Casework

[in_extremis]

WHO: Tony, Jon, searching-for-a-jail exploration party
WHERE: The library and a strange, gated community
WHAT: It's been agreed what is to be done with Beck by committee. We'll see how well that goes.
WHEN: A little while after the community discussion
WARNINGS: idk yet.



a. Processing [for Jon]
Plenty of frustration did translate into plenty getting done, a cacophony of noise throughout the library as Tony dug up floors and sawed through walls to redirect the wiring through the workspace Jon had presented him with. How useful any of that accomplishment was felt directly proportional to how well Tony could actually focus on it. If the work was too easy, it was obvious to him that it was a monumental waste of time, a plain selfish distraction that probably wouldn't even amount to anything if he was snatched out of this place at any second, or they were collectively sent to live on another planet at the whims of their voyeurs. It didn't matter that Tony had a space to work if none of that work ever helped anyone. Then he had another lens to tune and he had to curl over it intently, letting the background noise of the network and his watchful D.A.T.A. units flood the dark corners of his attention.

It was after much too long of this banging and crashing, that did very much transform the room in the basement, that Tony realized he had not only been not helpful, but actively disruptive the entire time he was directing his energy into this work. If he was going to help the way he thought he was supposed to be now, he could at least start in his own house.

Another stretch of silence permeated the library, letting the mothcats nervously settle once again. It would be another hour before Tony came wandering through, still dusty down his front from his construction, but carrying a tray adorned with a handful of new buds pulled from the spring growth outside, and searching for Jon.

b. Probing [for ADVENTURE!]
"This is it?"

It felt like kind of a weird area for a prison. It was kind of a weird area in general, leaving Tony feeling uneasily boxed in between the building that grew a flower that tried to eat him, an unsettling cemetery, the tower looming over them dark and unblinking, and this tall fence that they were confronted with. It certainly didn't look welcoming, but that building down the road looked more like a mansion than a bunker, throwing the severe angles of this one into particular relief. It had been Echo's call, so Tony looked to him with a raised eyebrow and added, "And you've never been inside?" Maybe it wasn't the best idea to bring Echo along. He didn't exactly look his best self, and Tony wasn't even sure where his prosthetics began or the meat ended, should they run into trouble like that flower thing.

"If we're going to use it as a jail," he started to propose cautiously, swinging back a few steps away from the fence and pulling the helmet of the Iron Man back on, distorting his voice as he continued, "we should maybe consider that the fence is not there to keep us out, but to keep something in." Not that he meant to discourage anyone. Just prepare them for hungry flora. It was already well overgrown, vines climbing up the walls and snarled through the fences, dead and woody yet in the spring chill. Even with just a few intrepid green sprouts where the sun lingered the longest, there were a lot of places for a threat to hide.

Comments

B for Becho

[only_an_echo]

"I thought about it," came Echo's plain reply, busying himself with looking at the fence, helmet tucked under his right scomp arm. It was rather difficult to tell with all of his darkened armor, but the upper part of his right arm was pretty obvious; a rounded hinged joint stood out where he should have had an elbow, all of it very clunky and noticeable. The way he walked also gave off a few clues in terms of prosthetics, but he didn't seem hindered by it.

Maybe that was it, though. Maybe Echo was just crazy-ready despite his handicaps.

He added onto the thought, blunt and to the point. "I would have done it too, but it was the voices of those warning against splitting up on unruly adventures that kept me from going in." He then glanced in Tony's direction, sunken eyes half-lidded before eventually nodding. "While you may be onto something there, consider our little group here." And he gave it a moment, for added effect. "That's obviously not stopping any of us from checking it out."

While waiting for second opinions, the clone slipped his helmet back over his head, the back part fusing against his cranial device with a small click. If it dragged out any longer, he was going to just go in and take point.

Re: B for Becho

[beholding_archivist]

Lacking a helmet to put on, Jon is left to push his glasses up his nose as he regards the fence skeptically. "I'm actually surprised no one appears to have entered it so far." He comments, his words also being a clear verbal nudge towards Tony.

