12517/The Red Line Overload!

The Red Line Overload!
Date of Scene:	03 December 2020
Location:	First Floor, Avengers Mansion
Synopsis:	The further on the edge, the hotter the intensity!
Cast of Characters:	Iron Man, Captain Marvel (Danvers)

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Iron Man has posed:
"Come on, Dummy... you're embarrassing me in front of Carol..."

Standing on the roof of Avenger's Mansion, in the area that would normally be considered a helicopter pad, but which Tony refers to as 'The Launchpad', Tony Stark is in the middle of getting bolted into the latest iteration of the Iron Man Armor, the Mark L.

It's... not going smoothly.

"Mwoop!"

The one-armed robot on wheels known as Dum-E (Mark I) is currently trying to operate the machinery that under normal conditions would quickly dress Tony in his armor, possibly even while walking. But at the moment, with Dummy's fat buttery fingers, Tony is bent slightly backward, shoulders cocked one way, pelvis the other, with one leg up in the air, while Dummy zooms around making apologetic noises and attempting to get the armor connected properly.

"You uh... didn't happen to bring a Snickers bar, did you Carol? Maybe a magazine? This looks like it's going to take a second..."

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
Carol Danvers wasn't sure what was going on up on the roof but it hadn't sounded like it was going well. She emerged to the sunlight of a cool late fall day to see the gleamingly revised armor looking more like it could be a Jenga puzzle or a human pretzel.

"Tony? Well this isn't quite what I expected" she sounded amused.

"No. No candy bars. I swore of those when I quit drinking too. I think." She then holds up a folder "No magazines. But... I did happen to be browsing through this Air Force proposal for a new non-lethal drone program. It's pretty dry reading, really..." she teases.

Iron Man has posed:
While Dummy continues to slowly work out the correct sequence to get Iron Man up and running, Tony just kind of chills awkwardly. Eventually, he's able to put his foot down, but a man his age really shouldn't have his back held in a position like that for as long as he has. He'll be feeling that one in the morning.

A man Tony's age also shouldn't wear sneakers with his suits, but he's been known to do that as well. So, lots of questionable choices, all around.

"Dammit. I meant did you bring one for me..."

Dummy turns the impact driver on a few bolts on Tony's back, and with a loud pop and an even louder scrap, the plates fit together properly, sending Tony's back suddenly straight.

His legs are still kind of turned off to the side though.

"Yeah, don't tell anyone, but I've already got that contract in the bag. I uh... keep in touch with the wife of the General who oversees that project, and she told me that my proposal is the heavy favorite."

Tony smiles, in that way he does when he's about to humble brag. Only without the humble part.

"I mean, who else were they going to pick? HAMMER? Ha! That dude's a total chode."

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
Carol Danvers looks on as the self-flagelation continues. It is what Tony does best, isn't, it? Among everything else he professes to be great at. Walking closer, she taps the folder on her other palm, "Is that so? Well. If you've got it all locked up, like you say. I suppose I don't really need to tell you that Hammer has five prototypes they're trying to pitch already. You know them. So decisive. Unless they're not."

She looks over the armor as it begins to look like armor and not a torture device. "I just thought you might want to know the requirements of the project. Y'know. In case the general's wife wasn't thinking about those particulars the last time you spoke." She smirks.

Iron Man has posed:
"Why Carol, whatever do you mean?"

With another sudden pop, the rest of the armor finally snaps into place, and Tony Stark is once again looking like his semi-futuristic alter ego. The visor slams down over his face with a somewhat loud 'KLANG!' and Iron Man starts running the armor through it's pre-flight functions check.

"You're a doll for bringing that to my attention though, really. My investors really hate it when I lose a potential contract."

The check seems to be going well, no alarms have gone off yet. Dummy scurries out of the way.

"And thanks for agreeing to be my wingman on this test flight. As you can see, there's like a... twelve percent chance that I'm going to crash land, if I don't blow up immediately on take-off."

