5764/Astral Flux: We're going to need more carryout

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Astral Flux: We're going to need more carryout
Date of Scene: 11 November 2018
Location: Unknown
Synopsis: Pepper reminds Tony to eat a real meal.
Cast of Characters: Iron Man, Pepper Potts
Tinyplot: Astral Flux


Iron Man has posed:
    It has been two days without much sign of Tony. Where is he? Fairly simple answer (and an obvious one): he's been buried in the bunker, and has only surfaced to send out some frustrated messages to the Avengers related to the organization of the upcoming (and very likely) battle.

    Has Tony been eating? JARVIS has an answer to that: There have been a lot of snacks and various bits of food, but a full meal -- probably not lately. And once again, if Pepper checks in, he's in his bunker, and out of reach.

Pepper Potts has posed:
JARVIS is nothing if not honest. So when Pepper asked whether Tony has been eating, the answer of course was yes. The devil, they say, is in the details. What had he been eating? Half a this, a few bites of that. And so JARVIS was instrumental in ordering Mongolian grill with lots of chicken, beef, vegetables, and noodles. And with two bags of food, Pepper enters the penthouse. JARVIS, on cue, will announce her arrival to Tony, with a request for his presence, and that of his appetite. Then, Pepper sets about plating food for them, and lighting candles.

Iron Man has posed:
    "Pep, I'm pushing through to finish a few of these last junctions," Tony's voice comes in suddenly into the penthouse. JARVIS had made it abundantly clear where she was setting up food, and did her the favor of describing the food in a very positive way to coax Tony out. There's some machine noise in the background that the walls of the penthouse buffer, but the audio does not conceal. "Ten minutes or so, tops," he promises distractedly.

    Twelve minutes later Tony comes out from the high security doors, grumpy and his focus clearly elsewhere, but the scent of food draws more of his attention in. As does Pepper. "Hey," he says, approaching and leaning his head in close to hers to put a kiss on her cheek if she allows. He smells like mechanical parts: metal, oil. He's also trailing a lead out of the bottom of his shirt, and notices, hooking a hand up under it to unclip it and set it on the table near some of the candles.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper smiles as Tony kisses her cheek, and she takes the lead, a mindless action borne of muscle memory. She lays it in a safe spot on the counter. "Hey there, Handsome. How's it coming down there? Makin' some headway?" She wraps her arms around him trying to pull him into an embrace. "I've been missing ya..."

Iron Man has posed:
    His mind is deep in his invention process, she'll see it: this focused look that is still in the bunker, but he's also Tony: her pull into an embrace draws him more present, and he smiles at her, gathers her in, arms around her securely, with her hip tight to his. "Absolutely. Got around a bit of a snag, and almost ready to just switch to production," Tony answers. "but without this, I don't think the team's getting anywhere. Good thing I do so well under pressure. But I suppose eating isn't a bad idea. Real quick, though." He does have to get back.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"Real quick," Pepper agrees with a nod. "But you can't run anymore on an empty tank." She steals one more kiss and ushers Tony to his place. "And this stuff's good for ya. What are you working on now?"

Iron Man has posed:
    "Well, our current awful monster of the month is full of mental attacks and control," Tony answers, while sitting down, talking with his hands instead of actually serving food or eating it. At least at first. When food it close at hand, he tends to start to partake, even if he's not paying attention. It just has to be nearby enough to allow the autopilot. His stomach makes a loud assertion about it, and Tony pauses to smirk a little, and deliberately fills his plate. While still talking, and gesturing with fork, now.

    "That is a funky place to deal with. But I'm working on some devices that should at least disrupt some of it. I'll need to run some tests with some telepathic people, and that's the harder part. Shockingly they're all very busy. Still, they'll make time for me," Tony says. "SHIELD at the very least has some I can test with."

Pepper Potts has posed:
"So there really /isn't / any way to recreate a psychic attack..." Pepper is thoughtful as she spears a...pepper...with her fork and considers the implications. "That giant...robot thing...that attacked overseas. Is that their way of contending with something they can't understand or recreate? It just makes the threat so incomprehensible that the world doesn't even know how to battle it. So they over compensate and escalate the battle that much more..." Pepper shakes her head. "It isn't just funky, Tony. It's terrifying."

