4016/Test Dummies and Chips

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Test Dummies and Chips
Date of Scene: 05 March 2018
Location: Unknown
Synopsis: Rhodey and Tony discuss tests, and Pepper brings the sushi.
Cast of Characters: Iron Man, War Machine, Pepper Potts




Iron Man has posed:
The invitation included lunch. And some vague 'assistance with a build', which could mean anything from just holding a towel while Tony is under a car to something more interesting. It was offhanded, which means it probably actually is somewhat important to Tony.

But Lunch, first, and the invitation is up to the penthouse, at the top floor. JARVIS will politely greet Rhodey and grant him immediate access through the elevator directly into the vast penthouse floor. Lunch is there: in terms of that some employees recently brought in a large spread of Mexican food, in a variety that could feed four or five people.

Tony is nowhere to be seen, yet, but a quick comment from JARVIS assures: "Tony has requested I let you know his arrival will be eminent." Probably not phrased like that, though: JARVIS took some liberty there.

War Machine has posed:
     Rhodey isn't dressed in anything special just his usual cargo pants and bomber jacket as he makes his way out of the slowly sliding elevator doors. His attention is down on the cellphone in his hand as he brings it away from his ear to look at the surface of it. "Thanks Jarvis, always know how to make a guy feel welcome." Offered with a friendly smile to the AI as he makes his way over to the room.

     It's not hard to tell he's a bit distracted by whatever's wrong with his Stark-phone. Maybe it's just acting up but whatever it is has him a bit distressed as he tosses it back into the pocket of his jacket. Hands go deep into his pockets as he makes his way first over to the window taking a good long look over the city, as he passes by the spread of food.

     His expression is somewhat hardened as he takes this time alone to be with his thoughts. "What could it be this time." He says to no one in particular as he just looks down towards the city far bellow taking in the sights before his eyes lock on his own reflection causing him to look away.

Iron Man has posed:
JARVIS doesn't answer, as he was not addressed, and the AI has a good sense of when to actually answer questions that appear to be directed to nobody. And so, it is silent, until Tony arrives. Rhodey has about three minutes to himself, though, to stare out from the huge tower windows down over the spread of the city below.

"You didn't have to wait for me! Go ahead and make sure it's not poisoned," Tony calls in a friendly manner across the penthouse as he arrives from the entry door to the Bunker. The doors slip shut soundlessly. Tony is dirty from mechanical work, and dressed appropriately for it: longsleeve shirt with sleeves rolled up, with an old, ripped and faded graphic tee on top of it. Jeans, comfortable athletic shoes. 'Build' clothes. He detours into his bathroom, to scrub his hands and forearms, cleaning up.

War Machine has posed:
     Soon as Tony walks in the door the contemplation is out the window. "You know me Tony, I just wanted to make sure if it was poisoned you'd be around to see me start flailing." Spoken with a smile as he walks right over, taking his time to saunter across the room. "Besides, if I wanted to eat alone I'd stay at home and have a T.V. dinner." Shaking his head for a moment as he gets a good look at the man, before he vanishes from view.

     "Let it never be said you're unwilling to get your hands dirty." Finally he flops down on a free chair, snagging up some food for himself from the large spread. He takes his sweet time picking out what he might want before digging in with a fork. "Good news, if it's poison it's slow acting so we should be able to finish the spread before it kicks in."

Iron Man has posed:
"You're more likely to find people able to argue my hands are never actually /clean/," Tony answers through the mostly ajar bathroom door. He has to take some time getting the crud all off, but does reappear. He has big smears of black stuff on his jeans from whatever he was doing in the bunker, but did successfully purge off from hands and face. He arrives, to give Rhodey a critical look as if judging his health. "You came IN looking like that, right?" Tony teases, and then starts to pick over the food, making his own creative taco-like burrito thing. He eats /as/ he creates it, snacking on chips casually; why wait?

War Machine has posed:
     Rhodey kicks back and relaxes with a burrito of his own digging in with reckless abandon. When the comment about his appearance gets brought up he just says. "Pretty sure it's the poison." In a rather deadpan tone before he takes another deep bite of his delicious burrito. It was the little things like this that he lived for. The moments of respite between the chaos of life. "So, Tony, What's the plan for today?" Asked after he swallows the bite of food, setting down his burrito onto the plate for a moment.

Iron Man has posed:
Tony doesn't notice if Rhodey had any issues swept aside, and isn't exactly the prying type. So when the door of 'project' gets opened wide? Tony is happy to dive in. "So-I have some leg actuators on a larger suit build that I want to test in ranges of motion," Tony describes. He uses a chip as a prop to show a pivot around a joint, likely a knee. The chip breaks. He then eats the chip. A pause.