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
Carol Danvers looked on dubiously at the process. This wasn't how he innovated every version of his armor. Was it? "Oh yes. We have to keep the investors in mind, don't we? Nevermind the actual safety and security of our nation. That's just a side perk, right?" She rolls her eyes. If he wasn't so impossible, he might actually be difficult to deal with.

"Oh no. I'm not your wing man. I'm there to document it. If you crash, I'm taking pictures - before I call 911."

Iron Man has posed:
"Well actually, that's excellent news! This is why you're my favorite, Carol. Don't tell Janet."

Standing in what looks like the center of the 'launch pad', Iron Man starts to initialize the systems.

"Preflight check complete. Everything's reading... mostly okay."

With the preflight check completed, and everything reading... mostly okay, the repulsors come on line, and Iron Man begins levitating above the roof!

"Blastoff in three... race you to the Stratophere!"

Suddenly, without warning, and way before he got to the count of three, Iron Man is off, streaking toward the sky!

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
Carol Danvers makes that face. The that doesn't believe a word of what has just been said but shows she's at least amusedly game to play along, "Mmmhmmm..." She steps back, because she knows better. And because she really doesn't want to try and wash the smell of electrical fire and smoke from her hair.

"So.. we're gonna go on three? Or is that three - then go?" she asks to herself as she focuses her mind and alters her clothing in an instant. Like a wave, from head to toes, her street casual attire is replaced with the bright red, blue and gold of Captain Marvel's uniform. A smirk on her lips, she erupts into the sky herself, energy glowing from her palms and soles of her boots. No clunky armor for her!

Iron Man has posed:
As the latest Iron Man suit rockets above New York, no doubt providing a bit of fodder for the Twitter feeds, Tony keeps in touch via the comm system. Half the time, Iron Man's main job is to serve as a mobile Wifi hub for all the less tech-savvy Avengers. He can't take full credit for the seamless comm sytem integrated into all of the costumes though. Janet helped. Probably. It might have actually just been all him.

"Ha ha! Try to keep up back there! You're not going to win this time, the Mark L is... what's the term that means 'better than cutting edge?' The Bleeding Edge, that's what the Mark L is. Faster, further, farther? Is it further, or farther?"

Once he's clear of the City, the repulsors start up for real, and the Iron Man suit takes off so quickly that there's a sonic boom.

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
Carol Danvers says, "Right..." she remarks calmly as she, too, accelerates into the sky. Still following Tony, but closing steadily upon the glowing dot that he appears as from below and behind.

"You said further twice. But it's farther. As in: Keep trying. You'll have to go farther than that to catch me."

A second boom is heard as Captain Marvel goes supersonic - and more. Tony has an arc reactor but Carol has the power of light after all."

Iron Man has posed:
"Mwoop!"

Inside Iron Man's helmet, Dummy is trying its best to keep up with all of the information running through the suit, but the poor AI just wasn't programmed for complex tasks like these. Tony should really stop slacking and build a proper operating system for the new generation of armors.

"What's that, Dummy? You wanna go faster? Here we go..."

"MWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!"

Once again, he steps on the afterburner. Apparently he was right, this one is a bit faster. But he's never been able to beat Captain Marvel in a race before, and probably won't start now. Still, it's great to have goals.

Back to Carol, he transmits "Farther. Yeah, that's what I thought it was. This suit is... well, now I've lost my train of thought. But what I meant to say was 'Nyah, Nyah, Nyah, Nyaaaaa..."

"Mwoop?"

Suddenly, the repulsor on Iron Man's right hand goes out completely, sending him into a sudden tailspin! The Rocket Boots try to compensate, before shutting off as well! Within a fraction of a second, Iron Man has gone from a gracefully upward-streaking comet to an uncomfortably-spinning hunk of metal heading back toward Earth!

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
Carol Danvers says, "Hmmm. That was truly philosophical, Mr. Stark. Does that translate into, "I meant to do that" or "Catch me, I'm falling" I wonder?"

There are many things Carol has come to consider good things about her Kree DNA. But in the moment, the ability to stop and change direction without her internal organs or spine turning to so much jelly. That would be top of the list. Given the impending doom to which Ironman is currently racing to meet. Accelerating again, Captain Marvel begins to dive toward Tony's tumbling armored self."

