9154/Invincibly Hungover

Invincibly Hungover
Date of Scene:	11 September 2019
Location:	Stark Tower, Greenwich Village
Synopsis:	Carol finds a hungover Tony, but they talk shop anyway.
Cast of Characters:	Captain Marvel (Danvers), Iron Man

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Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
What did she even have to do to make an appointment with Tony?

Being an Avenger, Carol's avenues of approach were markedly different. She didn't need to contact a public relations officer or a personal assistant to talk about Avengers things. They just sort of did that.

Then again, maybe there was a form and she just hadn't been filling it out. God, the idea of a mountain of 'correspondence with Tony' paperwork piling up in some overlooked pigeonhole somewhere filled her with dread.

She shudders.

No, she'll just walk in. Nobody's going to admonish her that, right? It's not like hers isn't a recognisable face. In her Captain Marvel suit, Hala star on the chest and all, she's even more so. She's been standing outside the big glass front doors of the reception area for a moment now, attracting more than a little attention from passers-by and one hearty congratulations of her spot-on Captain Marvel cosplay.

"Screw it," she mutters to herself, rocketing upwards through the air at break-neck speeds until she's level with the penthouse. She wraps her knuckles on the window gingerly - donk donk donk.

Receptionists are for people who don't fly.

Iron Man has posed:
The interior of the massive penthouse is dim, despite that the time is somewhat late in the morning. There isn't any incredible activity inside, which may mean that Tony isn't even home. A few drones buzz over, though, on the outside of the windows, to inspect her a little more closely. They aren't aggressive: one is 'cute', even rolling a large frontal eyeball at her with a way that's somehow thoughtful. For a drone, anyway.

Then there's movement. A Tony is unearthing himself from the large white couch. He's fully dressed, though he lacks shoes: some black jeans, an AC/DC shirt over a tank top, one sock....

With a press of hand across his face and eyes, he pads over to the window, and squints out at her through the high tech, dimming shade. He looks at her steadily for a long moment, one finger raised... and then mouths 'no' at her, moving the finger from side to side. His expression? Hungover as hell, fuzzy and disjointed.

That said, Tony then turns away, and bats his other hand loosely at the balcony door, which makes a soft sound of unlocking.

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
As the drones approach, she cannot help but stick out a finger to prod at one. Not aggressively nor even trying to do it any harm, more just curious. The one that rolls its eye at her gets a faint smile. But then Tony appears at the window, and she turns to face him.

Carol knows that expression. That expression has been hers more times than she can remember. She peers through the window, eyes squinting against the glare of the sun off the glass. When he says 'no', all she can picture is herself standing in line at the DMV with an armful of papers. She knew there was a form!

But then the balcony door opens and she glides deftly to the side, landing lightly outside and then pushing the door open. She doesn't barge in, she doesn't stomp her feet. She slips through the door as though she were trying not to wake him, closing it gently behind her.

"Hi," she says in low, barely-voiced tones, "Tie one on last night?"

Iron Man has posed:
"With a knot of epic proportion. -- You've just missed Steve," Tony answers with a dry chuckle. His mouth tastes terrible. "Though you're in time to witness the demise of the emptied bottle of Asgardian ale." And, if she sends a glance into the kitchen, the various other markers of plastic bags from takeout and similar things the Avenger boys enjoyed.

No armfuls of papers are required: Tony isn't much for actual paperwork. The trouble with getting Tony's attention for a meeting isn't even asking for the meeting, it's that they get rescheduled over and over, as Tony's decisions about his day fluxes.

"JARVIS, delay my morning meeting," Tony announces to the air.

"The change has already been done by Ms. Potts," JARVIS's disembodied voice assures Tony.

Tony clicks his tongue once with rueful approval, while proceeding back to the couch he'd presumably been passed out on. "JARVIS, drop your volume to fifty percent," Tony mutters, as well. He's headed to the kitchen, and does do the final demise of the bottle that had the ale: into the recycling.

"What brings you to my humble abode at..." a check of the time, "This early hour of ten in the A-M?"

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
"I don't really have a reason," Carol admits, following Tony to the kitchen and watching the bottle disappear into the trash, "Just a friendly house call, I guess? With all this energy signature stuff and magic crap, I figured we hadn't actually had a chance to - you know, talk."

She lets the silence grow a little uncomfortable before she carries on, crossing her arms over her stomach and shrugging her shoulders.

"Not that I've got much actual news," she continues, "Space is still space. Alpha Flight is still a hour away at Mach 3. Oh! I invited Wonder Wo - uh, Diana to the mansion for movie night last weekend. Caitlin, too." A pause. "And Jessica." The gravity of her words suggests that Jessica. Jessica Jones.

"I was kind of surprised she even came."

But then she waves her hand, dismissing that awkward Ghost of Avengers Past.

"Asgardian ale, huh? Celebrating anything in particular?"

Iron Man has posed:
"Steve's interest in getting drunk," Tony chuckles, by way of describing something that's worth celebrating. His kitchen -- or more likely, JARVIS or Pepper -- anticipated his needs, and there's coffee available to him. He soundlessly offers her some by lifting an empty mug at her and lifting his brows while she's speaking.

"Turns out energy signatures and magic crap are the same thing. So at least it is now Sentinels and energy-slash-magic. With Wanda's difficulties as well, though I suspect it's related to the second thing. All problems are Loki." The explanation makes him wryly grin, setting the edge of his butt against the counter, one arm folding to hook across his lower stomach against opposite side of his belt, the other hand comfortable to hold the coffee under his nose. Sure smells better than he does, right now.

