revivalproject | Indictment

Entry tags:

Indictment

WHO: Absolutely everyone.
WHERE: The diner.
WHAT: A decision has to made about threats to the community.
WHEN: After an attempted murder, a chaotic rescue, and an awkward reunion. Now.
WARNINGS: Nothing yet. Mark it if something comes up because...
NOTES: Structurally, this is a mingle, so you can decide what part of this is actually important to you. What you talk about in here doesn't have to be directly Beck-related, but for details about the incident, further organizing, and if you want to determine what your characters might have done/seen/heard in the meantime, this post is still good!

[NETWORK//text @ everyone]

Come to the diner. We have to talk.
If you don't show up, I'll assume you agree with me because you're incredibly intelligent and graceful. The city of Temba thanks you for your contribution to our justice system.

This was the last thing Tony wanted to do. The diner at least felt familiar, neutral--somewhere he could be in control, without having all of the attention on him. Being able to bask in the attention would have been so much easier. As it was, that felt like he would be inviting everyone to really examine the cracks in the armor. They were here because he had already lost control.

As if that didn't already feel enough like an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, Tony found himself standing in a circle of seats that he had arranged, the tables pushed up against the walls, and couldn't honestly say how much that had been intentional. He raised a lip, and looked to Felwinter as though he would have any illuminating insight about productive interior design. He seemed like he wanted to be here even less than Tony did. Beck was his charge for the time being, though, and as awkward as it was to stand in his stupid chair-circle with the pair of them, Tony did appreciate having Felwinter there to keep an eye on their...problem. Even if having witnesses to his restless energy made it all the more humiliating. Felwinter couldn't sit on Beck forever just to make sure he didn't lure anyone else off the edge of a cliff, so they were all going to have to survive a little humiliation.

"I think the coffee's done," Tony declared, with absolutely no idea what state the coffee was actually in and readily moving toward the kitchen regardless. "Do you want one? I'll get you one. Do you do that sort of...?" He was still talking, and what Felwinter did or didn't eat and drink might have otherwise been something Tony pushed him about, but he was already mentally in the kitchen and trailed off as he went, flapping a hand to wave off any refusal of his offer or explanation about Felwinter's digestive situation. Maybe he would just stay in the kitchen and listen, let Beck hang himself.

Tony took a deep breath, pushing his sunglasses up his nose and squaring his shoulders, readying himself for a performance.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Dude, Tommy wasn't going to ask about the mine shit. Trauma is personal. He ain't fucking with that.

"Peter was living with him? Shit, I should have offered him a place at YA House. He doesn't deserve that stuff. I just... can't believe I feel for it. All the shit people have done before, and I bought it. I am supposed to be smarter now."

And yet, he fucked the hell up.

Beck's talent seemed to be his salesmanship, or at least spotting enough vulnerabilities to effectively fake it, and Tony wouldn't be surprised if Tommy was just the first person he talked to today feeling this betrayal. He frowned and continued, "That's what I'm talking about--we're spread out, people show up here and they're on their own to figure out where to stay and what to eat and--There's, what, thirty people in the whole city, I'm at one end and Cal's all the way at the other--" It wasn't like Tony was interested in forcing people into some kind of commune, he liked being far away enough that the effort to get to him kept most people away. He did also see the value in Jon inviting him to move his work into the library. And he had to admit, "It's easier, you know, at the Tower--not a lot of Avengers actually lived at the Mansion, not unless they had nowhere else to go. We'd meet there, during the day, of course it was a busy place, but there was only ever one Avenger sleeping there most of the time, if it wasn't just Jarvis keeping it from getting dusty. But at the Tower, almost all of this team is there 24/7, everyone except Spider-Man--even Jess, she's about to pop, she's not putting the tights on, but that's her home, and we know when the pregnancy is hard on her and Luke... It's easier. It's--it--..." Tony waved his hand, not quite able to articulate what he actually felt at the best of times.

"Yeah," Tommy sighed. "I get it. People like to feel independent. Which is a lot easier to do when, you know, the world itself is set up to support you. Which this place isn't."

He doesn't think they can make it better, though. It wasn't in people's natures.

