Outage

[in_extremis]

WHO: Tony and fellow 10s exclusively.
WHERE: Heading to the power plant, open to suggestions
WHAT: Tony gets into the civil engineering game, for his own purposes. He has disrupted the grid. Sorry.
WHEN: Now? Whenever you're ready?
WARNINGS: Thread is horny.
SOME NOTES: This is a blackout that I didn't really intend to last very long, but that's up to you. If you want to use it to do some power outage shenanigans, let me and/or Hux know and we'll stay distracted from fixing the problem.


network
[Shortly after all of the power seems to cut abruptly, whether or not anyone noticed or were peacefully asleep in the dark, absolutely everyone receives a direct, private text message at the same time.]
I will fix it. Not a problem.



problem solving
It was inevitable that this would become a problem, but Tony didn't anticipate it happening this fast. There was a whole city out there that, presumably, had been run on this very same grid when fully populated. How was he supposed to know that the entire alien power load was only built to anticipate a single Gamecube and a dinky water display? D.A.T.A. was still smoking in the dark from the surge when Tony wandered dejectedly back into the workshop, no luck fixing the outage locally-- this wasn't a fuse problem. It was everyone's problem.

At least one thing was obviously not part of the same grid; the network hadn't gone down for Tony, and while that was further bad news in the long run, he could take the blessing to try to address the issue before anyone got hysterical about it. He sent out the mass text as he tore the data spheres down from their suspension and meticulously worked in the low light from the simmering forge to feel for the heat and melted warp, and gut the most damaged pieces, leaving them spread blindly on the workbench. That was really going to fuck up his schedule.

He knew where the power plant was, kind of, in theory, and it wasn't a trek he was eager to take without the full light of day on his side, but it wasn't like he was getting anything else done here. It would be faster than it looked, he could run, there was probably a generator up there and the way was going to be brightly lit and not an dark, creepy forest at all. Deep breath. Tony grabbed his jacket and his tool belt and started across town.

Elsewhere, the hum of power had gone silent, lights winked out, and the steady bubbling of the fountain at the centre of the city murmured to a stop, until the surface of the water was still as glass.

Comments

[plate_builder]

There was a reason he hadn’t really wanted to talk about it. Because who would want to associate with Reeve after learning this about him? About his world?

“Not, it wasn’t. Not until recently. About five years ago the company I worked for, Shinra Electric Company, it started getting some trouble from an eco-terrorist group called Avalanche. They insisted Shinra was not only evil, but they were killing the planet. They based it on an ancient religion of a long dead people. Or a people that were thought to be dead. It was...”

Reeve sighs.

“We haven’t used mako energy in more than two years. It is forbidden by all nations. We did so much damage. Because it all sounded so impossible. A whole world largely dependent on the polluting clouds of burnt mako, losing that power nearly overnight. It was necessary. And horrid. And all my fault.”

His hand briefly squeezed Tony’s before releasing it. This was when a sensible person would walk away.

“I’ve dedicated my every waking hour, since I knew it really was the truth, trying to bring Shinra down while still protecting innocent people. Every waking hour since the Lifestream rose up from the ground to protect us when we didn’t deserve it, every hour trying to rebuild my world. To make up for my sins.”

He shakes his head.

“Can you ever redeem yourself from such a thing?”

[in_extremis]

The skeptical look returned as Reeve claimed the responsibility for-- either using the mako, or the fallout from halting the practice, it wasn't immediately clear, but Tony was definitely missing a crucial connection that put Reeve at fault, leaving him not retreating but rubbing a soothing hand over Reeve's chest as it was released before locking his arm securely behind Reeve again, holding his elbows on the mossy lip of the pool. Just as before, the skepticism slowly softened as Reeve continued, the language foreign but the refrain familiar enough that Tony recognized the song, leaving him looking apologetic by the time he took a breath to try to answer Reeve's question. It wasn't going to be a reassuring answer, not if he wanted the truth.

"You can keep trying," was Tony's best answer, with a clearly practiced smile that faded to leave him blinking quickly, trailing off with a sniff and a shrug as his gaze shifted down to the ripple of the water between them, "But..." Whatever Reeve thought he had to fight that hard for, it was going to be working its way into his heart for the rest of his life. "Believe in the future," he suggested, "It's going to be beautiful." He met Reeve's eye again with confidence, picking up one hand behind him to curl through the hair at the back of his neck. "We're going to make sure of it."

[plate_builder]

"You've a way with words," Reeve can't help but say after Tony speaks. How was it possible that the man could move closer to him, could hold him? Ah, but Reeve hadn't said it all, had he? That said... he accepted the comfort offered. Even if there was little chance Tony could help with it.

"This place, and the last one... they feel almost like a penance. It's like being home. A ruined world, a destroyed metropolis, and this at least is training wheels. I don't have to reinvent power as we know it. I know... I know on some level that coal and oil are going to be bad for everyone. I've seen the studies. It's all a mess. And our world advanced so greatly thanks to mako-energy, which I'm not trying to apologize for. But..."

The blood of the planet on his hands.

"Before me, mako was used, yes. But never in the quanta it was after... Well, mako reactors were only what they were because of me."