Then, Tony releases a soft breath, licks over his lower lip. "Steve's not doing so hot, with James Barnes struggling. And with the new info we've gotten off the JLA, it's probably gettin' worse. Loki's set up a pile of traps, and we've been stepping in them."

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
Carol nods her head at the offered cup of coffee, propping her hip against the countertop and leaning casually.

"Steve's interest? God, I guess I always thought his idea of a drink was a cold glass of water, maybe with a drop of lemon juice on birthdays and holidays. But then, his generation was on coke half the time, right?"

But that's how it is, isn't it? It's easy to look at Captain America and see an indefatigable bulwark against all the evils of the world. But then, she's experience war, too. Both as a soldier and as something more. Maybe her stressors only seemed more because those were the ones she could see.

"That's why I want to use whatever this portal is that Spider-Man's been talking about," Carol says, firing up suddenly, standing bolt upright and spinning to face Tony. Her voice raises excitedly, but she lowers it again immediately by way of apology, "Magic and tricks aside, if he doesn't know I'm coming I'm betting I could squash him before he even knew. Especially if he's hurt already."

Iron Man has posed:
Tony only squinted at her and her loud, fiery explosion, closing one eye and sipping his coffee with some clear discomfort. There's no reason, really, to pretend he's not hungover in front of Carol, so zero attempt is made. Besides, he's generally shameless about ... well, everything.

"That we're still missing a Thor is my only issue with that one. Should we expect a hostage?" Tony taps a thumb on the handle of his coffee. "The idea of tossing both you and Hulk in there to throw him a special party DOES have a certain ring to it. I'd like a little bit more of a plan, at least to be able to toss it out the window later for a new plan B."

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
"I get that," Carol admits with a sigh, "I'm not exactly a grand strategist here. Do you think he has Thor in there, too? If he's got Barnes snowed, I'd hate to think of having to deal with mind-control zombie Thor."

The blonde frowns pointedly at that, her nose wrinkling as she brings her cup of coffee up to her mouth with both hands and takes a quiet sip. She stares forward for a moment, that thousand yard glare that suggests she's not actually seeing whatever it is she's looking at.

"Maybe Natasha has a point then," she's done her homework, reading the briefings, "A little recce work to see what's what. If he's not doing anything more than the magical equivalent of barricading the door and cradling a shotgun, then no plan needed. Bang. Zoom. Straight to the moon, Alice."

She shrugs again, "Wizards are weird, Tony. But I don't like the idea of Loki being Chief Weirdo in Castle Grayskull."

Iron Man has posed:
"I.... can still give you a great plan, even with every gear in my head grinding," Tony assures her, with a graphic description of the current chewing hangover, complete with a gesture of hand against the side of his head as if he were slowly trying to open the side of his skull counterclockwise by the ear to release some pressure.

"I think I've just about cracked the energy signature puzzle," he continues. "Nice of him to do it right on my doorstep. All my great sensor equipment's right here." Tony rubs his nose bridge, then down one side of his goatee, scruffing into the five o'clock shadow up his jaw. He likes his beard immaculate, so the hair bugs him, and he scratches at it.

"If he /is/ hurt, we've been given a gift of a little time to close the gap. I'd like to learn more about how Loki stole the Sanctum from Dr. Strange, for example. If it's so easy to give to Loki, maybe it's easy to get it back the other way."

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
"You want I should rough him up a bit and make him talk, boss?" Carol says of Doctor Strange, doing her best impression of a black-and-white gangster movie and punching fist into cupped palm. She drops the act, shrugging again.

"Strange was there when the old man tried to turn Wanda into a doll," she adds, "I didn't realise he was in dire magical straits but I did think it was a bit odd he was walking everywhere. Usually, he's more - y'know -"

Carol holds her hands before her, fingers bent in a time-honored 'I'm casting a spell' pose. She casts a piercing stare and lifts into the air, hovering there for a moment to emphasize her point. When she lands, she picks up her coffee mug again.

"Happy to pay him a house call, though. I've been too caught up on what's happening up there," she bends an elbow and points skyward, "Forgot I have a job to do down here. I'm trying to make up for that."

Iron Man has posed:
"He didn't tell us, either," Tony answers. "Pride thing. I dunno. Wizard secrets." Tony doesn't seem to be expressing judgement, so much as that it's tiring. He drinks a bunch of the coffee a little noisily, and then takes a long pause to close his eyes and let the room stop pulsing with his heartbeat. It doesn't work, the sense of it is still there.

"Glad to get you on that, though, if you're up for it, Spaceface. I don't think he'll dodge you /too/ much." A quick grin follows. "/Or/ your questions." He tips his head to the side, and then sets his mug a on the counter. It's loud, but he manages to not flinch.

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
"I'll go check him out," Carol says with a nod, "Find out about what ever rabbits he's hiding in his hat."

Her coffee finished, she moves towards the sink and deposits the cup there. She doesn't scrub it or anything like that - who knows what kind of robots she would be putting out of a job if she did. That done, she turns back around and leans in to give the Invincibly Hungover Iron Man a light peck on the cheek.

"I'm gonna leave you to sleep this off. I'll let you know if I find out anything interesting from Strange. Or anything at all. I have no idea what counts for interesting amongst wizards."

That said, she lifts from the floor and glides the striding steps to the balcony door. She lands once more to open it, turning back to look at him - silhouetted by sunlight.

"Take care, Tony." She opens her mouth, as though to say something more, but then just shuts it again. She turns back, stepping out onto the balcony and taking off into the wild blue yonder.