"But hey, I learned how to make a coffee pot. So clearly I'm ready to do anything."

"No, that's not--" Tony started to wave his hand, because he wasn't sure if they were actually talking about the same thing, as usual. He was trying to agree with Tommy, and what Tommy said wasn't wrong, though, so he wrinkled his nose with some frustration to try to clarify. "I mean--yes, okay, people want to be independent, but it's not like we've gone out of our way here to present another option. You hit the ground running here. You can try to reach out to ask questions, sure, but it's...I mean, there's the hotel, there's the ships, good luck, hope you don't die."

Unfortunately, Tony didn't really know why the Tower, and that team, made for a much more literal home base compared to the Mansion's empty rooms. Maybe it was Steve.

"I guess I don't get what you're saying. But the mansion, man, heroes are all intense personalities. If you put them together that long there is conflict. Apparently the mutant island works only because it's a pretty huge fuck party or something."

David had mentioned something along those lines.

Eventually, Tony would have to figure out when people were talking to him to find solutions, or just want him to listen. Such a complete disconnect kind of helped him along, though avoiding speedbumps like 'mutant island fuck party' would have been a preferable route to enlightenment. He was frozen for a beat with his mouth open, ready to try to explain again before that attack on his psyche, and eventually landed on, "Aren't they supposed to be a school?" with quiet desperation. Not that he was opposed to a general island fuck party, but that didn't sound like it was going to be the solution to their immediate problem. More of a fun summer outing suggestion. He really was going to have to talk to Steve about this community building thing.

Before Tommy could assault him with any further details of what was going on with Xavier's grand plan now, he sighed and dropped his shoulders and finally acquiesced to loping down onto the floor with Tommy, back up against the cupboards and elbows propped on his knees. "I'm sorry you had to rely on this other guy to teach you more, give him that opportunity. I should have been more available," he acknowledged, with some uncomfortable tension without something to actually show an apology, or any real direction to solve the availability crisis except, "I won't be as far anymore. You know. Out at the forge."

"Dude, you're years behind. School got destroyed. And their place in San Francisco. And their island. And a lot of other places. They have Krakoa now," Tommy answered with a shrug.

And that's as much as he's giving. It's not a place for humans and he's barely tolerated there so he's not going to give shit away and get completely banned.

The apology, though, was shocking to him. He stares at Tony with shock and confusion. And then shakes his head.

"I annoy you. A lot. It's like I can't speak the same language, or get what you're saying, so we get all testy at each other. Seemed better not to annoy you with questions about basic shit. And Beck was willing. Able. He was nice. Which I guess was the hint he was bullshit. Doesn't mean I intend to make you hate me by asking stupid questions."

Tommy was on the money about the incompatible languages, because Tony could not figure out what Tommy was trying to say to him. It wasn't just that Tony was unavailable, it was just that Tony was too impatient and made Tommy feel like he resented him. Great. Being a little closer wasn't going to solve as much as Tony thought it would, and maybe he was rushing into that a little bit.

"Ah--yeah, okay," he accepted, scratching a hand through his hair to pinch at the tension at the base of his skull, and tried to quickly push through, "Someone being nice to you isn't always bullshit. It shouldn't be. You shouldn't let people not be nice to you. You're fast, you know, make some space."

Shouldn't let people not be nice to him. Tommy wants to laugh at that. Make space too? All he gets is space.

"Honestly, Tony? I wish I was more like you. People sorta forgive genius. Sometimes. Me? They take a lot at face value, but I guess I learned to just prefer that? It's easier than teaching people not to assume shit about me. Since most everyone does that, I'm used to it. Beck, he came to me, said he was going to try and help some with his holo-tech. Sat there for a while, returning and refining the tech so that it wouldn't be awkward and painful and glaringly wrong to the speeds at which I process the world. I think he mostly did it so that he could have something that could fool me. And I just wanted to believe he was trying to be nice."

As usual with Tommy, that was a lot to process all at once, and this time didn't even have a fun concept like a fuck party to temper it with. Tony started by wrinkling his nose dubiously at just how much Tommy wanted to be like him, when Tommy was regularly the most direct about how awful he was, but it did make sense that Tommy felt he got away with being that awful. Tony couldn't agree it was the genius thing; the bank account did most of the heavy lifting there. It also did a lot of work for Tony in his effort to craft the assumptions people made about him, so he didn't have to deal with anyone looking any closer. What Tommy wanted was a line of credit.