"I need your legs. Well. Technically, about from knee and down, so also the foot," Tony explains, gesturing with a new chip. And then digging it into some salsa that totally doesn't look like bloody imagery, and eats it with a flash of a smile.

Pepper Potts has posed:
While Pepper generally worked straight through the day, having heard that Tony was actually around the penthouse -- though unaware he already was in the middle of a lunch 'meeting', the strawberry blonde assistant actually decided to take a lunch herself. The elevator to the penthouse announces itself with that quiet sound of breath when the doors open to emit someone to the room, and out steps the ever professional Pepper Potts.

She's still half in work-mode, speaking a hundred miles an hour as her mind leaps even farther ahead. "Tony, darling, JARVIS said you were in this afternoon, I thought I'd bring up sushi and we could look at the Conners contracts, I got the rainbo-... Oh." And then she stops in her spike Prada heeled tracks, mind catching up to the fact that there is someone else in the room and she just may have been a little too familiar with her entrance. "...I... Hello. I... didn't realize you were in a meeting."

War Machine has posed:
     "You can barrow em Tony, but I'll need them back when you're done." Rhodey shakes his fork in Tony's direction before he dives back into his burrito enjoying a big ol bite of it just tearing the thing apart like he hadn't eaten all day, because to be honest he hasn't. "I don't care how nice they'd look on your mant-" He cuts himself off as Pepper comes into the room.

     "Darling." He repeats aloud mulling that word over in his head. He looks over at Tony. "Darling?" Then back to pepper. "Darling." Like a bit of a broken record before he adds. "Did I fall into an alternate dimension when I was in Afghanistan, or..." He trails off gesticulating with his hand. "Or is this new?" He waves to pepper realizing he's being a bit rude. "Hey Pep, long time no see."

Iron Man has posed:
Tony bats zero eyes at the familiar greeting or anything else, really. He merely waved her in, a physical indication that she's more than welcome, of course. He did have a big bite of his taco-like-wrap-creation, though, so they are spared any comment at least initially, and Rhodey is able to mock Pepper's word choice a number of times before Tony can get in much of anything.

"Well done, Pep, I think you broke him," Tony says in admiration for Pepper, and indirectly coming to her defense verbally. "I think I missed the sushi memo. We have ....entirely the opposite, here," Tony decides of the spread. He crosses to her, into her personal space. Offers a chip with salsa from his plate. Zero hiding the change in his approach with her from Rhodey: this is extremely 'friendly.'

"Rhodey, you'll get your legs back when I say, of course, and no sooner." Deadpan, and looking over to Rhodey, thoughtful. "Honestly it shouldn't take more than an hour." A pause. "Or six."

Pepper Potts has posed:
Caught red handed, that's the look on Pepper's face for another heartbeat or two, but then a smile paints itself warmly across her perfectly, pinky-taupe lipsticked mouth and her eyes look genuinely happy to see Rhodey. That's an expression he's seen from her before, she was just in the middle of processing what she walked in on and having let herself slip into the more relaxed interplay that had become common in the last few weeks. She steps over between both of them, leaning over to give James a brief kiss on the cheek and a happy squeeze to the shoulder accompanied by her touch of feminine perfume, "James. It is good to see you. I really didn't realize you were in town. I... must have the schedules off. I hope you feel like... sushi to go with a burrito? There's plenty." She nods to the take out bags in her hands.

And then Tony is crossing into her personal space and, absolutely, something just changes. Where as before she'd be stiff, ready to work, there is a small part of her body language that just melts. Her smile comes a bit easier and she leans up, accepting that bite from him with a few happy crunches that might almost seem flirtatious. "...and yes. Darling. I thought I'd surprise you, you missed nothing." The *darling* is half teased in Rhodey's direction, not bothering to hide it now. She then leans up and actually presses a brief kiss to the corner of Tony's mouth before she finally steps away to set down her bags. Finally, her mind catches up with the last bit of the interaction though. "...whose stealing what legs now? I think he rather needs those, Tony. Even for just a few hours."

War Machine has posed:
     "Not exactly something I advertise pep." Rhodey gives her a friendly smile, leaning back in his chair a bit after she kisses him on the cheek. It was the first time he'd actually seen her since he left for Afghanistan and from the looks a lot had changed since then. Then again in some ways the more things change the more they stay the same after all.

     "Is it really stealing if he's paying me for the privilege?" Is added as he chomps down another bite from his burrito just letting the whole thing slide off him like water off the back of a duck. "I'd say that's more like renting then stealing." He kicks back a bit of something to drink, before adding on. "Or prostitution but no way I'm getting into that." He makes a cutting motion through the air with his hand.

