12029/Brainstorming and stuff.

Brainstorming and stuff.
Date of Scene:	18 August 2020
Location:	First Floor, Avengers Mansion
Synopsis:	Megan seeks information about Dr Strange and a benefactor from Tony. A tour is given.
Cast of Characters:	Pixie, Iron Man

---

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn had contacted Tony a few days ago, wishing to get some information on a 'Person of Interest' who had recently assisted the X-men in rescuing one of their own from an anti-mutant compound. And maybe she was just slightly curious to actually visit the Avengers Mansion firsthand, which she's never actually seen before. Heard about, sure, but maybe she'd get to see a guided tour too?!

But, first thing's first, and business is always important before pleasure right? Of course it had been difficult to fit her into Mr. Stark's busy schedule, but perhaps it helped a bit that she had assisted him with the whole Godzilla thing a while back so...

A few days later and she is on the door step of his mansion, waiting patiently at the door after having rung the bell. The youngest Xgirl is still humming some chipper tune she's got stuck in ehr head and cant get out, darnit!

Iron Man has posed:
Normally, a mostly cheery, occasionally snippy, but always British voice would greet those at the door. After the AI that it was attached to had already scanned them, compared them to every governmental and SHIELD database, and assessed their threat level.

Those were the good old days, when J.A.R.V.I.S. was still around.

As it is, the only immediate response to the doorbell is a sqwauking noise from the speakers near the bulletproof camera near the buzzer.

'SQWAUK!'

The camera tilts lazily to one side, making audible mechanical noises as the lenses attempt to focus. Clearly, the security systems aren't quite in working order at the moment.

Eventually, a prerecorded message comes over the buzzer, with a bit of radio static garbling the message just a bit.

"Welcome to 'kzzzssskk!' -vengers Mansion! Please state the nature of your emergency, and wait patient--- ERROR! ERROR! Target identified as M.O.D.O.K.! Alerting Avengers! Initiating Capture Protocols!"

An old-fashioned alarm begins sounding inside the Mansion, while small ports open up around the door.

Several clunky robotic arms slide out of the ports with a high-pitched squeak, and begin grappling awkwardly in Megan's General Direction!

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn peers up at the squawky camera, biting her lip and shifting nervously on her feet. "Boy, they sure are paranoid around here!" of course, the X-men base is pretty paranoid too. At least towards overly snoopy types.

Soo, hopefully she wont get disintegrated on the spot or anything. She did arrive in casual wear, hoping to just have a casual chat with him about some things that were bugging her, about someone who was apparently connected to the Avengers.

Anyway!

She clears her voice, stands up a bit straighter as she peers into the camera. "Oh..Umm. Hi! I'm Pixie of the X-men, and I'm here on appointment to speak to ah, Mr. Stark?" Annd then something truly *weird* happens and she squeaks and jumps back, holding out her hands in surrender.

"Hey hey! I think you got your wires crossed! And who the heck is MODOK? And is this thing even working? Hellooo!?"

Annnnd then, there are those creepy robot arms! What the heck is this place!? She shrieks and darts back, doing her best to stay out of the way of those awkward robot arms. "Heey, Mr. Stark! Are you in there? Somewhere? Maybe? Hello!?"

Iron Man has posed:
The only response to the question, at least immediately, is the sound of a repulsor blast firing over Pixie's shoulder. It's followed in quick succession by other repulsor blasts, knocking out each of the robotic arms in short order.

As the robot arms shriek and fall silent, something that sounds very much like a muffled rocket can be heard.

Coming from behind Megan.

And above her.

A familiar electronic voice is projected loud enough to be heard over the whine of Rocket Boots, as the Armored Avenger begins his gradual VTOL descent on the front lawn of Avengers Mansion.

Strangely, he seems to be wearing an armor that's so old, it surely must be one of his first attempts. Clunky body. Solid helmet. And uh... the rocket boots. Maybe all of his new armors are getting serviced?

"Aren't you a little short to be a MODOK?"

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn meeps and shrinks back, covering her head as she hears a blast behind her somewhere..Fortunately it goes after the crazy robot thingies and not herself, which is both a relief and a cause for annoyance.

She turns around, expecting to see a friendly or..Something. Oh hey, that's some kinda robot in old armour and...

"HeeeY! I'm NOT a MODOK! What the heck is even a MODOK? I'm Pixie, of the Xmen! And I came here to see Mr. Stark, got the appointment set up and everything. What is *wrong* with this place?"

By this time her heart is pumping a thousand beats a second, hands clenched, pouting a bit. Sheesh, this sure is a weird place.

Iron Man has posed:
It takes just a tad longer for this version of Iron Man to finish landing, and those rockets probably scorched a patch of the grounds bare. But as the heavy armored figure begins walking toward the door, Iron Man removes his iconic old 'Bullethead' helmet, revealing the equally iconic mustache and bloodshot eyes of Tony Stark.