"Most of that, that's the kind of person you should be used to," he tried to reiterate. "Not the--part where he was lying to you about dead kids, but the patience and the generosity. A lot of people are not going to be like that, but you don't have to assume that's the best you're going to get. You have a lot to give, not everyone deserves to have it."

"Should be used to," Tommy says, clearly amused by that. "Dude, you know just enough of my history to know that I'm not. Maybe here it's a bit better, but fuck if that's not been true most of my life. Listen, you've known my Uncle for a while. You ever wonder why sometimes he just goes off like an asshole and does stuff without consulting people? It's how our heads work. While everyone else is still processing, we've thought what we think is a hundred steps ahead. We're not always right. We're often not right. But in our heads it's been hours and we can't handle not acting."

And that gets them into trouble. Got him into trouble. He'd gotten used to being alone because of it. So no, he doesn't feel like people want what he has to give. He gestures around the kitchen.

"This gets me credit here. But we know it wasn't my idea. And the most successful it was happened to be when Clarice was mostly running it. Most people here see the results of what I do, but they don't see me. Just the outcome. Beck? I thought he saw me. Like you did, for a moment, when I was seeing your memories."

Tony hadn't been trying to argue that he thought Tommy's life was full of only the kindest of people, so he tipped his head back against the cupboard with a thunk to shake with frustration. He didn't have to explain the miscommunication this time, though, because Tommy laid it out for him pretty plainly, despite himself.

"Have you considered, maybe, you think everyone only sees the worst in you, because you only see the worst in other people?" Tony suggested. Tommy was making a lot of assumptions about how people perceived the diner and Tommy's role in it. And even if Tony had to concede all of that was true, because he hadn't personally examined the data, he did know that what he knew about Tommy wasn't a momentary lapse in judgment in a dream world.

"No," Tommy answered rather quickly. Because of course he didn't think he saw the worst in other people. "I give people chances that others might not. I've tried to make that my policy. The Young Avengers gave me a second chance, and I have to pay that forward."

Of course Tony is completely right. Tommy is prone to seeing people as likely to hurt him, so even when he formed friendships, there was a distance. ANd usually he was the one to put it there.

With his head still back, Tony frowned up at the ceiling, not sure how to articulate what an uneven exchange Tommy was proposing in this context, without discounting that in general that was a good philosophy. Eventually, he came up with, "Does Beck deserve another chance?"

"He's blown his," Tommy answered. "After all he's done, he's blown it. ANd neither of us really thinks he's not going to try and kill you again, right?"

Because if either of them do, they're idiots.

Tony grit his teeth, looking unconvinced. Not that he didn't think Beck would take his shot again, and he pointed out, "Didn't work the first time, not too worried about a repeat performance." The problem was, they were all one terrible day away from blowing that chance, and they were all coming from very different entire dimensions where the boundaries of that chance were not going to be the same. And, sure, Beck had sent him falling into a hole. Wouldn't anybody take the opportunity?

"I think we should consider the bigger picture," he said, trying to form it between both hands. "Jon blew that chance with you, didn't he? And now you're--I don't know, you avoid each other? But he hasn't done that to someone else. That I know of." Alright, maybe that was a terrible example, because there were very few details that Tony actually knew about the aftermath, and he was trying to talk about that aftermath. What happened after they gave Beck another chance.

"Yeah, but what happens when other people start getting in his way, Tony? Think about how Mysterio was in our world. Didn't the dude get into villainy because he basically was jealous of Spider-Man? How many people died, Tony? How many people injured? We can't get this guy the help he needs, and we can't risk him going further."

He does think Beck needs help. They just don't have anyone to give it. Though Tommy's frowning at the idea that Jon blew any chance with him. Jon's a friend.

"Dude, that Jon thing you're referencing is ancient news. Before the Agrii ships. We've long since patched that up and while we don't hang always, I consider us friendly. We just don't have a lot of cause to overlap in our lives."