"It's close to where we encountered the large plant as well. So we might want to be careful in case we spot any vines or suspicious flora." This feels like something every member of their little group should be aware of. "Also I suggest if we split up, we still should remain in smaller groups and maintain contact as we go."

[usedtobesmoller]

"The large plant?" Steve is mildly out of breath but that could just be the asthma. It's not, but it could be and he will argue to the death if anyone suggests otherwise. He frowns and puffs on his inhaler while wiping off some sweat.

"What...what large plant? Is that one of the things that grabs ya? Or was it a different one?"

This planet seems to just have a lot of ways to prove it doesn't like intruders.

[in_extremis]

Both Echo and Jon taking their chance to remind Tony how unmanageable he was only had him bracing his hands on his hips, chin up with apparent pride. Steve might have been a little short, but it suddenly felt a lot more like a familiar Avengers mission. "I'm just saying," he replied to Echo, "keep your eyes peeled. And maybe we keep the door intact to close behind us, just in case." Rattling the fence didn't immediately dislodge that door, though, so Tony leaned up close to it again briefly to see what he was getting into, before doing a quick burst upward to assist a vault over the top of it and drop down into the grass on the other side.

"I'd say it's a thing that grabs, sure," he responded as he went, even as he was clearly hunting for a way to let the rest of them in. "Kind of a venus flytrap situation, but big. Hated light. Just open a window if you see a flower you don't trust." The gate rattled again, then gave a screech of protesting metal as Iron Man eked it open through the grip of rust.

[only_an_echo]

Since it was Tony and Jon, Echo just had a feeling to take their words for it. He wasn't sure how many adventures they had before then and it all sounded like experience talking and not just another pull of the metaphorical leg, so to speak, so he just went with it.

"Roger that." He swapped out his usual blaster for one of the Coruscant-'borrowed' sidearms, holding it upright as the gate was rattled and opened wide enough to squeeze through, slipping in and glancing over a shoulder at Jon and Steve. "And I'm all for maintaining contact whenever we get to that point. It's just good practice."

[beholding_archivist]

Jon nods his agreement with Tony's description towards Steve and adds. "Inhaling its pollen also made you hallucinate. Draw you towards it." An effect that at least half of their group should be immune to, luckily.

He follows Echo through the gate, the squeeze being much less a squeeze to the Archivist who easily walks through the gap, one hand on the bag he has come to bring along on these little expeditions. "I just hope it's not another spider den. This planet is crawling with oversized insects already."

[usedtobesmoller]

Steve has absolutely no issue getting through whatsoever. Once through he starts looking around for something heavy he can use as a weapon, just in case. At the mention of spiders, Steve frowns deeper.

"Hallucination flowers, grabbing vines, and giant spiders? And here I thought New York had some awful creatures..." Not that it's putting him off any

[in_extremis]

"Maybe we haven't been thinking positively enough," Tony provided as he shoved the gate closed again behind them with another shriek of complaint, and stepped away from it clapping his metal hands like he could knock the rust off of them. "At least every other door in New York is a bodega with a surprisingly good cup of coffee. Sure, there's also a creature on the counter that also has eight legs, but someone's put a collar on it. Maybe this is the coffee door. Or one of those boutiques that just sells bespoke lingerie. Those always smell so good. Them and Jaguar dealerships." He took a deep breath like he was trying to relive this sense memory that was very out of reach before abruptly taking to the air again to do a low flyover around the lawn, searching for any threatening structural damage, or movement if he could see inside.

[only_an_echo]

Echo made a noise under a breath. "Don't remind me. That's the last thing we need in this situation," he shook his head at Jon's statement. "Should we be hoping for mothcats instead?"

While he had other thoughts about Steve and Tony's mentions of New York, old habits began to kick in. If this was like a mission, he treated it as one. The clone didn't flinch when Tony went flying, keeping his eyes up and his blaster pointed as he moved on ahead, picking through the grass to create a path for the others.

[beholding_archivist]

"Please don't tell me you can tell apart the stores of different vehicle brands by their smell." Jon comments, his approach on a potentially dangerous exploration much more casual as he lacks any proper training to fall back on. As for improvised weapons... Well.