"I know who you are, kid. Sorry about our doorbell... I haven't had time to fix it and these union electricians want to be paid OVERTIME and get HAZARD PAY!"

Tony sounds highly offended by this for some reason, but he's smiling beneath that immaculately-trimmed silent film star mustache.

He takes the door handle in one of his armored hands, and gives it a tug.

Nothing budges.

"Dammit! Hey, do you, uh... mind getting us inside, Pixie?"

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn just stares at the giant armoured robot thingy as it steps towards her. Nope nope, doesn't recognize it. The voice? Maybe...Except it sounds all mechanical and stuff. She's..Not sure what to think, but she sure as heck would rather not get squished like a bug. Megan's wings are already fluttering, lifting her a few feet off the ground..

Then he takes of his helmet and she breathes a sigh of relief. "Mr. Stark! It's you! Thank goodness! I thought some giant robot thing had swallowed you and possessed you, orr....Something.."

She pouts a bit, looking at the robot arms, or what's left of them. "Wooow, that's *some* doorbell..Am I the only one who finds that *slightly* weird?" And Megan, or rather Pixie, makes a face. Yeaah, she just stuck her tongue out at him. "...You're weird! And that totally scared me and...Oh.."

She glances towards the door then back at him. And smirks, "Sure.." she reaches out to touch his armoured form and...Well, Pixie has never actually *been* in the mansion before, so they might just end up crashing into something or falling face down in the floor. Or the sink or something but..

"Sihal Novarum chinoth!"

Iron Man has posed:
As they materialize in the main foyer of Avenger Mansion (right in front of a twelve foot tall painting of Tony on a horse), it quickly becomes obvious that only the doorbell seems to be out of order.

At least so far.

Avengers Mansion has a vibe that's pretty homey, for a mansion, with lots of old world charm offset by display cases of Old Avengers Stuff and pictures of the team.

There's more pictures of Tony/Iron Man than anyone else, but that's only because it's his house and also he was Time's Man of the Year more times than the rest of them.

"Thanks, kid. That's a real handy trick... but maybe we'd better walk the rest of the way to our little Situation Room. I'm terrible at giving directions when I'm sober."

This may or may not be a joke, but Tony begins walking in what we can all assume is the direction of the Situation Room, his clunky Rocket Boots clunking loudly against the wood floors with every step.

"Walk and talk, Pixie... what's up?"

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn is quite relieved to see that they landed in *front* of the painting instead of through it or something. She smiles. "No sweat! Woow, Mr. Stark, this is an amazing place.."

Megan cant help but be drawn to all the incredible paintings and other amazing things to look at in this incredible mansion. "Hmm, might wanna get that door fixed. How *do* you get in and out of this place?"

She nods again, drawing a deep breath. "Hmm, well I was just a bit curious about some of your members..See, Dr. Strange had promised to teach me some magic, then he just kinda..Disappeared and I was hoping, since he's one of your teammates, you might happen to know where he went?"

There was something else she was curious about but it could wait.

Iron Man has posed:
Clunking along down a very wide hallway that's been plastered with mementos and an embarrasing picture of Hawkeye in what appears to be a Cupid costume...

It looks like this older Iron Man armor doesn't come off as easily as the newer models. Normally, it'd just pop off and Tony would wander around in his business suit and expensive-ass loafers. But this old one appears to be more like... he seems to actually be bolted into it rather than 'wearing' it.

"Doctor Strange? Yeah... he's kind of notorious for that. One minute he's there, the next 'POOF!' But... what else can you expect from a magician, right?"

He doesn't seem to be in any great hurry to get anywhere. Just sort of ambulating, taking a quiet stroll through the house with a friend.

Well, her part of the stroll is quiet, at least. His part is clunky.

"He'll turn up, I'm sure."

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn blinks slowly at the cupid costume and stifles a giggle. "woow..Is that..? I mean who painted...How..why?" she cant help but glance back at Tony in his clunky suit though and smirk. "Sooo uh, what's with the clunky old rust bucket? Did you damage your sleeker newer model?"

As for Strange, she sighs and nods. "Yeaah, I checked his mansion but it was empty. Geez, I hope he's okay? He had these grand plans to open up a new magic school and he invited me to join. It sounded super exciting but then he vanished and that was kinda....I dunno.."

She shrugs, "Okay, well thanks, I'm sure you're right, whenever he's finished dealing with..Whatever he's doing, he'll come back right?"

Megan bites her lip. "Um..There was someone else I was curious about too...Have you heard of the Winter Soldier? apparently he worked with Captian America back in the day?"

