Another sigh, and a nod.
"...yeah, okay. You'd probably better go and grab it, take Question with you? I'd like to talk to this guy privately for a bit. Since you wore the helmet, too, might not hurt to get your experience in there, as well. I'm not gonna try and sugarcoat this, you know? We need Nabu on our side but..."
Storm ran a hand through her hair, sweeping a stray lock out of her eyes.
"Anyway. Give me a few minutes?"
Avatar from http://x0whitelily0x.livejournal.com/7486.html"Sure" Access replied, smiling. Maybe he'd been a little too harsh on her. Still, she was probably going to sound more convincing than they had.
"You heard her, Quest. I'll take us to Stark's for a few minutes so they can talk, then bring us back with the helmet."
Before they left, he addressed Storm one more time: "Remember: we are also doing this to save Tony."
"Sounds good to me" said Ivan, mostly glad that the ordeal is mostly over, he turned to storm "Good luck, and call us over when you're done" he said, putting his hands in his pockets.
The graceless warrior, wielder of the edgeless blade, prophet of the old religions, writer of fluent nonsense, saviour of soul and song.Access nodded to Ivan, then proceeded to -*POP!*- teleport the two of them right outside the Stark Mansion.
"You might want to change back to costume if you're going inside" Access suggested. "Or stay like that and wait until Storm calls, your choice. I don't think you need your disguise anymore... err, assuming that's a disguise" he coughed. "Anyway, I'm going inside to get the helmet, back soon." *Pop*
(Note: if there's anyone still inside, Access will ask what happened with Stark's "meeting".)
Ivan simply shrugged, lit another smoke and pulled out his romance novel to read as he leaned on the walls outside Stark Manor, simply enjoying the moment for now, while he could.
The graceless warrior, wielder of the edgeless blade, prophet of the old religions, writer of fluent nonsense, saviour of soul and song."That's the smell of death and destruction." The production assistant said as she took Tony to a well-kept dressing room, complete with couches, snacks, mirrors and a TV showing the set being prepared, with a studio audience already almost filled with people, pretty much all of them wearing shirts with New York heroes. The production assistant turned to Tony. "If you want anything, don't be afraid to contact me."
"I think they'll be quite fine, thank you." The distinctly british voice of Gordon Godfrey spoke up from the door, and the production assistant sighed and rolled her eyes, moving over to grab one of the donuts before heading out. "Stark." Godfrey said, brushing his hair back and moving over to shake his hand. "I could say it's a pleasure... but then I'd be lying, wouldn't I?" He glanced at Pepper. "Ms. Potts, you have a special spot in the audience with my boss, Mr. Edge. He's ecstatic to talk with you. I wouldn't keep him waiting."
As the Bioship landed, the doors slowly slid down, making a quiet thump that wasn't audible to normal ears (but then again, the people on that island weren't normal). "Okay. We're here." Megan said to the others, looking out the viewscreen before stepping out of the ship and into the grassy field of the island. Establishing mental link, Her voice echoed in the head of the other four teenagers. This should help when it comes to talking to each other. Anyone see a way in?
"My boss. One of my many bosses, actually." Coulson said, before looking at Moon Knight and Booster Gold. "Yeah, you guys could use some work. There's a set of stairs to the right, they'll lead you to the underground area of the base. We've got a workshop... barracks... showers..." He glanced at Gold. "You don't need to take showers, do you?"
Booster was gone as soon as Coulson was finished giving directions. Flying was cool like that. Once Booster found his way down to the lower levels, he set to work. Well, first he took a shower, threw his security guard uniform into the wash, and changed his clothes. Not a new set that he owned, of course. He'd have to go shopping later. The clothes he found fit someone more of the body type of a Fitz. So they didn't fit him very well (or they fit EXTREMELY well, depending on your persuasion), but...whatever. After that, Booster started working on those modifications while Skeets was still powered down.
When Booster was finished, he gave Skeets a few taps on his red lens. "C'mon, little lion." He said, as the red light blinked on. "Wake up. I wanna show you something." Skeets gave what could only be described as a mouthless yawn.
"Wh-what is it, sir?" Skeets muttered, rubbing "sleep" from his eye with his....hands. Skeets looked down at two gold, clamp-like hands, connected to his body by spools of metal and wire that...seemed to move like arms. Booster grinned, rubbing Skeets on the dome.
"Whaddaya think?" Skeets looked down at his clamps again in confusion.
"It's...very thoughtful of you, sir." Skeets said, patching the feed he was receiving through his eyes and ears on a private channel to Gold, in the hopes that whatever Booster said would improve her opinion of him. "But why?" Booster shrugged, sitting back on his stool at the workbench.