He casts a look around anyway, then up at the building their group is now approaching. The entire architecture looks very different from the rest of Temba, that's for sure. And while he can't make any notes on New York, he can yet shake his head at Echo's suggestion. "I doubt it. Maybe we're simply lucky and don't encounter anything at all." Best case scenario for sure.

[usedtobesmoller]

Steve finds a sturdy piece of steel and figures that's good enough for him. Surrounded by two robot-people and someone that clearly has some abilities, he once again acutely feels his deficits. But also he's Steve Rogers so that is in no way an unfamiliar situation.

"I think your experience of New York and my experience are a bit different," he calls up to Tony with a grin. It falls off as they approach the building and Steve shifts up to the front, curious.

"I haven't been here as long as you all have, but this doesn't look like what we've seen in the two towns. D'ya remember seein' things with this design?" Steve, ever the artist, can recognize gothic architecture with one eye swollen shut. He just never has here before.

[in_extremis]

Between the new, green spring growth, patches of winter-dead grass still tangled and was easily dislodged to send swirling up against the dark walls as Iron Man came darting back to rejoin the group, not particularly any more wise than he had been when he left. "Holds up well," he could report. "Better than some of those buildings that are half in the ground. Built to last. Or take a hit. What are we doing, have none of you found a door yet?" Impatiently, he went sauntering on, flattening the growth under his heavy boots and strolling by Echo's vigilant approach like he was walking too slow at the mall, hands animated and still talking. "We'll have to ask someone who's spent more time in Sh'ka if there's anything similar over there. Then we know it's an external influence, worth checking out to learn something more about the people running this show."

[only_an_echo]

"Now that's just pushing it." The humor was vague in Echo's tone, but he hoped Jon was right and not jinxing them to some degree. Away from the Bad Batch, he had almost forgotten who he was working with now. Yet it wasn't too different - just another kind of different. He withheld a sigh as Tony strolled past, easily matching the Iron Man's pace after another quick sweep showed nothing out of the ordinary. "Doesn't hurt to be a little careful, Tony."

In regards to Steve's question, he shook his head. "It's been a while since I've last been in Sh'Ka, but asking about it is a good idea..."

He then looked forward again, pausing for a second before moving ahead of the group to get in closer to the building itself. "-Does this fit your definition of a door?" Did it even count as a door? Whatever it was, it was an entry point. Time to go in and find out.

A

[beholding_archivist]

It won't be hard for Tony to figure out Jon's location now that silence has taken hold of the former library once again and it becomes much easier where the mothcats appear to be gathering. Unsurprisingly, it's the smaller upper area of the library, where large windows let in plenty of the sunlight from outside. Most of that area has been fenced off weeks ago in advance and a growing assortment of blankets and pillows has found its place there. And starting today, the freshly hatched mothkittens will have their shared nest here as well.

At this very moment, Jon can be found kneeling carefully among those that were already carried down from the high shelves by one of their parents after hatching from their respective cocoons. Jon isn't wearing any shoes and the sleeves of his shirt are rolled up while he watches over the clumsy felines and how some of the older mothcats have taken to groom the kittens regardless of whether it's one of their own or not. He will have a full count soon.

Upon noticing Tony's approach, however, Jon looks up from the mothcats and greets the man with a nod and a soft smile to invite Tony to join him. "How is it looking downstairs? You've been busy."

[in_extremis]

The mothcats in their new arrangement weren't a surprise, though Tony wasn't prepared to see so many of them already down and gathered, or how the flutter went through the group as he approached with a rattle of the temptingly glinting vase of flowers. They were luckily occupied with their more important baby arranging business, so Tony only slowed cautiously at first with a careful grip on his tray, only to freeze and almost bolt in a panic when he finally peered around his delivery at Jon smiling at him. The image of him in the pool of sunlight, gentle with the animals, was so much like the one that Tony had tried to hold in his head when he thought he was about to die that he could feel his face immediately colouring, and he had to force a steady breath to remind himself that a gallop of his heart didn't mean he had to take flight.

