Evert

[in_extremis]

WHO: Tony, Salem??, anyone around
WHERE: By the fountain, at the forge
WHAT: Tony has returned in time to witness...The Obelisk™. Salem is also technically here, so if you want to hang with him, just make that clear.
WHEN: Now! Immediately!
WARNINGS: Just this big phallic symbol.


a. fountain
The Agrii didn't think that Tony had enough cats. The alternative explanations that Tony was attempting to calculate were all, so far, much more uncomfortable, though that was not yet taking into account what the upper limit of cats was to the Agrii. He hadn't put himself here, after all, at least not while fully in control of his faculties, and a relapse would not explain the cat. It was warm and soft, which Tony clung to as the cold, dry ground viciously yanked him out of his sleep and forced his awareness of the chill that had seeped into his bones, and the ache from being curled on the stone.

Every joint protested as he pushed himself up onto his hands, where he blinked down at the animal, who peered blearily up at him for this disturbance. It seemed only fair that Tony gather it up off of the ground as well as he twisted to sit, glance around himself to try to reboot, and cast an accusatory glare at the glow of the data point. His own DATA points weren't much more help. He could see himself through their impartial gaze trained on the fountain, the cat squirming uncomfortably in his hold. Rolling back their recording made it seem like there had been a graceless edit--Tony was there, lying on the ground, then he wasn't. What did happen over time was the strangely bulbous burgeoning of this new...structure. It cast a shadow over him, and he squinted up at the construction as he ran the recording back and forward in the back of his mind, hoping there was something there to explain the thing's presence. It just grew, like a mushroom from the ground. In the meantime, the animal was growing increasingly frustrated with being clutched, and with a hiss and dig of its claws into Tony's arm finally got Tony to grumble, "Jesus, fine," and let it back down onto the cold ground. He would have watched it waddle away, only his attention was suddenly captured by his now emptied hands, which looked startlingly normal. They were not supposed to look normal. It took some flipping them back and forth to see the seam line. A thin band of scarring around his fingers where they had been stunted, and where they were now whole and smooth, uncalloused in that unfamiliar way that Extremis had left them when it first rebuilt him. He was missing time.

That got him hurrying to his feet finally, casting around for the cat again like they might be able to explain to him what had happened. They had gotten some distance from him, and were meandering curiously around the unfamiliar structure, until they sat to bat at the side of it. It...jiggled. That wasn't quite the right word, it was doing something much stranger, something that an otherwise solid-looking surface really shouldn't have. "Believe it or not, this is not the weirdest thing I've woken up to," Tony said, which did not get the animal's attention as effectively as he was hoping. "Nothing? Okay. Great. I hope it was good for you."

b. forge
This was getting exhausting. Not just the trek back to the forge on foot, without the Iron Man--how demeaning--but the recurring need to revisit, reassess, to...clean. That wasn't the future. This whole place was supposed to be under reconstruction, and every bump in the road sent Tony back to struggling to get control over the tiniest fraction of it. "What we do have," he was saying out loud, arguably to himself with only a metal ball rolling along beside him, "is a bunch of junk that isn't getting more useful just sitting there. It's not telling me anything new about the Atroma and how they watch us, or control us. It's circuits and screws." The ball gave a waver back and forth as they went, like it wasn't so sure it agreed with this assessment. Tony persisted, as they made their way down the chilled road, toward the inert chimney of the forge, and the heavy, metal door that Tony gently laid his hand on to send sliding aside. He repeated, "What we do have," and waved both hands, like the robot that walked with him could finish the thought for him. "Is the parts to make those garden-roombas of our own. Something more useful. Something that does laundry." The ball didn't seem to like this much either, rolling to a stop where it could tilt its camera lens up toward Tony's face, and narrow its aperture dubiously. He wouldn't want to be doing laundry. "You're just going to help me program them," Tony assured him, as though that was any better.

Comments

b

[thepurpleone]

Someone's been making themselves at home. Some of the clutter's been moved aside, put into sorted piles. On one of the workbenches someone's apparently been gathering pieces of metal, and there's a rough diagram for some kind of armor drafted out under a piece of scrap that's become a makeshift paperweight. A...shell? Propped up against the wall nearby, a staff of some sort, made of high grade titanium, the top somewhat shaped like some technical spearhead, its color scheme in silver and purple.

In another space Iron Man's head sits with some scribblings of notes and diagrams. Someone's been studying the armor, it seems.

...and that someone appears to be curled up under a blanket just on the other side of the workbench.