"Ya can't exactly hold your girlfriend's hand without hands, right?" Booster smiled, then gave a small, sad sigh. "I dunno, Skeets. I just...I felt really bad about earlier, and I wanted to do somethin' nice. I just...it hit me pretty hard, you know? I mean, I wanted to be somebody, yeah. But I wanted to go home someday and have everyone KNOW I was somebody. To see the looks on their faces when they realized that I was more than a could've been deadbeat security guard. To show them what I always knew. I just...I wanted people to know I was great." Booster sighed again, leaning forward, hunched over slightly. "And I took it out on you, Skeets. That wasn't right." Skeets tried to interject.
"Sir, you had every right to be upset after the news I-" Booster cut him off.
"Hey, shut up, I'm trying to be heartfelt here." Booster shook his head. "Anyway, I just...I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. For the last few years, you've been my best friend. And now, you're my only friend." He held out a fist, and Skeets lifted up a clamp to bump against it. "It's you and me, buddy. Till the end of the line."
My various fanfics.Moon Knight nodded to Coulson. "Hey Coulson, I've probably said this already, but y'know, I'll say it again; Thanks. For everything."
He slowly followed Booster down to the workshop, holding his future STRIKE uniform (and a clean change of clothes) with him.
When he was done bathing and changed into clothes that were decidedly less 'street', Moon Knight made his way down to the workshop. He was about to announce to Booster that he had good news, when he overheard the conversation between Booster and Skeets:
Moon Knight stood there, quietly, unsure of what to say, or if he should have said anything at all.
"@[=g3,8d]&fbb=-q]/hk%fg"Tony glanced to Godfrey as the man entered, PR-style smile immediately fixing in place, reaching out to shake the other man's hand. "Well, I figure we're both mature enough to be open about things. But if you really want to start fresh, I can respect that."
Pepper looked on, frowning a bit, then reached out to put a hand on Tony's shoulder. "Tony, do you need me to-?"
"Go on, Pep," he said, glancing to her. "You're the big cheese, go make nice with the other big cheese. Take Happy with you."
Pepper glanced between Tony and Godfrey, then just patted Tony's arm slightly. "Just remember to behave yourself." A slightly firm glare to Godfrey. "That goes for you, too." She then nodded, looking to Happy, and the two of them started out of the dressing room to find their spots.
Tony didn't say a word until they were out and the door was shut, just meeting Godfrey's gaze. "All right. Well. I suppose we both should finish getting ready."
Easing back into life one step at a timeStorm's eyes narrowed at the comment, but her only response to Access was a rather curt "Thank you for the reminder," before turning around and walking over to Nelson.
"Hello again. Ready for the story?" she asked quietly.
edited 28th May '14 7:29:15 AM by IchigoNeko
Avatar from http://x0whitelily0x.livejournal.com/7486.htmlNo, I don't have super vision until somebody stabs me in the eyes, Darwin thought, And then, only if I'm lucky. If the psychic link allowed it, some of his resentment over not having more proactive powers to help with would carry over.
In that case, they'd likely feel his attention dawn over him letting his feeling out and quickly snap it shut.
Jonah walked as quietly as possible to the room where he'd seen Printwhistle hobble off to. Before he headed into the sitting room, Hex spent a moment reloading his guns, just in case things went so sideways that he'd need to shoot his way out. When he was done Jonah holstered his guns, hid them under his coat and headed into the sitting room to "chat" with Printwhistle. Upon entering the room, Jonah closed the door behind him and sat across from the old man. Without a moment's hesitation, Jonah asked "Why're you really here? It's pretty damn obvious that it ain't for a game of bridge."
Nelson blinked out of his reverie as Storm came over.
He shrugged. "Sure, let's have it. This'll be interesting to hear."
"It is?" Printwhistle looked around, perplexed. "Oh. Well, Minnie wouldn't like to hear that. She says the whole thing's got to be hush hush, top secret, not a word in edgewise. She knows just the right way to do things. Been doing things for a long long time."
And a Strange Figure Emerges.Jonah was mildly surprised at how quickly Printwhistle had admitted to being at the orphanage under false pretenses. Nevertheless, Jonah wanted to know why the old man was here to begin with "Awful nice of you to spare me having force you to admit that you weren't here for a card game. Now, what's really going on here?"
I know what place needs a mower, Rogue snarked mentally as she left the ship after Megan, and then added. Rogue here, confirming the mental connection.
Wizard Needs Food Badly"Thank you, we all thank you" Mary replied to Simmons while she smiled, timidly. "I am sorry it all ended like this she continued, I just wanted to make some friends and not to cause any more trouble".
The sky had cleared out a bit, but Mary couldn't help but feel powerless. "Was power truly needed to make a difference? and if she had power would she be as cruel as M.s Greenleaf? or as good as Mercury, Simmons or Hex?" Mary wondered to herself.
edited 28th May '14 11:43:08 PM by RPGLegend
Forgiveness is beyond justice, faith is superior than hope, redemption is better than perfection and love is greater than them all.Spidey here, ditto. Spider-Man hopped onto the grass lightly enough not to make much of a sound.
