tushanshu_logs

[He was used to all of this by now. It was second nature to him after all of the years he'd spent in the armor. But no matter how many years passed, flying was one thing that always made him feel great. It renewed the excitement he had first felt when he built the jets and mastered flying with them. And watching Korra do that brought back moments he really didn't experience much anymore. The feeling of being powerful and free to go anywhere he wanted. He could understand her excitement.]

By the end of the day you'll be doing stunts. And then we'll never get you back to land.

[He turned away after the joke, checking the area around them to make sure they weren't going to have any sudden interruptions. It was just paranoia, really, but usually when things were going well it was only a matter of time before something went horribly wrong. Maybe he should check up on the others. Bucky or Carol or-

She was landing?]

Okay, just make sure you don't go too-

[He should have been watching. It was her first flight as far as he knew, and he hadn't exactly told her anything beyond picking up speed. When Tony turned back, Korra was diving toward the ground.]

Whoa! Pull up!

[He dove after her, hoping he wasn't going to be too late to do something.]

You have to slow down before you land!

[Korra was barely able to hear Tony’s shout from behind her as she cleared the bottom layer of clouds and she turned her head, the shapes below slowly turned into tiny buildings. ]

Go down, yeah, I know! [She yelled back with a smile.] You kind of have to in order to land!

[Obviously Tony thought she didn’t know what she was doing. From her trajectory, she was doing a straight dive bomb and as far as Korra understood from watching Tony, she just needed to fly straight back at the last second and then land slowly like a leaf.]

Bet my landing will be just as cool as yours!

[Only more so because she’ll have person wind lowering her down safely around her hair. Providing physics works the way Korra thought they did. Which was, however she wanted them to.]

[He should have been paying more attention. That was the one dominating thought Tony had as he dove after Korra. He shouldn't have let her take over and he shouldn't have assumed she'd be all right once she had lift.]

Don't crash don't crash don't-

[He pushed power into the boot thrusters, flying under her and turning around so he could push her back up and aim the glider away from the ground.]

Pull up! You can't land at this speed!

[He didn't have time to ask nicely. If Korra tried to land by flying straight down she was just going to smash into the ground. He didn't know about her plan to pull up, but even if she did pull back out of panic (which was another possibility), Tony assumed that she would end up overbalancing the glider and hit the ground anyway. Maybe if she were used to flying he wouldn't be trying to backseat drive her landing, but he couldn't count on that for what he knew as her first time doing this. He shoved upward on the glider handle, pushing himself backward and downward instead.

This was probably not the best idea he'd had.]

Edited 2013-08-17 04:35 (UTC)

[A startled Korra saw Tony suddenly appear underneath her and pushing the glider back up.]

Give me a second, give me a second!

[Creating a large burst of air under the glider’s wings pushed it upwards, assisting the Iron Man’s effort. Leveling back out with forty feet to spare, Korra looked over her shoulder at Tony.]

Why couldn’t I land? I was just doing what you did.

[And it had been fun, an adrenaline rush, and would have likely ended out very badly.]

[Oh, God. He had a passing thought about how close he had been to having a heart attack on that one, then managed a laugh as the glider righted itself again. At least she had good reflexes. He couldn't fault her there.]

You were going down too fast. You hit the ground at that speed and it'll tear your glider into pieces.

[Not to mention what the impact would have done to a human body. He decided not to bring that part up.]

You can't do what I do using a glider. Jets let me fly vertically. I can slow down without having to keep wings level and maintain the altitude I need to not drop myself on my face. You need a gradual decline. Diving down like that will make you increase speed. You can't shoot back at the last minute or you'll rip the wings off.

[He thought about that, hovering as he watched Korra fly.]

Although I'll give you points for style on that. Just don't crash it on your first time out, okay? Save some for later.

[She almost opened her mouth to protest, but the physics lesson shut her up. Just about any other adult and Korra would have fought them on the point, but Tony knew his stuff and she was very aware of it. Not just anyone can build a suit that almost seemed alive.]

So what you’re saying is my glider needs stronger wings and those jets to do that. [Even though that would be a total disaster in and of itself, that’s what Korra got from it.]

That’d look a little weird.

[And it would defeat the purposes of airbending when she thought about it.]

Gotcha, normal landing. [Angling it down only slightly, Korra reversed the direction of her airbending to slow the glider’s descent. Forty feet was a lot less intimidating now that she knew she would have died had Tony not intervened.]

[Tony was used to being argued with, but he was also used to being right. Even when he was wrong. At least Korra pulled up without crashing, though. He righted himself and hovered next to her.]

Your glider couldn't handle jets. If we stuck jets on it, you'd need a plane to withstand the force. What you need is to brake.

[That wasn't the best explanation, but he was trying.]

Your glider moves horizontally. You can pull up to decrease speed, but you'll always be going forward. You've seen birds fly, right? You're a big bird. Move downward in a spiral to drop altitude.

