabine defensive, because she was aware of the Havenite’s opinions. ”It’s not how I would have done it, but I can’t speak to some of the people SUPER’s employed over the years. It is a calculated plan with a lot of groundwork. If they’re targeting me as a face of SUPER, I’ve seen a few activist groups who lean into the extreme. One of them could have the organization and tools to get something like this done.” And the motive, given the admittedly justified picture of SUPER some pro-mutant groups held.

>>”I pretended fine when talking to anyone. You already know I didn’t want to be there, so why would I pretend around you?”

"Consistency?" Pippa suggested half-heartedly. Her wrists were bound tight, but now that she had them in front of her the whole thing felt less impossible. Not counting the dress and the lack of shoes.

>>”You need help over there with something?”

"You don't?"

Okay, so she might have been getting a little snappy. She was not a pro at being kidnapped; she'd spent a lot of her life voiding situations just like this one with SUPER. SUPER being the number one expert organization in kidnapping people like her. And now, she was working for them, and here she was. Irony.

>>”It’s not how I would have done it, but I can’t speak to some of the people SUPER’s employed over the years. It is a calculated plan with a lot of groundwork. If they’re targeting me as a face of SUPER, I’ve seen a few activist groups who lean into the extreme. One of them could have the organization and tools to get something like this done.”

"Or your rogues could have been targeting me, because I'm a Haven spy" Pippa pointed out with a hint of sarcasm. She twisted her wrists, and felt her skin bruised. "Dammit!" she snapped at nothing in general, her voice echoing around. Pippa froze, blinking. "Wait... did you hear that?"

Pippa was in a bad mood, which was justifiable. No one liked being robbed of agency, and there was little agency in being a hostage or whatever they were here for. ”I’ll be fine. Heaven forbid I try lending a hand,” she muttered, bending to get her wrists under her so she could twist and get her arms in front of her. She was no gymnast, but after enough effort and conditioning, she was flexible enough to re-orient herself in short order.

They both had their suspicions, and while Sabine questioned Pippa’s concerns, she was not going to outright dismiss them. They both knew there were still some goons lurking in SUPER. ”Have you done something to tip your hand already?” She smirked while the world around her slowly shifted into silhouettes. She was finally adapting to the dark. ”I know you aren’t a trained spy, but that’s still quite fast.”

Pippa exclaimed before Sabine could offer a counter-explanation, and they both picked up on the results. ”An echo… well, that makes it way less likely we’re about to suffocate.” Sabine fumbled to her feet, trying to get a feel for the space they were in, when she noticed an uneasiness. At first, she thought it was the aftereffects of being drugged, but she was starting to believe the shifting and movement she felt was from the floor itself. ”Pippa… I think we’re moving. I think… we might be on the water?”

They were both on edge, which was understandable, given the circumstances. Sabine sounded like she was doing the same contortionist act, getting to her feet. Pippa followed suit, stumbling a little even though she was not in heels anymore.

>>”Have you done something to tip your hand already? I know you aren’t a trained spy, but that’s still quite fast.”

"Oh no, was the I Heart Haven t-shirt a bit too much?" she shot back, trying to get her bearings. Sabine noted the same thing she did: the echo meant they were in a larger space, and not in immediate danger of suffocating. Yay. She also did not feel any walls or ceiling, but given her height, that was not a big surprise.

>>”Pippa… I think we’re moving. I think… we might be on the water?”

"Wh... seriously?" Pippa glanced around. Now that she was upright, it was easier to orient herself by the shapes around her. Somewhere deep down she felt a pang of dread. Were they on water or in water? "Do you see where the light is coming from?..."

The closer they could get to understanding their situation, the better chance they had of living through this. ”Us not being dead is a good start, admittedly,” she mumbled to herself. Realistically, if the plan here was to kill them, they would have been killed during their nap. That was, of course, unless they were being made an example of. Best case scenario, they might be hostages.

Training told her not to depend on the best case scenario. Focus on solutions. They were, as far as she could tell, on water. They were targeted, either as SUPER or as internal enemies of SUPER; either way, not grand.