"I don't think that's a fair comparison," Tony muttered, more to himself than making an actual argument, because he was sure all of the other Tony Starks would hate to be judged against his actions. More than that, he winced with one hand rubbing anxiously against his heart, like it might actually seize, the rest of Tommy's argument sounding very much like Maria's when she was insisting that Tony do something about the Hulk. He didn't have a good argument then, either.

What he could argue was, "Maybe by this time next year, this Beck thing will also be ancient news. How easy would it have been to convince you of that, when Jon first...did that to you?"

"Hard. But Jon didn't try to murder me."

And that's a whole different thing.

Tony raised his eyebrows expectantly, but found he had to finish the thought himself, "Beck didn't, either. You can't trust him, sure, but--maybe that's it, we just know we can't trust him, act accordingly, don't be alone with him, until he can prove otherwise."

Seriously? Seriously?

"He shoved you down a deep hole, Tony. He tried to kill you! If you think any Maximoff would fucking stand by for letting someone hurt their family like that, you've completely fucking forgot who we are!"

While the energy made Tony blink, it didn't take him by enough surprise to keep him from talking over Tommy to correct, "He let me fall," because he felt like the distinction was important and he had already accounted for it in his suggestion. Just don't be alone with Beck. He was more effectively silenced by Tommy's suggestion that Tony was part of his family, and he had to stare for a beat, trying to determine if that was what Tommy actually meant to say. Tommy hardly wanted to acknowledge that he was part of the Avengers team when Tony suggested it.

"It's--it--" he stumbled, trying not to acknowledge it even as he tried to push his hand into his chest, focus sliding to the floor. "It already happened, and the best we can do now is not let it happen again. I don't think giving him another chance is directly at odds with that. So--is there a punishment that would actually be satisfying, and feel like justice?" Tony had to drag his focus back, and even then he didn't look convinced that there could be an answer to his question. He couldn't think of something he really wanted to do to Beck in retaliation that would improve anyone's life.

The Avengers don't want Tommy, so why should he consider himself one of them? There's baggage there, and it's frustrating that just about everyone else that was once part of the Young Avengers is either gone or acknowledged in their own ways, and he feels left behind. He's got traumas that shape the way he sees the world back home. But like it or not, Tony was trying more than most people. Sure, they fought, but fuck, even his mom and uncle did that.

Fighting was what family did.

"No," Tommy answered. "There's never anything that feels satisfying, that feels like justice. Because the only thing that would..."

His hands flex. They're strong hands. Well, durable hands. He can do amazing things with them because of his speed.

"The only things that would satisfy won't satisfy long, and puts us on his level. Lower than it. There's no right choice. But when we leave men like him to lash out again, the new blood on their hands is on ours too. Balancing that is what we're supposed to do, right? How we're supposed to be heroes."

Tony shook his head slowly, considering carefully because Tommy was correct, there wasn't a right choice, and they didn't have the luxury of having a whole social system to defer to when they didn't want to take on that burden themselves. Tony might not agree with the death penalty, but it was out of his hands once he handed a supervillain over to be charged for his crimes, and there weren't a lot of cases where he went out of his way to intervene when that was on the table, and it wasn't like he was organizing any prison breaks in protest. He was onto the next problem.

"I think we use different scales," he eventually offered. "Being a hero means tipping the balance, yes, but I don't think it's just against destructive men. I think it's--how many more good things can we do, to minimize the bad things. Giving these guys the chance to correct their behaviour, that's a good thing."

With a deep breath, he continued, "I'm not going to resent what Beck did forever. It's already better for me to forgive him. But retaliating with some punishment, or doing something more permanent, that could be forever, he could be unable to forgive that, and we've actually made it worse."

"You are the victim, you get to choose whether to forgive what he did to you or not. But that doesn't mean you get to choose what the rest of the people here feel about him. How safe they feel, or how in danger."

So people outside of this room get to decide what happens to Beck. If Tony didn't want that, then he shouldn't have come here with this. He should have found a way to get Jon to make everyone let this go.

"You can choose to forgive, but the rest of us have to choose if we're okay with the forget."

Indictment

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