"A mess," he reported as he collected himself, and tried to pass it off as looking very carefully for his footing among the blankets with the tray raised enough to try to cover his face as he peeked around the flowers at Jon. "You'll have to get angry at me, stress test it. I think I've got enough juice." By the time he had picked his way through, he could smile more easily at Jon and greet, "Hello, my love," as he crouched next to him. Unfortunately, there was a tiny animal squirming around on the pillow in front of him that had to be scooped up before Tony could deposit his offering there; the flowers, a cup of coffee, some fruit and some kind of flatbread that someone else had prepared at the diner, and a crudely drawn stick figure wearing a lab coat that Tony described as, "Something scary," offhand as he fell back onto his butt to cradle the squinting mothkitten apologetically.

[beholding_archivist]

Jon watches as Tony finds a spot for himself and his tray, mindful of the helpless feline as he settles down. he gentleness ignites a warmth in Jon's chest and he gives an affirming nod. "We can test it later. And thank you." He adds with a gesture towards the tray that has earned the interest of a few mothcats that aren't occupied with any of the kittens at this point.

"And how do you feel?" Jon asks with a more serious note, picking up the coffee and holding the cup between his two hands while searching Tony's posture and expression for the truth he already knows Tony will try to hide away from him. He's not going to read his mind, though.

[in_extremis]

Jon didn't need any mind reading powers to anticipate the defensive lift of Tony's shoulder, a subtle move that he played into a tickle of the mothkitten's head, and his flippant, "Fine, always." Before this questioning could lead anywhere, he cast a glance around at the nest Jon had been building and asked, "Jesus, how many of them are there?" The Countess and her litter alone had seemed like a swarm when they were all grouped up, and now with several animals continuing the tradition it felt like a military invasion.

[beholding_archivist]

"Sixty-three." Jon helpfully offers. He hasn't missed the initial reaction, of course. Neither has he missed Tony's behavior after being freed from the pit leading into the mines or during the meeting to discuss and vote on Quentin Beck's fate.

"What would you have preferred we do with him? Mr. Beck." The question is a direct one, yes. And it's accompanied by a slight tilt of Jon's head. He's curious, not judging. Tony has been the one Beck has tried to murder after all.

[in_extremis]

That was a much too calm answer for the sheer number of animals in the building, making Tony's eyes widen just as the one he was holding starting making a disgruntled croaking noise. Hurriedly, he set it aside again, where one of the adults was readily close for an inspection, then to feverishly bathe the evidence of Tony's handling away. The baby continued its croaking for independence from these indignities. The number of new mothcats also told Tony just how long Jon might have been bending and kneeling among them, and took his chance to only briefly wince at Jon's question before busily stretching out his legs to welcome Jon to rest his back with a pat between them.

"It's not that I don't think keeping him from being able to do any further harm is a good idea, in principle," he first defended, knowing that it hadn't been an effective argument in the first place and feeling judged still regardless. "We just don't have the infrastructure. The risk is too high. We don't have someone to devote to watching him 24/7, there's not enough of us for that and we don't know when that person could just be gone, and we can't anticipate when the next...thing will make him throw himself out the window of the twenty-eighth story under whatever compulsion sends us walking into the ships." He had to take a deep breath, more frustrated again just by having to say that out loud, feeling like it should have been obvious. If the collective agreed that a death sentence was extreme, they should have seen that this was basically the same thing.

[beholding_archivist]

Jon takes a long sip from the coffee Tony has provided him with, then gladly accepts the invitation to share a moment of closeness and shared warmth, mindful of the whereabouts and little clusters of mothkittens scattered around the nest. There are small groups of them napping together, some already testing their yet weak little legs and wings and a good few that are being taken care of by the adults of their group. It's clear that not all of them will stay once they grow up, but at least they get to grow up in safety.

"I agree that it's not a solution, but at the same time- He attacked you. Not even for anything you have done, but because you are Tony Stark. Not even the Tony Stark that slighted him. Just- Tony Stark. And he's not sorry about his actions, he's sorry that you survived." Jon says, looking up at Tony and reaching out a coffee-warmed hand towards Tony's cheek. "You must admit that this is messed up- And dangerous. Especially for you." A pause. "And you didn't answer my question."