Iron Man has posed:
During the pleasantries, Tony simply walks and... is pleasant. They're rapidly building a consensus around the fact that Strange is gunna Strange, and also that he'll inevitably turn up, goatee turned up to eleven, prophesying doom and despair and quantum entanglement.

But when she gets to the Real Ask, Tony's next heavy step doesn't come. Instead, he pauses in front of the display case that contains an old broadsword with gems on the hilt, and gives Megan a curious look.

Even his mustache looks curious.

"Winter Soldier, huh? Now where would a teenager with pink hair have gone to hear a name like that?"

"I can neither confirm nor deny anything, you understand. Every time I spill secrets I get in big trouble and my stock price goes down..."

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn follows along and continues to admire the beautiful mansion, commenting about this and that in her usual, chirpy chatty way. "Hmm, if you do see Dr. Strange, please let him know I'm looking for him and I'm especially looking forward to continue our private magic lessons?"

Then they come to a stop and she smiles nervously, twirling a strand of pink hair around her finger. "Well...Let's just say I..Had a run in with him lately, and his strength was quite...Frightening. I was just curious, concerned, incase I run into him again, if he can be trusted.. You know, so many rumours out there."

She shrugs and grins, "Sure, this is totally off-the record mind you.."

Iron Man has posed:
"I'll let him know, of course. But you ask me, all that magic stuff is really a waste of your time."

Still carrying his helmet under his arm, Tony continues his journey through Avengers Mansion. There's still a lot to see, and he seems content to play tour guide for at least a bit longer.

"After all, hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good set of repulsor gauntlets."

Smiling under his mustache, Tony makes a show of holding his hand out as if he's about to blast something.

He doesn't blast anything though.

That would be expensive.

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn smiles, "Yeah, but what does that say about crazy faeries and their contracts? Aren't we supposed to be all dangerous and evil?" she grins and winks, but nods, "Thank you..I'd appreciate that." it seems there is no end to this mansion, which is similar yet different in many ways to the Xavier institute. And she continues to follow along in wide eyed wonder.

"Heh, I guess everything has its place..I mean there's a reason why iron affects...Us.." oh that's right, she never really explain her faerie heritage, did she? It would explain the angry ted rash on her hand where she had touched him earlier.

Iron Man has posed:
"Careful, all this talk of evil contracts and I'm going to try to hire you for our legal department."

He doesn't actually seem to be joking, but then Tony has a long and well-established history of hiring people on the spot simple because they mentioned something somewhat related to one of the departments at Stark.

There are quite a few people wandering around the offices of Stark-Fujikawa who don't know exactly how they got there and are afraid of being discovered.

"After you finish high school, obviously."

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn smiles, "Don't worry, I'm not an *evil* fairy, only a half fairy. And to be fair, I just finished school a few months ago. *and* I recently turned eighteen. So I'm totally not a child anymore!" even though she still looks and acts it probably, "It's why Strange felt I was ready to learn magic.." and she seems darn proud of it!

But they're getting away from topic. "Sooo, there's nothing you can tell me about Winter Soldier, even off the record?"

Iron Man has posed:
The end of the hall arrives, and Tony opens the door. Before them is an enormous library, filled with what must be millions of dollars worth of old leather-bound books, modern instructional manuals, and all three of the Fifty Shades series. It's the sort of library that gives off a Beauty and the Beast vibe, complete with ladders for getting to the top shelves.

There's also some computers in the place, kind of out of the way, but they seem to be more of an afterthought. Who uses a desktop in a library anymore, right?

Pulling up a reinforced chair near the center of the room, Tony gestures to the one next to it. And doesn't sit until she does. Like a gentleman.

"Anytime I hear 'off the record' I think I'm about to be misquoted by Buzzfeed... but I guess I can tell you, off the record, that the Winter Soldier is someone who... let's just say that he's on our side."

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn ooohs, peering this way and that, quite surprised and intrigued by this place. "Wooow, amazing! Soo many incredible books!" and some more adult for her than others. She grins sheepishly, wandering around a bit but nit quite forgetting the subject at hand, "Sooo would it be possible to get in contact with him? Theoretically of course?"

Iron Man has posed:
"Ah... I think I see what's going on here..."

Tony assumes a Knowing Expression, and his tone becomes an annoying mixture of patronizing and indulgent.

"Got a bit of a crush on old Lefty, do we? Probably that whole stubbly Pearl Jam Fan look he's got going for him." He smiles, with the eye twinkle of someone who's finally got it all figured out.

"Tell you what I can do. I can't help you contact him, even theoretically. But if you'd like, I can tell him to contact you."

"Fair warning though, he's... sneaky."

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn laughs and shakes her head, "Not at all! Just..If my hunch is right, he might know an old friend of mine.lBut thank you, I'll give you my info if you wanna pass it along?"