Iron Man has posed:
"Don't scare him off," Tony admonishes Pepper in dismay, "his gams are important to my process. It'll be a lot easier to be outside of it to do some designing. Perfectly safe, using the holograms. You'd think it was dangerous." Tony eats his own chips, as Pepper moves to greet Rhodey. Behind her back, Tony has a sort of self-satisfied expression aimed to his friend. Zero embarrassment: nope, owning this all the way. He's entirely aware and in the loop on whatever the 'darling' thing meant.

And then Tony takes in the extreme amounts of extra food, the parcels. A light bulb flashes for Tony. "Wait. Pepper. Haven't the teams for the Hayes deal been here since last night? Let's get the extra food to them," Tony suggests. "Move it to the Hayes project overhead budget," Tony adds, shifting into 'boss' mode seamlessly. It's a subtle difference with Tony, though.

Pepper Potts has posed:
There's a moment of indecision on Pepper's face -- slightly more healthy sushi, or to chow down with the boys on burritos and chips. That moment lasts about 2.5 seconds before she calls into thin air, "JARVIS, send Lambert up to pick up the sushi and bring it to the Hayes project management room. Send thanks from Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts with it." She then smiles just a bit wider to Tony, a touch of pride in her features that he actually knows what other big projects are going on right now, much less thought to send the sushi down to them. She carries the bags back over to rest right outside of the elevator for when the intern comes to pick them up. She then abandons her high heels a few feet in the door next to them. Time to, at least momentarily, relax.

Padding back over on stockinged feet, she gives Rhodes a slightly softer, but still somewhat professional smile. "You...didn't fall into an alternate dimension, no. I'm glad you're back. And yes... we're trying something... New." She explains, trying not to sound as awkward about it as she often does, but there's still that blushing, awkward assistant in the backless-blue-dress somewhere in the back of her mind. She's working on getting over those moments. "And...as long as he's paying you for the privilege. Those are trained legs, they're worth top dollar. Make certain he throws in a tip too." Pepper teases with a brief wink. "...now exactly WHAT are you paying him for? Catch me up." She's fairly good at straddling this strange line between business and pleasure. Burrito fixings help.

War Machine has posed:
     "Tony, if you could scare me off you would have done it a long time back." He throws an arm over the back of his chair still digging through the massive pile of food so that he can find another burrito for himself. "Even if I did need a desert vacation." A smile crosses his face.

     He goes silent for a long moment as the two work out what's being done with the Sushi, and in the moment takes one lone piece of sushi out from the bag, just to sneak it for himself. A quick toss and it goes vanishing into his mouth so he can chew right along realizing right away that the flavors REALLY don't go together. He coughs into his hand for a moment composing himself back together.

     "Well to be honest both me and Tony have facial hair already so I wouldn't be able to tell if I'd fallen into a mirror verse even if I did." Smiling her way as he takes a moment to check his cellphone again. The smile fades a bit as he checks the phone before muting it. A quick motion tosses it back into the pocket of his jacket. "I swear ever since vegas she just won't leave me alone."

Iron Man has posed:
"Immediately, Ms. Potts," JARVIS replies in his disembodied way, handling the request.

"I'm being test driven," Tony deadpans to Rhodey as Pepper explains that they are trying something new. He smirks a little at Pepper, though, and moves aside to refill his plate with chips: his chip to salsa ratio had become wildly off.

"You're caught up, actually, you know as much as he does," Tony adds to Pepper. And then with a deep sigh, finishes adding to his plate, and moves to actually sit down and relax to eat it, and explain better. "I know it's a shock to both of you, but I'm doing more suit upgrades, prompted by my last adventure." Of course he is. "In particular, something to handle our mean green giant a little bit better in problem situations. I have a setup prototype leg array, but I want to be outside of it for this design -and welding-phase, and able to quickly do some command tests while I do it. So, Rhodey's legs get involved. Might involve a little hovering, and sections flying on and off on the fly. And he's my test pilot," Tony concludes. "It's basically in the job description." A pause. "Which is not to say I can't do it on my own. It's just less efficient if I do."

Tony diverts to the phone Rhodey complains about. "Who? Your sister, again?" Tony guesses.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper's girlfriend senses are tingling as James' phone goes off and he mentions not being left alone. She's intrigued by the project, but a bit more intrigued by who might be bothering him. "...And just who isn't letting you rest since Vegas? A certain lady?" Probably not his sister, or so the expression on Pepper's face says. She grabs a plate, a few chips, and a single burrito for herself. She still eats like a bird, but that isn't all that surprising considering she looks like she's wearing the same size she did ten years ago when she started with the company. Pepper Potts has far more on her mind to do than eat food.