Iron Man has posed:
    "Oh, before I forget." Tony pauses in his eating, and gets up. He does carry his full plate with him, at least. He approaches one of his wall monitors, flicking hand across it, and sorts quickly to the scheomatics from the bunker. He swipes over several holographic panels, and makes a few notes. "Exhaust port A, to a dual node," he talks to himself (and JARVIS). When the ideas come, he's not going to ignore them. He stands now near the screen, but IS, in fact, eating, while standing in front of it now.

    He didn't ignore her question, though. He just had to get that other thing out of his head first. "I wouldn't say there isn't ANY way. I just don't have time to both do that and also the rest of it, right now," Tony says, with his usual confidence. Then again, she is in the presence of Tony Stark, and he can do anything. "I think they simply went 'well, it attacks minds, so use something without a mind'. Reasonably logical. But it does look like there's deliberate escalation, doesn't it."

Pepper Potts has posed:
"I believe there is. And it is so...off the charts already. Do you think this was their plan? The telepaths? Throw everything into chaos and ignite a war?" Pepper sighs and frets at her bottom lip thoughtfully. "Tony, I know you can do this. I don't doubt you, even for a second. But I want to help you. Somehow...Maybe I could go find out more about the telepaths. Or maybe I could...I don't know, go to the ungodly quantum parts store..." She's spouting nonsense, and she knows it. But there is also the faintest hint of something entirely new in her voice. It sounds like desperation.

Iron Man has posed:
Tony's expression turns more serious, and he looks directly towards her. Weighing her reaction, the tremble and desperation in it. He doesn't approach right away, that's not in his instincts, really. Comfort and feelings are difficult. He uses humor.

    "Hey, Pep, they're sold out at the ungodly stores. Empty shelves. But I've got a good warehouse right here, even if the Avengers mansion is still in hell-dimension," Tony assures her. Losing the mansion WAS a setback, even if he doesn't prefer to admit that that is so. "Really, if you want to help, look after the team. Make sure we eat," Tony says, tone more gentle with her now. "Check in with the others, see if they have everything they need. If they don't, get it, or let me know what they need. I'm trying to both run the team and get these nullification and disruptors made, so. Pitching in with the team, AND, of course, keeping the company up? You're lifting a lot." He does notice. Sometimes.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper's tone is softened, when she finally tears her gaze away from the apparent void in the center of the table where she was staring. "Keeping the company running is second nature to me anymore, Tony. But you're right. I'm seeing the smaller picture. You have a whole team to keep up, and I'll help you with that however I can."

Then, she shakes her head slowly. "Except that Jessica...I don't know if it's just the spider thing, or what it is...I can't stand to be in the same room with that woman."

Iron Man has posed:
    "Well, she's not on the team yet, so she's not on the list of required check-ins, anyway," Tony replies, amused by the dislike from Pepper. "She's having a terrible time, though. I think any of us would be, if we'd been hit as hard mentally as she was. That she knows her own name is kind of a miracle. If I had more time I'd check in on her more, but, really: she's an adult and a hero. She'll work it out." Tony still has so much to do, and babysitting people is not in the front of that list. "I hope Cap pitches in more, here. Morale is HIS gig," Tony jokes. But it's also true.

    "But if I don't finish up in the lab, we'll have more fried people like Jessica. Thanks for the food, though. Do me a favor; speaking of people we can't stand: check in with the hotel, and make sure Thor isn't letting Loki hang around. I don't want him anywhere near what we're doing," Tony says, carrying his plate towards the secure bunker door.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"You've got this Babe," Pepper calls to Tony as he disappears with the plate that she was refilling while he was distracted with the wall ornaments. "I'll go check on the others. But don't work too hard!" She winks at him as he disappears through the door, and she breathes a huge sigh. "JARVIS. Prepare yourself. I'm about to need a lot more carryout."