Iron Man has posed:
Spinning out of control is nothing new for Tony Stark. Some might consider it his defining character attribute, after all. But this time it's less of a figurative downward spiral... and slightly more serious.

When his voice comes back in over the comms, it's clear that he's experiencing the effect of G forces and rapid rotation, which'll realy knock the wind out of a guy.

"Its'... possible... I... might... need... he-..."

His voice cuts out for a moment, as he continues to plummet toward the Earth. Must be having trouble getting the 'H Word' out...

"You're... not... gonna... gloat... right?"

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
"Gloat? Because I can fly and you can fall with grace and style?" Carol's tone is still relaxed and casual. If there is any sense of the level of danger Tony is currently in, she isn't letting on. Then again, she IS a retired fighter pilot. Perhaps not unflappable, but at least calm under pressure.

Continuing to accelerate downward to close the distance, Captain Marvel keeps her focus on the tumbling armor. "Spread your arms and legs out if you can. It will help slow your roll. Closing on you now."

Iron Man has posed:
"I'm TRYING!"

If Iron Man sounds a bit exasperated, it's only because he's plummeting to his early death. No need to take it personally. It's true though, he's flailing around, doing his best to level out the spin on his own, but there's only so much that he can do without power to the thrusters.

There's probably nothing wrong with the hardware... but judging by the high-pitches shrieks from Dummy, there's the mother of all software glitches.

He does as she says though, spreading his arms and legs out in a starfish shape, which helps a bit, but looks ridiculous.

"God... this is so... embarrasing."

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
"Do. Or do not. There is no try" Carol murmurs as she focuses on the flailing figure below. "No time to finesse this, Stark, Just going to have to tackle you. I take no pleasure in this." She's taking pleasure in this. All the pleasure.

THUMP. If her uniform were armored it would have been a loud aerial CLANG. But it isn't. So it's a THUMP as Carol throws her right shoulder into the center of the spinning mass of Tony Stark. It would be a text-book tackle if she were in the NFL, without a doubt.

Accelerating through the contact, she essentially is now driving him een faster toward an impact with terra firma not so far below. Wrapping her arms around the torso of armor, she begins to bank and pull out of the dive. There are still G-forces. But at least they're only trying to pull Tony's eyes out of the back of his skull rather than trying to pull everything out of him in any way possible.

Iron Man has posed:
Getting tackled by a flying Super Kree is something that everyone should have to live through at least once. But as Iron Man collapses over her shoulder and nearly folds in half, he's probably not especially grateful for the life experience he's being dealt, or the inevitable life lesson that he will learn in the aftermath.

"HYUUCK!"

It's the noise of all the air leaving someone's lungs, all at once. It's the only noise that Tony makes for a couple of seconds.

When he finally does reply, it's much more weakly.

"Think... you broke... a rib..."

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
Captain Marvel smirks. "No. If I'd broken a rib, you wouldn't have to think about it, Stark. You'd know."

Slowing down now that the momentum of the free fall and tumble has been bled off, she drops down over the city toward the mansion again. Easing down to stand on firm ground again, she sets Tony down in front of her. "Can you stand? Or should I let you fall and take picures?" she teases.

Iron Man has posed:
It's wobbly for that first step or two, but it looks like Tony can, in fact, stand up. So he was just being a whiner, really. Still, harrowing experience and all that.

He pulls his helmet off, and it's clear from the sweat-soaked hair that he was actually pretty terrified for a minute there. We won't judge him too harshly.

"Would you believe me if I said that I meant to do that?"

He looks at her curiously, but answers his own question almost immediately.

"Well... looks like it's a good thing that I asked you to ride shotgun, huh? If anything, my foresight was pretty impressive, and I think that's the real lesson to take away from all of this."

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
Carol Danvers nods, "I would believe you, Tony. You're only and always honest" she straight faces. Then she changes back with a flash, once more in her street clothes. "It probably was a good idea. Your foresight may be stellar. But your planning for emergencies? Could use a parachute. Or two. And some air bags."