She then folds herself down into sitting on the nearest cushion to Tony. Not pressed against him, but closer than boss and secretary. This has definitely become a far more intimate, easy relationship between the two, even if they still are both in a slightly awkward, figuring things out stage. Her body language alone slightly shows that. "ALright, well...if James is... ameniable, that all seems to make sense. You knew you'd get to a day where you had to have SOMEONE else in one of these suits. You can't do everything from the inside. And...I can't think of someone better to be a test pilot. That is, if you want to, James."

War Machine has posed:
     Rhodey sets in silence for a long moment nodding his head in acknowledgment to show he understands what the man's getting at. "I've been a test pilot on the miliary's exosuits already" Spoken with bit of a jovial laugh as he thinks back to the sheer failures those suits proved to be. "Don't see why testing the real deal would be any more dangerous."

     "Yeah," There's a pause as he lets out a sigh rubbing the bridge of his nose. "It's my sister." He shakes his head putting the cellphone back into his pocket once he silences the ringer. "You know, five years Jeanette wants nothing to do with me, now it's like my own personal stalker." He throws his head back just kicking far back as he can to relax a bit. "Can't even understand a word she's saying when she does call, it's all static." He makes a motion pantomiming static with his hand, before just shaking his head in disappointment. "Just lucky I have an unlimited plan."

Iron Man has posed:
Tony gives Pepper a 'seeeeee' look. Sister. Tony was right. She should get used to how right he always is. He's a cheater about the information, though, he was in Vegas, so he knew already.

Tony looks baffled by Pepper's suggestion about the suit. "...Using his legs to test with, not putting him in a full SUIT," Tony says, as if that was ridiculous to him, that strange leap she just made.

"The only life I'm risking in one of those death traps is my own," Tony teases Pepper with a cheeky quality as she sits next to him. Tony is less awkward, and has mostly adapted well. Just diving into situations blindly in the past causes a free quality to him.

The phone difficulties makes Tony tilt his head. Troubleshooting time. "Do you WANT to get through the static? We can do that. I mean." Tony gestures kind of vaguely at himself. Tony Stark.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Oh. His sister. Pepper doesn't have that thoughtful, matchmaker look in her eyes at all. NOPE. She's just resting her lips in that considering line and watching James like that for his own health. "Of course, your sister. Well... at least you know she still cares?" She offers feebly, trying to wrack her mind for someone else to call him who might NOT be his sister, "How long are you in town for, James? We... we should all get a proper dinner one night. Besides, I have someone you should meet." She couldn't manage that much willpower. She has to try.

She then takes another small nibble of her chips, Tony earning himself a good, deep smirk as he comments about the suits being a death trap. "That's reassuring. Really reassuring, you know. Considering every time YOU go out in one, you promise me it's safe, fine, and you'll be fine. So, which is it? Besides, starting with the legs... it's just a start. Eventually you're going to want to test other things, and James is the most experienced test... Pilot, of practically anything, out there. If the legs work out well, why not ask him to try more? Besides..." She flashes James a wider smile, "It'll be a better excuse for him to visit more often."

War Machine has posed:
     Rhodey clutches his hands against his chest, looking across the table towards Tony. "You wound me." Spoken in a mock tone of offense. "I highly doubt that anything you can make will be half as dangerous as the Iron Marine suit." He shudders quietly to himself at the thought of it. "Nearly tore me in two when I tried to turn."

     He shakes that thought completely from his mind as his arm comes back from behind his chair. "Or are you just afraid I'll become the new iron man?" Spoken with a joking smile. He then adds to confirm. "I'm fine testing out the parts but trust me after the Iron Marine debacle I'm good for power suits." Crossing his hands one in front of the other. "I'm gonna stick to planes."

     He sighs as his phone starts ringing AGAIN, just reaching into his pocket to check it and then silence the ringing. "You know if we don't she'll just keep calling me till the end of time."

Iron Man has posed:
The intern shows up at the door, allowed in by JARVIS. And looks alarmed by having to come up to the Penthouse at all. It's a big scary secret place up at the top that the general workers only hear about and never see. Poor Lambert. And a brief reminder of where they actually are.

Tony, of course, doesn't reflect on such things at all. He's still talking. "Let me know if there's anything else I can reassure you about. Top priority is, obviously, safety," Tony answers Pepper smoothly, his armor of ego not even scratched. This is the man that disengages safety protocols at whim. "And it should be safe for the person IN the suit. There's a reason floor 42 got remodeled. --- Hey. Were you going to say 'test dummy'?" Tony wonders of Pepper, with a slant of brow across over at Rhodey. "Well, maybe he could do /that/. We'll start with the legs and go from there. Are you satisfied?" With a roll of his eyes, Tony has not, actually, given anything up he wasn't already willing to suggest anyway.