[in_extremis]

To Tony, it felt as though he had just been here yesterday, so the moment he looked up from DATA and into the shop he froze, every little change like stark glitches in a familiar code. Had Cayde been...cleaning? Felwinter? That didn't seem right, but Tony didn't know anyone else who could let themselves in since Catra was taken. He looked inquisitively down at the robot again with a grimace, to which DATA had no answer, only a blank blink of his own.

Tony moved softly, taking up that strange spear as he passed it to weigh curiously in one hand as he made intently toward the workbench. The drafting was mildly interesting, but he grabbed more urgently at the other notes, glaring at them like they had personally stripped him, and not even in the fun way, more like the wires way. It was as he was moving to see just how much of an invasion this was that his foot hit something too warm and soft, and the tension all came out of him in an embarrassing shriek as he jumped away from it, ready to bash it with the stick.

[thepurpleone]

That's sure one way to wake someone up. "AAH!" the lump screams back, blanket pulling away as the green-skinned figure sits up. It takes him a moment to register the other person there, more so that this person has his baby in hands and looks about ready to use it with extreme prejudice.

"AAH!" he yelps again, scrambling back on the floor until he runs into some other pile or another, wincing at the impact. "Ow, ow ow ow..."

fountain

[ashwantstobattle]

Ash and Pikachu are out once again with the intent of meeting and befriending any animals they can come across. Today they're mostly hanging out around close to the fountain before the weird Obelisks catch their attention.

Pikachu glances back to see what Ash is doing before running on ahead to investigate. He sees something streak by and sits up to look around. An uneasy feeling starts to settle in and he looks around again to find out where Ash is since he's the most likely to get in some kind of trouble. Except..

"Pikapi?" He questions as Ash seems to have wandered off. "Pi!?" He looks around a little more, coming to the fountain itself. "Pikapi, pikachu?"

He looks around again and this time finds the adult human. He's already on edge thanks to the weird uneasy feeling so he immediately crouches down, cheeks sparking in warning.

[in_extremis]

On reflection, Tony thought he must have categorized that sound as a bird call, not registering it as an immediate concern until it was obvious that it must have been coming from this creature that came scuttling before him. It was big enough that he backed away as it appeared, bigger than the cat that he already wasn't having any luck controlling, and wild animals were really not his area of expertise. "Yeah, okay, I get it," he said, hands up in an instinctive surrender, "In my defence, I was here first. You're coming at me, I was just minding my business, it's a free country." Rationalizing only really helped with the mothcats when Jon did it, too, but Tony only had his charms on him.

[ashwantstobattle]

"Pi?" The Sparks stop and Pikachu relaxes his stance a little, watching Tony curiously. "Pikachuu..." The yellow mouse manages to look somewhat embarrassed as he stand on his hind legs and scratches the back of his head the same way Ash does when he's flustered. If Tony is getting the odd feeling that this oversized mouse is apologizing then he would be absolutely right.

He pauses a moment and glances around to see if Ash has caught up yet but he doesn't hear the familiar footfalls. He turns back to Tony, trying to consider if there was any way he'd happen to have seen Ash but there's no way Ash wouldn't have tried to talk to the man so probably not?

"Pikachu Pika Pikapi pipi pika?" Pikachu does his best to describe Ash's hair style by demonstrating with his little hands.

A.

[crystalmaster]

Radley is still wondering what's up with the elusive black kitty, so when he sees it, he starts over. When the Obelisk suddenly grows, he just stops and stares. When the kitty bats at it and it moves in a way an obelisk should not do, his reaction is "..."

For about all of two seconds.

"What the hell is that?!"

[catchable]

The kitty was already freaked out. The strange ripple in the wall as he slapped at it had him jumping back, hair on end and glaring at the obelisk that most definitely was not here when he had gone to sleep. He also most definitely had not been cuddling with a strange, clingy man, so in general he was feeling like he was overdue for a very thorough bath. He would have to start with this paw that had been in contact with the ripple, though, and as an answer started licking it intently with a stare at this whole new strange man to find out the answer for the both of them.

[crystalmaster]

Radley would have been more amused at such typical kitty behavior if he wasn't so weirded out by this thing. He cautiously went over, poking it with a finger.

b. Forge

[newmemorywhodis]

Link hadn't actually intended to go to the forge at all. He'd been intent on heading off somewhere else to explore. But, well. He saw Tony, walking along with a rolling metal ball. One which seemed to just...move on it's own, like a creature. And that was interesting, so of course Link had to follow Tony into the forge to get a better look at it.