[Airbending was a great advantage. He found that out when Korra started using hers to slow her descent.]

Huh. Not bad. Maybe we will get you a plane.

You’ve obviously never seen me drive a car before. [She said in a humored, self-deprecating way.] It’d probably explode if I looked at it funny.

[With her descent slowing, Korra continued angling it downwards until she climbed down from forty, to thirty, to twenty, to ten feet. Half of that and she closed the glider, pushing out a blast of air to cushion her landing.]

I think I can go with bird for now. So what does that make you?

It takes time getting used to. And the fact that you have cars is impressive. It puts you one step ahead of the technology here.

[Now that the danger had passed, Tony was back to joking. In honesty, he probably never stopped joking. Even when he tries to be serious, it always ends in a sarcastic comment. He watched Korra fly to the ground, appreciating how quickly she caught on to the concept of decreasing her speed. Using the air blast to land was clever for someone who hadn't flown before. Tony followed her, hovering in place a few feet above a landing point before touching down.]

Iron Man. I'm just one of a kind.

[The metal armor retracts away from his face, leaving him without a helmet so he can look smug.]

[Airbending was new and fun, but seeing a shiny suit of armor with fire, or at least she assumed it was fire, coming from the boots was just plain awesome. Watching the metal actually recede, or as she though of it, melt away from his face was a lot more to take in than just watching it over the consoles.]

Hey, I can appreciate being unique. [Grinning, she circled her finger in front her face.] So that doesn’t hurt or feel weird? Because it looks like it could hurt or feel weird.

Not really.

[Tony was clearly enjoying this chance to get to show off. When you come from a world of superheroes and aliens and celestial beings, it was hard to feel all that unique or accomplished. And he still wanted to feel special. Or at least have something he could be proud of... the Iron Man was the best he had to do that with.]

I'm used to it. It feels like using any other part of me. Just different.

[Yeah, that was a great explanation. Good work, Tony.]

What does bending feel like?

Really. [She couldn’t help but chuckle as she said it.] Bending’s kind of like that. Think of which element you to use, let your movement and chi flow together, and you just use it how you want.

[To demonstrate she brought her closed hand up and unfolded her fingers, a small flame hovered just above her palm.]

Takes practice, more for me than your average bender, but it feels great to use.

[Letting it disappear in a puff of smoke she grinned.]

Okay, so maybe not exactly like yours- but bending’s a part of me just the same.

[Tony smiled at that. The way Korra formed fire and made it seem natural and real as opposed to mythical. That reminded him in a way of someone else who used chi. He did what might feel like impossible things in other contexts seem more concrete in his way. It was just something about his approach that left Tony feeling grounded rather than put off like he tended to be with magic. And it was the same with Korra's bending. They both felt real and natural.]

I understand that. Using technology is pretty much the same. It's always felt great to me.

[Maybe too much at some points, but that was a different thing entirely.]

This--the armor--it's the better part of who I am. Maybe the best part.

[Or the only good part. He wasn't sure. He smiled fondly though, holding up his hand and letting the metal that made up the gauntlet covering it shift and melt like softening putty, forming a small R.T. node on the back of it.]

It feels like thought. Like being able to see through your skin and know things you didn't realize existed until you saw them. It's not quite as impressive as making the elements do whatever you want, though. I guess they reserve that kind of thing for the real talent.

[And this was precisely what helped convince Korra that Tony was a good choice in friends. He understood that bending wasn’t the weird, wackiness that magic was. Something that irritated Korra when others simply classified bending as magic without a second glance.]

Maybe not the best part, I mean your heart needs it just as much as it needs your heart, right? [At least that was what she took from his explanation on why he had made the technology that’s now in his body.]

Just try telling my friends that’s not impressive. [She smirked, but her blue eyes reflected the bright light from the R.T. node and her own intrigue at seeing it happen before her.]

[Bending was weird, but Tony couldn't claim to have never seen weirder. If anything, it was a relief from the magic he was used to dealing with. If Korra said it could make logical sense, then Tony was glad it wasn't running on some magical power he could never hope to fathom. Win-win all around.]

It doesn't need anything. It's a machine. Well, a lot of machines. They don't need like people do.

[He smiled awkwardly through that explanation. What was it, again? The metal doesn't make the man. But sometimes Tony had trouble really convincing himself that was true.]

But I like to think I've got some skill in me.

[He couldn't be blamed for being smug, right? It was harmless pleasure, and Korra was enjoying the show. Tony smirked back, letting her get a good look.]

Those are sensors. I can use them to see. That's kind of the watered down version, but you get the idea.

Well that thing didn’t build itself, right. How’s that for skill?

[She raised an eyebrow and looked at the sensor curiously.]

So the armor’s an extension of you, so whatever that eye sees, you do too.

[Moving her mouth to the side of her face thoughtfully, Korra tilted her head and tapped her glider with her finger.]