The ringing causes Tony to shrug, and speak aloud. "JARVIS, check out his connection and get me full troubleshoot on the 'static' problem, and see about tracking those incoming calls, to see if it's their end." Tony finger-guns one-handed at Rhodey. No problem. And totally not an overly invasive use of power.

Pepper Potts has posed:
A flash of a smile is given to Lambert as he shows up at the door, "Just take it down to the Hayes meeting! Send our regards!" Pepper smiles sunny and warm, giving the overwhelmed intern a little wave as the penthouse elevator doors close again. Then she's looking back towards Tony and James, her brows arched in a happy little line as Tony gives in to maybe using James for testing. "I never said the words test dummy...I'd NEVER say that about James. That's all the two of you. But, however the job gets done..." Pepper gives a happy little shrug of her shoulders and settles back a bit deeper in the couch, munching on some more food as Tony messes with the cellphone signals.

War Machine has posed:
     Rhodey makes a pointing motion towards Peppers eyes, a silent 'I'm watching you' motion to make sure she understands he's not happy about being called a test dummy. "I'll have you know, I was top of my class." A quick waggle of his finger is given. "Hardly a dummy."

     He sets the cellphone down onto the table now that he's silenced the ringing. He's relaxed knowing this whole thing is in good hands. A quick bite is given of his burrito, omnomnoming away as he takes his time enjoying the joys of Mexican cuisine.

Iron Man has posed:
JARVIS comes up with information very quickly. But that's what the AI does. "I have the information prepared for you, sir," JARVIS reports. Tony puts the last of his taco-rito into his mouth and stands up to cross the room to one of his big monitors. He flips his hand across it, activating, and uses gestures around a holographic little orb that appears just to his right of the screen. It's all just very casual.

"Oookay.... Well. This doesn't look as cheerful as we could have hoped," Tony says, slowly. "I'm getting that her signal is getting blocked, and there's some strong tech involved here. Give me a few minutes, getting around it," Tony says, tone changing as he moves into a focused mode.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper was JUST on the edge of relaxed, shoulders settling back into the couch, her hip against the side of Tony's legs, lanky legs crossing right over left. She was in the happy space of listening to two people she cares about catching up and relaxing with each other. But then Tony makes a comment about the signal being blocked and something in her worrying senses perks up. Pepper always was a worrier, but she also had a six sense for trouble. "...Being... blocked? That's... strange, isn't it? Do you know where your sister is right now, James? I mean, she's... fine, right?"

War Machine has posed:
     Rhodey is perfectly comfortable right to the point a signal being blocked is brought up. He leans forward on his chair, setting down the foot back onto the table. "Tony, why don't you run that by me again," He sets his hands down onto his knees. "because it SOUNDS like you said it was being blocked, and I know that's not right." There's a genuine look of confusion and concern that crosses his face.

     "Last I knew she just walked out after a fight with pops." He states recounting a bad memory from his past as he lets out a bit of a sigh resting his head low for a few moments. "Don't think she's really gotten a hold of anyone in the family since." He shakes his head. "She didn't seem too happy with any of us."

Iron Man has posed:
"Yeah. Like the signal's being tampered with. And not just in a 'in a tunnel' manner. I'm getting ...Gotham?" Tony says, scrolling through some maps and satellite images, and then switching back into a world of code and numbers as he scans through it. "No, they're indicating elsewhere... and I'm hard to fool. It's Gotham. JARVIS, go ahead and crack into this with-okay, here." Tony pulls up a keypad, and needs a few minutes to type. "Ok, run that, and update me when you get some headway," Tony instructs.

He turns away from it, but appears upbeat. "I'll sort it out," Tony assures Rhodey, with his clear confidence. "So, let's work a bit, get your mind off it. When I get more, we'll find out where she is."

Pepper Potts has posed:
The worry across Pepper's face isn't entirely well hidden, but she is trying. She cracks a half smile for Rhodes, trying to look reassuring and tender at the same time. "Tony...will get it figured out. Maybe she's just in a rough building or... happens to live next to an asshole, or something. We'll figure it out. Meanwhile... I should get down to the office and you two should get back to testing, right? I didn't mean to interrupt a good lunch... But it IS good to see you again, James." Pepper unfolds from the couch, withdrawn back into her more professional, neat expressions. That's the look she gets when things are on fire elsewhere and she has nothing she can do but be the consumate, calm professional. She looks like this around Tony a lot.