Link doesn't bother to say hello when he walks in. He just does so, before immediately crouching down next to the ball to get a good look at it.

There's a couple of changes from when Tony last saw him. He's got better clothes now for one, thanks to Lark. And in addition to the sword on his back, he now has a very complicated-looking compound bow and a very uncomplicated chunk of door. The latter has, apparently, been appropriated as a makeshift shield.

[in_extremis]

The metal balled rolled itself around to get a good look back, pointing a camera toward Link whose aperture adjusted curiously as it took in this up-close experience. The same camera had hung over Link more discreetly, in awnings and from the library door, but this angle up his nose was certainly new data to gather and compile.

Tony, meanwhile, slowed to a stop, then leaned against the workbench with his arms patiently folded while the pair enjoyed their mutual observation, only he was never good at being all that patient. "By all means, make yourself at home," he invited when it was clear he wasn't going to be getting attention any time soon. And he couldn't very well keep on ignoring, "Did you bring me a door?" The kid had a weird sense of humour.

[newmemorywhodis]

The camera is interesting. Reminds him a little bit of Guardian eyes, actually. Hopefully though, this one won't shoot any lasers at him.

Curious round metal ball now inspected, Link looks up at Tony. (Now, the ball can get some close of data of Link's chin!)

"Don't have a proper shield," he says. Though he doesn't know why Tony thinks Link brought it for him.

a

[beholding_archivist]

"Tony...?" The voice is cautiously hopeful yet paired with verbal as well as nonverbal fidgeting.

Of course he has noticed Tony's absence. How could he not have. How could it not have driven him crazy? How could it not have driven him to attempt the impossible and overexert himself and his sight and finding himself in one of the far back rooms of the library's basement with blood in his mouth, on the floor, walls, running from his eyes and ears and wrecked fingers... But he is sure to have spotted him. Or maybe he imagined it. Wished for it hard enough that he has been allowed to see what he had hoped to see.

But right now? He is seeing the real thing, right? It has to be. It's definitely Tony, but is it his Tony? It has to be. If this turns out to be what happened to Steve...

He reaches a hand towards Tony, wants to wrap his arms around him. "...please tell me it's you." Don't make him look. Don't make him Know.

[in_extremis]

He certainly couldn't explain what he was doing out here, so the fact that Tony's reliable backup processor seemed to be asking him only left him spreading his empty hands out in apology, starting to grimace and produce some disarming joke to defend himself. The last time Tony had seen Jon was maybe hours ago, at most, so he was very underprepared for Jon's palpable anxiety and let the glib dismissal melt on his tongue as he raised his eyebrows inquisitively, hands still up and redirected as well to subtly mirror some of Jon's fidgeting like it might help him understand the reason. Had it really been that long?

"Of course," he said readily, trying to sound light with Jon's anxiety drawing up his spine, and quickly taking that outstretched hand to coax aside and better let Tony cup his worried face to search for what else he had missed. There didn't seem to be any new grey hairs that had grown without him, and he continued even as he pressed a reassuring kiss to Jon's forehead, "Hey, it's me, of course, it's just me. What happened? Are you okay? Is everyone okay?" Maybe that was the wrong order.

[beholding_archivist]

The moment Tony takes his hand, some of the tension within Jon begins to seep away and he easily lets himself be drawn closer. Closer to that familiar warmth that had been so terribly missed. Closer to that familiar scent that Jon would be able to pick up if he wouldn't be holding his breath in anticipation that any moment now Tony would disappear again.

But then Tony kisses his forehead instead of disappearing.

"Shit." Jon exhales at last and quickly moves forward to wrap his arms around the other man to hold him close and not plannign to let him go as he grumbles away his frustrations and the heaps of anxiety gathered over the past days. "...you were gone."

B

[plate_builder]

Timing, one might say, was everything. Perhaps it was true, or perhaps timing was actually a matter of comedy. Probably the latter actually, because it was on that little line about laundry that Reeve came up to the door of the forge.

It wasn't that he came every day to try and find his friend, but rather that he had caught sight of Tony in the town, returned at last, and he'd started after his friend. The arrival, though, came with him chuckling at Tony's comment.

Clearly the man was talking to the orb and not him, as there was no way Tony was asking him. He had long since confessed that his programming skills were underwhelming.

"You could just use the ones on the ships. Or perhaps see if we can haul the ones on the two ships not in use out of them, set up a system to make them more automated in process, and then install them somewhere more central."