Their wits were starting to return, which was great when their lives depended on being witty. Pippa was the first to notice a glimpse of light in the darkness. Looking around, Sabine noticed the weak silvery light peeking overhead. ”Yeah, I think it’s up there. And… you probably can’t see where I’m pointing.” Feeling around, Sabine eventually tapped Pippa’s arm and moved to her hand, taking it to point it toward the opening overhead.

”I’m no sailor, but I think it’s a porthole or something.” Sabine found a nearby wall to lean against and made a basket of her hands. ”It’s not too far up; I might be able to boost you up to take a look.”

>>”Us not being dead is a good start, admittedly,”

It really was. Pippa was not liking any of this one bit; her hands were still bound, and it was dark, and they might be on water. She had no illusions about the million ways this could get even worse any moment. For now, she'd have to focus on being alive and mostly unhurt. And having a small ray ot light. Literally.

>>”Yeah, I think it’s up there. And… you probably can’t see where I’m pointing.”

Sabine grabbed her hand and lifted it, and Pippa looked the way there were pointing. Her wrists still tied together, it was awkward, but she did see the source of light now. Sabine walked over to the wall below it. She could see her silhouette more clearly now.

>>”I’m no sailor, but I think it’s a porthole or something. It’s not too far up; I might be able to boost you up to take a look.”

Pippa gave a look at Sabine that she probably missed. Boosting her would not do... a lot of difference, especially without the heels. But oh well, this was not a time to joke about how tiny she was. She carefully placed a foot in Sabine's hands, and braced herself on the wall as she was boosted up, leaning forward. Sabine probably got a faceful of her satin dress skirts in the process. Pippa craned her neck, trying to look through the port hole.

"Um, I need a bit more height..." she muttered. Eventually she managed to get high enough to peer though the dusty glass. Everything smelled like rust. "Uh. I... yeah, we are definitely on water. I don't really see anything else?... Um. I don't think we are moving, though."

Most people underestimated Sabine's physical ability at a glance. Despite not being overly buff, she was plenty fit and more than strong enough to lift someone like Pippa. She had to deal with her bound wrists, but Pippa barely crested five feet. It made her easy to lift, but Sabine had to put extra effort to just lift Pippa far enough to peek through the opening.

They were on water, they were stationary, and there was nothing in sight. That last part was not ideal; if they were really lucky, they might just not be on a land-facing side of the ship. More realistically, they were anchored out deeper on the water. Not. Great. But also not underwater. "Okay. Okay. We're gonna figure this out." Admittedly, she needed to reassure herself a little, but she wanted Pippa staying calm. Pippa was here because of her, so Sabine was going to figure out a way to keep her safe. "Let's get you back down."

Sabine wrapped her arms around Pippa's legs so she could slowly lower her back down. It was a very close experience and Pippa's... figure made things a tight squeeze, but that was better than dropping her. "Alright. First thing's first; I'm not running around this ship with my hands tied. Thankfully, I think we're dealing with zip ties here. So with the right kind of pressure, I should be able to..." After tightening the tie with her teeth, she used leverage as she was trained. She pulled her wrists out and up and slammed her knee between them. Sabine winced, but the tough plastic snapped.

Rubbing her wrists, she looked over at the vague direction of Pippa. "I'm guessing they didn't prep you on how to escape bindings in Public Relations training?" Finding her way behind Pippa, holding her wrists so she could tighten Pippa's bindings. "Sorry. It's gotta be tight to work. Lift your hands over your head then bring them down into your knee or stomach. Flare out your elbows," her hands repositioned Pippa as an example before moving back to her shoulders, "and pull your shoulders back like you're trying to touch shoulderblades. If you do this fast enough and apply enough stress, it should snap."

She smiled, for all the good that did in the dark. "One little victory, then we can figure this out together from there, okay?"

The sight of endless water made Pippa feel a little queasy. Not that she was prone to seasickness, but the thought of being cut off from dry land was not a pleasant one. Maybe they were looking on the wrong side of the ship?...

>>"Okay. Okay. We're gonna figure this out. Let's get you back down."