Well my friend can see by touch, so you can see by your machine. That makes sense. [Weirdly enough.]

How about that?

[Tony was kind of unsure of what to say. Sure, he knew his armor was a great piece of tech. That was not even mentioning the Extremis altering his body. But most of the time other people were harder to impress.]

Pretty much. It enhances my body.

[Which was the easy explanation. He could have gone with that before, actually, but this was Tony. Easy didn't register most of the time. It was his turn to be impressed after that response, though.]

Your friend can see through touch? As in they touch things, or they actually see by touching part of something?

[Because with the way Korra said it and after watching her manipulate air, Tony was going to assume it wasn't the obvious method of getting an idea of spacial environment by feeling around.]

Actually see by touching the ground, rocks, and stones; through vibrations. [Korra had experienced it first hand in Toph’s dream at Sinbrilee.] People, heartbeats, bugs- anything that causes the smallest vibration can be seen. Not colors or stuff like that.

[She shrugged while she pursed her lips thoughtfully.] In a lot of ways it’s better than eyesight.

Vibrations? So she feels it. That makes sense. [Bending was thankfully based on some scientific principles. That was another point in its favor in Tony's book. He had gotten used to more magic over the years, but he was relieved to have the familiarity of logic he could understand and apply here.]

So you can do that too? Or is this one of those things where it only applies to certain people? Because if you can, I'd like to see your world. It sounds like a great place.

[Humans with sonar abilities that treat it as science. How could he not love the idea of that kind of place?]

And as long as you don't come down too hard, you'll be an ace pilot too. Avatar of nature and local Skymaster. Which means we'll have to find you someone to race.

I could probably learn it since I’m an earthbender. Future Industries would probably be your first stop, my friend runs it and they come up with the newest stuff. Nothing near what your Stark stuff can do, but it’s impressive back home.

[First person who didn’t think her world was just some old-fashioned, stuck in the past world and Korra was grateful for it.]

If I keep practicing, I’m sure I’ll find someone close to my speed. No one too quick though. [She had seen those small, different colored streaks in the sky that superheroes left behind, some of them even left a sonic boom afterwards.]

Future Industries? That sounds like my kind of place.

[He laughed even though Korra wouldn't get the joke. It was more simple appreciation than anything. Tony had gotten used to a lot of things. Medieval England and King Arthur, for instance, a place where they ate dragons (and had dragons), so old-fashioned had some levels of variance for him. More importantly, Korra herself sounded sophisticated and together enough, so he assumed the culture she came from must be somewhat modern.]

You mean you aren't going to challenge the metahumans to a race? That sounds like fun to me. Maybe after you've gotten the landing down. Or some air jets.

[How she wished she could introduce him to Asami so they could talk shop. Though she was pretty sure Tony’s talk would blow her mind. Even mecha tanks seemed like a piece of junk next to the Iron Man.]

Landing first, then maybe some races. But at least you made my first one a success. [And completely saved her life from her own stupidity, but that could go unsaid.]

[He was enjoying this much talk anyway. It was refreshing just to get out and fly and talk to someone about the good part of abilities. Korra's world at least appreciated bending as far as he could tell. It didn't feel like so much of a curse.]

The first is just getting you off the ground. Once you warm up to it, you'll be flying circles around the rest of us.

[Tony grinned. Even with that one near-miss, he was enjoying it. It all worked out in the end and Korra had fun. That was really all that mattered to him at the moment. Responsible adults were probably better found elsewhere.]

Next time you can master your own take off.

[Korra had always focused on the good part of her abilities, mainly because all of her masters and teachers had focused on the negative aspects of it. Mainly her lack of restraint.

From her experience with that, looking at the positive side of other people’s powers and abilities was her go to. Why make them feel like she had to?]

I’ll add it to my training regimen; it’ll be mastered before you know it. [Said with a smile because she liked having responsibility over her own schedule and knowing that she could handle a lot. Made her feel like the adult she ~~wanted to be~~ knew she was.]

Hey, I’ll even make sure to get it down by the next time some disaster hits the turtle.

[It's not something Tony would admit out loud, but having Korra around is a chance to help out and do a little coaching. He feels good about the opportunity. Tony likes getting to show her some flying tricks, even though it's not quite the same as real teaching. It's kind of like home. Or maybe it's not, and that's why he likes it. Second chances and all of that.]

So the next time I see you, I can expect a challenge. That's what you're saying.

[Okay, so Tony isn't a great role model. But Korra's having fun, he's having fun, and maybe they're both learning something from the flying lesson. That means something to him. He has no reason to doubt that Korra can handle her own training since bending seems like a natural power in her world. It's not like he's watching a complete amateur grasp at straws.]

If you're really good, you can probably learn a few useful tricks too.

[Nope. Totally not a good influence. But she'll figure it out.]

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alphatar - 2013-09-30 18:02 (UTC) - Expand

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definingfuture - 2013-10-02 16:51 (UTC) - Expand

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