Printwhistle balked under the threatening tone. "Wh-I-I couldn't tell! One o' th' boys would wring my neck fer it! An-and I wouldn't wanna go disappointin' Minnie, I mean...I thought maybe...I could go'n impress her today, an' all, 'r somethin'."
Hex would notice that Printwhistle had kept his hands behind behind his back this whole time.
"Ohhh, It's all right," cooed Simmons, "It's not any trouble, really. We just wanted to make sure people don't get away with doing such terrible things. I mean, that's our job, after all."
And a Strange Figure Emerges.Jonah was starting to get the feeling that his current method of interrogation wasn't getting him anywhere, so he decided that it was time to take a more direct approach to getting answers. After taking a moment to collect himself, Hex drew both of his guns and pointed one at each of Printwhistle's kneecaps "I'm startin' to get reeeaaal sick of you beating around the bush. Now, you're going to tell me what's going on here or getting your neck wrung'll be the least of your worries." Now noticing that the old man had his hands behind his back, Jonah said "While I'm asking questions, why don't you tell me what you've got behind your back there"
Ducem's tall ears raised up slightly.
"I heard something, for real this time. We have visitors out in the old field. I can hear them stepping down onto the grass right now."
He smiled, and templed his long fingers.
Sectator nodded. "I'll be inside, then."
Ducem waved goodbye and watched Sectator approach one of the larger prison buildings. Using a keycard, Sectator entered past several barely-functioning security doors, heading into She-Bat's lair.
Ducem grabbed a high-tech riot shield leaning against the wall, before bracing it onto his left arm and leaving to the fields.
The teenage heroes stepping out of the Bioship would hear a distinct whistle. Ducem waved to them from afar, stepping out into the overgrown pasture. He was carrying a thick black riot shield, which proudly displayed a high voltage warning symbol on its front.
"Out of all the stunts you kids have tried with us, this is the dumbest yet! Trying to sneak up on a bat! What were you thinking? Come over here so I can teach you all how to be quiet!"
"@[=g3,8d]&fbb=-q]/hk%fg""Well, so much for this approach," Darwin muttered. He raised his hands to the others.
Wait, I'm gonna see what kinda fire power he's packin', try to see if he'll hit me. Nothing aggressive, just gonna put myself in the front, make myself the temptiest target.
The Evolving Boy did exactly that, approaching Ducem, "Hello there, sir. Do you have a few minutes to talk about the Lord?"
Karen's trip back to her apartment was uneventful. After putting her usual sweater/slacks outfit on over her costume* , she poured herself a glass of pineapple juice before heading back to her bedroom to continue her current project.
Or rather, she began to head back there, then stopped when her eyes fell on her TV. She paused for a moment, just staring at it quietly.
...I'm not over there in-person to support him, but I should at least watch Tony while he's on that show.
The blonde picked her remote up, turning the flatscreen on and flipping to the channel she remembered Godfrey's show being on* . Then she headed into her bedroom leaving the door open; annoying as the background chatter could get sometimes, super-hearing still had its everyday uses.
edited 29th May '14 11:27:26 PM by Demovere
Against his will, Mercury was ensnared in Fitz’s barely decipherable tale of intrigue and romance. He sat down, enraptured and envisioning drafting the scientist into his next Youtube extravaganza, until he glanced at Greenleaf and remembered the importance of the situation. He got up quickly, pushing his chair back. “Right! I’m uh, pretty sure my friend got lost. I’m gonna go track him down. Be back in a minute.”
Mercury walked away to where he’d seen the others go, quietly opening and closing the door behind him. “No worries,” He said, turning around, “What’s-his-face-scottish-guy has Greenleaf nice and holyshitwhatareyoudoing.” Mercury said, eyes widening in incredulity at the guns. “Dude! How is this necessary! He’s like a million years old!”
“Only on extreme occasions.” She said, walking past Coulson. “I’ll take the opportunity to get comfortable.”
She located the locker room, and began the tedious process of removing her skin without damaging it any further, an effort not unlike peeling an onion from the inside.
But Gold managed. She carefully laid the skin down, folded like fresh laundry, and took a moment to revel in her own skin. Tendrils lifted up like marshland undergrowth, gently wavering in the cool air, before quickly extended and retracting from random spots on her body as she reacquainted herself with the feel. They collected the footsteps of the surrounding agents, and she frowned internally.
“Am I truly doing this? It’s a pathetic excuse to avoid responsibility. I should…” Booster’s body filled her field of vision, and her tendrils pierced the locker behind her in surprise. She sat down after figuring out who’s eyes she was looking through, and remained impassive throughout his speech. But as Booster knocked fists with the small robot, Gold’s tendrils slowly retracted from the locker back into her body. She traced the grain in the wood of the bench with her finger as she waited for her vision to return to normal.
edited 29th May '14 11:43:10 PM by Uncandescent
If I had that kind of power, I'd have dropped a meteor on your house ages ago~

"Sooo...where's the workshop?" Booster needed to make modifications to Skeets. And a shower. He'd been wearing this outfit for two days now.
My various fanfics.