Sabine lowered her to the ground as carefully as she could; the skirts of the dress crumpled around her and Pippa felt annoyed by how inappropriately she was attired for being kidnapped. Comfy clothes would have made a lot of difference. Also, the metal floor was cold under her feet.

>>"Alright. First thing's first; I'm not running around this ship with my hands tied. Thankfully, I think we're dealing with zip ties here. So with the right kind of pressure, I should be able to..."

Sabine did something in the dark, and there was a snapping sound. Oh good, she could get out of zip ties. That was a plus. Pippa's wrists were beginning to chafe, and she felt helpless with her hands bound.

>>"I'm guessing they didn't prep you on how to escape bindings in Public Relations training?"

"Must have skipped that workshop" Pippa muttered, as Sabine moved closer. Because of the lack of light, she had to demonstrate by touch. Pippa had not been planning on being on this close terms with her current boss, but the zip ties were the more uncomfortable of the two.

>>"Sorry. It's gotta be tight to work. Lift your hands over your head then bring them down into your knee or stomach. Flare out your elbows, and pull your shoulders back like you're trying to touch shoulderblades. If you do this fast enough and apply enough stress, it should snap... One little victory, then we can figure this out together from there, okay?"

The dress, once again, did not make this easy. It had low shoulders that made raising her arms somewhat difficult, but a wardrobe malfunction was the least of Pippa's problems at the moment. She tried to follow instructions to the best of her knowledge. The first attempt was unsuccessful, and she yelped in pain as the zip tie jolted her wrists. "Dammit!" she tried again, partly out of rage, with more strength the second time. This time, it worked. Pippa shook her wrists, feeling the burning sensation of scrapes on them. "Well, that sucked..."

Sabine did what she could to guide Pippa in the dark, so the rest was up to Pippa's quick learning abilities. The first effort sounded unsuccessful, which was not surprising. The skill was not easy to learn, for as easy as it sounded. Sabine was surprised by the success on the second attempt. "Hey, at least you've got your hands now, Miss Quick Study." Some agents struggled with that lesson because they wanted to brute force their way free without thinking about the physics of what they were doing.

Stretching her arms and rolling her neck in an effort to limber up for whatever came next, Sabine thought about... well, what did come next. "So we need to figure out if there's a way out of here before anything." She hoped they were not dropped in from above, because they clearly lacked the height necessary to get to the ceiling.

Fortunately, after feeling around, Sabine noticed a door. "Well, aces. We've got a door. A locked one, but again: little victories. I doubt we're on this ship alone. It'd be helpful if we knew what we were dealing with. If there's a guard, how many, who we're dealing with here. I don't feel like calling attention to us until I know that won't summon a dozen guards." Unfortunately, information gathering was easier said than done. "Dammit, I wish there was an easier way to find clues in this dark."

Okay so maybe in her own activist days Pippa had been known to learn useful tricks in case she needed them in SUPER custody. Not this, specifically, but the irony was still there, learning it from a SUPER agent herself.

>>"Hey, at least you've got your hands now, Miss Quick Study."

"Yeah. Bad guys, beware" Pippa sighed, rubbing her sore wrists. Suddenly, having her hands free did not seem like that much of an advantage.

>>"So we need to figure out if there's a way out of here before anything."

Well, Sabine was certainly practiced in handling these situations. Good. Pippa frowned, lifting one foot than the other. She didn't like being useless. But she was also not sure whether her gloves had been tord, and feeling her way around the room could turn out to be a more unpleasant experience...

>>"Well, aces. We've got a door. A locked one, but again: little victories. I doubt we're on this ship alone. It'd be helpful if we knew what we were dealing with. If there's a guard, how many, who we're dealing with here. I don't feel like calling attention to us until I know that won't summon a dozen guards... Dammit, I wish there was an easier way to find clues in this dark."

Dammit.

"Well... there is." Pippa sighed, bracing herself for the rest of it "But I can't guarantee it will tell us anything useful... and it's gonna be a pain in the ass. For me." She moved over to where Sabine was standing, carefully reaching out to the door. "I'm so going to get a headache from this..."