[in_extremis]

If it wasn't for the warm pool, Tony would have shuddered again at the image Reeve offered of the home he had left behind, his skin feeling clammy instead at the idea of New York in ruins so much like Temba, a persistent enough nightmare in this awful, empty city. Tony's hand was already in Reeve's hair, leaving him unsure of what else to offer, knowing that dread he felt at the mere idea couldn't compare to actually seeing his city in ruins like that and without the language to offer his support. At least he knew he could offer some plans, if it was possible for Reeve to take the knowledge back with him, of a repulsor energy reactor system to help Reeve's rebuilding process.

More immediately, there was something he could relate to and offer at least some commiseration, if Tony was willing to share it. He started with a grimace, then unwound his arms from around Reeve to spread along the edge of the pool behind him as he moved his back against the rocks instead. There was that annoying, exhausting thing again, where he had to put his life into his own words instead of trusting anyone who knew his name to already have an opinion about him, letting them think he was a monster as long as he didn't have to directly confront it. "I made weapons," he managed eventually, mouth twisting in a wry smile that didn't reach his eyes, and hand up, there it was, it was just a fact. "I was--I am really good at it, and I made an absurd amount of money doing it, and I didn't think that hard about where the money was coming from. I don't know how many people died, they continue to die, because of me and how efficient I made the act of murdering...thousands of them." He had to stop, staring at the water again, his focus distant until he dragged his head up to offer Reeve that false smile again. "When I realized what I was doing, what kind of person I was, I knew there was no fixing the damage or bringing any of those people back, but I could try to be better, and I could make sure I was there to stop it from happening again. I should have died. I should have gone to prison. But I didn't, so I can use the time I have instead. I know there's no forgiveness, but there are people who want to help you do good, and I hope you can love them even if you can't love yourself."

[plate_builder]

The ruins are a lot worse when you had designed the city. When you'd seen it used as a weapon against its own people. But no. He couldn't think of that right now.

When Tony pulls away he isn't surprised, he had expected it after all. But the words, as they tumble free. Those shock him. Tony Stark, who seemed a nice man. Tony Stark who was working so hard to help people here... Tony Stark, who was more like Reeve than Reeve could fathom.

"Scarlett ran weapons development for Shinra. She had no conscience at all. So you at least beat out our equivalent there, I think. Though I'll give her that I think she probably looked better in a tight red dress than you would. Not that I'm saying you couldn't pull it off."

They're both so caught up in it now. When it's just himself, Reeve can accept falling into brooding. But he supposed it was foolish. When Vincent Valentine, the king of brooding, told him to stop it and keep moving, he should have listened. So instead he moves to take the position Tony had earlier. Or near enough. He moves closer to the other man, leaning in to press a light kiss against his jar, not caring about the rough brush of a beard against his lips.

"Honestly, I understand the feeling. I should be dead. I should be jailed. Instead I'm called a hero, for the things I did in my world to save it from ending. But the weight doesn't go away. All you can hope to do is wear it down, right? Live a little more each day?"

Well, there's one thing they have gone for them, isn't there?

"Looks like there are plenty of hours in any given day here for us to do good. To use the time."

[in_extremis]

Reeve could have easily decided that Tony was toxic, that weapons manufacturing was a step too far, or that getting too close meant their vilest traits that led to this weight they both carried could only feed off of each other or, worse, meant he would have to forgive himself. Tony's smile was small and brief, but much more genuine as his eyes closed with the press of Reeve's lips, tipping his head into the affection. He wasn't sure if he could agree to any of the weight ever wearing down, or that living ever got any easier, but it was a relief to share it with someone every once in a while. "Red is my colour," he argued with a chuckle.

He really wasn't sure that he agreed the hours they had here meant anything. To the people here, sure, if Tony could bring them some comfort or hope for the future, even if that meant an occasional blackout, he was more than happy to solve the problem. What good that meant for their lives back in their home worlds wasn't as obvious. To that, he sighed, slouching down into the pool with his arms falling from where he held himself up on the rocks, until he had to hold his breath and was peering up at Reeve through damp lashes just over the surface of the water. He snuck his arms around Reeve's waist to pull his heart into a kiss, the one good thing Tony thought he might carry back home with him.

[plate_builder]

“I don’t know... I think more natural colors suits you very well.”

Is that a pointed comment, made with his hands skimming over Tony’s skin? Absolutely. Tony looked best like this. Strong of body and gentle of heart. Or at least gentle enough to provide comfort.

“And I must say, you know how to make your company feel welcomed. I wish I’d lured you down here with me before.”

The tension relief had been amazing. And now he just wanted to float away in the warmth.

As for the kiss, well, he sighs contentedly at the touch of it. Was it possible for so simple a contact to be fortifying? For a touch to be nourishing? He felt like he could melt away into it, and for the moment he let himself revel in the sensation. Chances were it would not be repeated past this one stolen evening, for all the flirtation. He was used to a lack of hope in these things. Beyond people disappearing ‘home’ and plans diverting, he had learned to embrace what he could hold while he could have it.

“Hmmmm,” he sighed after a long moment. “Back on Risa, should I should have tried a line about hot springs. Clearly it works.”