[in_extremis]

That degree of separation wasn't as strange as it might have seemed, so Tony frowned and opened his mouth like he might protest that this was a perfectly reasonable impulse and plenty of people hated the Tony Stark that he was in magazines just as much. It just didn't justify attempted murder, probably, so he let it go with a discouraged sigh, and with a lot less argument about whether or not Beck was reasonably remorseful. Jon probably knew that much a lot better than anyone else could, so Tony pressed his cheek into Jon's hand instead.

Tony's arguments might have been poor, but telling him 'especially for you' was only further disquieting and redirected all of his energy into lifting his head up again to insist, "No, I was stupid, he didn't even push me--" over Jon's probing, that he had to quickly try to defend, "I know, I was getting there, I just feel like everyone's still going to agree with Steve when I say we should let him go and it's--He's hard not to agree with." Tony wanted to agree, he could feel it nagging at him, that Steve always made such righteous decisions. Without enough to do with his hands, Tony flexed them restlessly, searching for the best way to form his proposal, "But if we just let him go, and keep an eye on him, none of the problems. Like an ankle bracelet. Except..." He twirled a finger, and made a vague gesture up toward the back of his head. Where Catra still had a distinct implant.

[beholding_archivist]

"You are aware that letting him go and watch him is a lot harder than putting him in one place we know he can't cause any harm in and watch him there, right?" Jon says, then puts the still warm, still half-full coffee in Tony's restless hands. "I'm just worried he will try to come for you again. And I swear if he does, I will smite him." That last part is said with a stubbornly determined pout. He has held back on moving against Beck this time, but he won't hold back next time.

With his coffee shared, Jon reaches for some of the fruit slices while contemplating Tony's suggestion. "So you want to put a tracker on him." There's a short pause before Jon raises a brow. "That's something you should leave to me." Keeping an unsettling close eye on people? That's literally what he's supposed to do anyway.

[in_extremis]

"I didn't say it was easier..." Tony grumbled, and was effectively placated by the coffee that he could direct his glare at instead. None of this was easy. Depending on who you asked, executing Beck in the diner had been the easiest solution--problem solved. Maybe Jon was one of those people, and Tony looked up at Jon's declaration with a weary frown, only to snort a fond laugh at Jon's pout and stop gripping the coffee relentlessly to pull Jon closer across the floor with an arm looped around his hips.

The tug of Tony's smile was gone as quickly as it came as he considered Jon's very reasonable amendment to his plan. Only it was magic, and it would be entirely up to Jon, which still left them in the position of relying entirely too much on one person to do this work. "We could do both," he was willing to consider. "And then it might not be quite as much of a hard sell, because--listen--this is the actual problem, no one's in the same car. Philosophically, sure, we all are trying to get off of this planet and not die in the meantime, but we're not actually--we're barely helping each other, and we're isolated, and we created the perfect environment for Beck to manipulate Peter and Tommy. It shouldn't have gotten that far."

[beholding_archivist]

While Jon is well aware that Tony has his difficulties with magic, it is still a little disheartening to find him not even trusting Jon's powers and the control he has acquired over them while Jon trusts any device Tony sets down in front of his nose. Because he trusts Tony and the man's knowledge and experience in his field.

He responds with an agreeable shrug. "Both works for me. And I am aware that we all have different cultural backgrounds and expectations of what would be considered right, wrong or an acceptable punishment for the latter. But fundamentally we all agree that attempting to murder one of our own is not tolerable behavior." Jon then sighs, lowering his eyes with a frown. "And I feel I could have prevented this from happening if I weren't actively avoiding to watch everyone brought here 24/7." Which isn't always easy, but it's a choice Jon has made. Because he wants to be able to trust these people as well...

[in_extremis]

That wasn't quite what Tony meant, and he nodded along with some impatience because it was great that those fundamentals were there and they didn't have to argue whether or not murder was good with anyone, yet, only stopping himself from interrupting at Jon's strange display of defeat. "What? No--" he tried to discourage Jon from taking any further blame because he wasn't literally babysitting the whole city, "Listen, that's just it, if we had a shared culture, and everyone was watching, as a collective, as a--community, then it wouldn't have happened. It's not about you, or me, it's about the fact that we let nine year old kids wake up at that fountain, away from their parents for the first time in their lives, and assume they'll figure it out. That's--it's--barbaric."