[in_extremis]

Slightly shamed to be caught talking to his robot, Tony's shoulders jumped, then he drew himself up to look as cool and casual and completely shameless as possible with his hands in his pockets. What aloof armour he managed to produce was betrayed by the tug of a grin at one side of his mouth and eyes narrowed with quizzical surprise to even see Reeve down here. "The more automated process, that's what's missing," he answered. "It takes a day to go all the way out to those machines, wait around for everything to go around in circles, and, listen, then there's the drying..." Like it was a physical torture. "I've set some machines up closer, in one of those houses by the lake," he said, "But, blue sky, I don't want to have to think about it at all. The times I've had to do my own laundry are the worst in my life."

[plate_builder]

"Some people might see it as a lovely break from other duties," Reeve suggests. Not him of course. He preferred to take work to the cafeteria on the ships and eat and work while he waited.

"So the last few years have been the worst in your life? Even though you have Jon?"

b

[wearingthestars]

A flash of blue interrupted them, Billy neglecting the curtesy of knocking at the front door like a normal person, or even saying a proper 'hello' before he had suddenly caught Tony in a strong hug.

"...you're you, right? I'm not scaring the shit out of some new Tony?" he greeted breathlessly, looking up at him and apparently feeling sure enough to rock up and press a grateful kiss to Tony's cheek with a relieved laugh, "I was afraid you were gone, and then I saw your name again, and I-....hi!" he rambled.

[in_extremis]

Tony's humiliating shout of surprise at the sudden appearance was at least cut short with the wind knocked out of him, and he had to hug Billy back as much to keep them both upright before he toppled over, entirely off balance. "Could you not have called? Jesus, I just got here, I'm not set up for a light show, I have a heart condition, you know," he complained through Billy's rambling greeting. He had to dislodge the hug to get some distance and take Billy in properly, holding his elbows for the examination to make sure nothing was missing, or been added while Tony wasn't paying attention. "Every inch," he did finally answer. "But you'll have to trust me or your favourite Victoria's Secret model on that one."

[wearingthestars]

Billy gave an apologetic laugh, too relived to feel too sorry about it. He allowed himself to be dislodged, eyes doing their own sweep over Tony to be really sure.

"Did you go home, or was it one of those black out things?" he asked, gesturing to his temple, having had some experience with those strange blocks of missing memory. Frankly, either answer was bound to have follow up questions, Billy eager to learn where the blocks of time went, but almost more eager to hear more about what was happening back home.

B

[giveusfreedom]

Markus had been keeping quiet ever since arriving, partially because he had yet to recover from the burdensome load of responsibility that he had thrust onto him and then yanked away in so little time, and partially because he figured that the less he spoke the less he would have caused trouble. That being said, he still couldn't shake off this feeling that he needed to take the matter in his own hands.

"Sounds like a plan. I'm actually pretty good at programming." duh, he was an android, but no one but York knew so far "Anything else of that kind that I can do?"

[in_extremis]

Tony was not so good at keeping quiet, and immediately made that clear by startling with a shriek that he quickly cut off with a hand clasped over his mouth, and tried to recover from by clearing his throat and looking as tall and manly as one possibly could after making a sound like that, and delicately dropping a prim hand to his chest. "You can't just--appear like that, a man might have a heart condition, you're an assassin," he accused. The last place he expected anyone to be was near the shop like this, clearly it was for a nefarious purpose, like making him make embarrassing noises. The robot that he had been walking with didn't look nearly so surprised, looking between Tony and this guest by rolling side to side, to try to calculate what exactly the problem was.

a

[tempredmental]

"Waking up to weird things is surprisingly easy to get used to," Keith said dryly. For a kid in his mid-20s, he sounded way too experienced about that.

As it was, he'd seen a body lying next to the fountain and had come to investigate when the person in question had started moving and then got up.

Ah... Tony. They'd met once or twice...

But Keith waited after he spoke, staying close in case Tony looked like he was going to keel over or something, but far enough that he wasn't encroaching on any personal space.

[in_extremis]

Tony did feel a little bit like he might keel over as he tried to get his bearings, and there was no getting through the firewall around whatever had happened between standing in the forge, then suddenly waking up here. He rubbed the heel of his hand against his heart with a grimace, like that might encourage it into a less anxious rhythm, because being caught so off balance like this was very much not helping. Talking probably would, talking always definitely helped and didn't make things worse.

"That's not something you should be--you're, what, twelve years old? Way too young to be learning your partner's name and myriad of mental disorders over breakfast, you've got to get that under control before it become a habit or they shoot you in the back," he said. "I did all the testing for you, I'll write up the paper eventually, trust me for now."