tushanshu_logs | Catch-All

Entry tags:

Catch-All | Open

Characters: Tony, Jackie, Hayley, Gene & OPEN!
Date: End of October, early November, before the endplot.
Location: Mostly Stark Industries and Tony's suite; other locations as necessary.
Situation: Tony is trying to pull everything together before the inevitable showdown with Malicant.
Warnings/Rating: None yet, will be added in subject headers as necessary.

Tony is still trying to get the secondary network up and running, and so, as usual, he will be hard at work at Stark Industries - often into the late hours of the night.

After participating in Wan's attempt to possess Asti, he'll need some time to recover, but he'll still be at SI fairly regularly and accessible via console if anyone needs to set up a meeting.

If anyone wants to join in on the network effort, get Tony's help with something, or discuss anything with him before the shit hits the fan, now is the time. He's well aware that things have gotten serious, and he won't turn anyone away.

OOC note: Your character can visit Tony either at SI or his suite in the metal sector. Gene is also spending a lot of time with Tony now, especially after the possession fiasco, so there's a good chance that anyone coming to see Tony would run into Gene too. If you would like Gene to be present in a thread, make a note of it in your subject line. Threads can take place either before or after Wan's possession attempt.

OOC note: If you would like to claim one of the self-defense devices mentioned in Tony's last network post, but don't want to thread it out for whatever reason, drop an OOC note in here.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[After a brief lunch break and some awkward evasions of Kalliel's questions, Gene and Tony have managed to foist Kalliel off on Nilin, and made their way to Gene's suite to pick up where they left off.

Which, frankly, Tony finds kind of astonishing. He'd been fretting the whole time that Gene was going to change his mind in the interim, and that their kiss in the lab was going to go the same place their relationship in high-school had gone: absolutely nowhere.

And yet, here he is, in Gene's suite, somehow, miraculously, kissing Gene again. This is probably still a terrible idea, but the longer he kisses Gene, the less he cares.

So, maybe they can be forgiven for getting a little caught up in things, and, uh, sort of forgetting that Gene still has a roommate. Because yeah, the couch in the living room is a lot closer than Gene's room upstairs, but it's not exactly... private.]

[When Tony gets the security ping on his Pod, he's in the middle of his scrambled eggs.

Somebody breaking into his lab is already putting him in a seriously bad mood, but on top of that, interrupting his breakfast?! This universe is so unjust.

As he armors up and flies to SI, he tries to be optimistic. Maybe one of the employees was trying to get in and forgot to disable the security. Maybe it's just a glitch. Maybe someone came looking for him and didn't know any better.

But he has a lot of important stuff in the lab - most important of all, the extremely limited and extremely vital radio supplies.

If the person who has gotten into his lab is up to anything shady, he is going to be so. Very. Pissed.]

[Tony hasn't seen Hayley since their last argument - or whatever that was. But he's finished modifying her radio, and has now spent several hours waffling on whether he should just leave it in her office, or take it to her directly.

He very much doubts she wants to see him, but she had told him to bring it to her, and eventually that clear directive overrules his other anxieties.

When he reaches her suite, he hesitates. He spends another half a minute arguing with himself about whether this is the right thing to do. Finally, he shakes his head, steels himself, and knocks.]

[Hayley isn't expecting anyone and it takes her a moment to realize there's no one else in the suite to answer. Mark used to always get the door, given his speed, unless someone was expecting a visitor specifically. Now it's up to whoever is around and listening. She sighs and pushes Kon's glasses up into her hair, having been playing with them, and pulls at her red jacket until it's situated better.

She opens the door without much fuss, glancing down as she does and then freezing the instant she realizes who it is. Hayley has the perfect look of a deer in the headlights, tense and staring with a mixture of fear, dread, and anxious anticipation. She has never handled surprises well and even less when it involves running into someone she doesn't want to deal with.

After a second, she recovers her composure and clears her throat. Then she looks past Tony, as if he might have some thugs lurking behind him, before she meets his gaze again.] What are you doing here?

[Tony's checking the console in his lab for messages, and purely by chance, he notices something slightly... off about the encryptions. Malicant shouldn't have any reason to be messing around with foreigner encryptions when he can see everything on the network anyway, regardless of security, so Tony has to assume that someone (rather than something) is digging around.

The question is, why.

Tony's first thought is that Malicant wasn't lying about his secret foreigner allies, and someone is trying to spy on the other foreigners' communications. But as he investigates, following the digital trail, he finds that the incursions seem almost random. Not a subtle, directed attack: more like someone's just messing around, poking and prodding here and there. Is it simple curiosity, or are they testing the waters before making a move?

Tony decides to find out. He traces the source console, and armors up to pay his new friend a visit.

He lands in front of one of the foreigner dormitories in the Metal Sector and dismisses the armor. It retracts and folds away into the backpack, and once he looks like a regular, harmless, unarmed kid again, he knocks.]

[ Although Cain isn't in his own suite, it is only a few doors down and he's made himself comfortable while poking into the cracks and niches of the network. This place is definitely abandoned, though, and he takes a moment to get his switchblade out and ready before he answers the door, because it's either the most polite squatter in existence or someone specifically looking for whoever was making the activity in the room.

As the door slides open, he shifts himself to hide the blade in his hand and stands casual, somewhat disapproving at the interruption. ]

Didn't have time to get myself a no solicitation sign for the door. What've you got? Newspapers? Cookies? Don't want it, sorry.

No cookies, sorry. But I've got some time to hear you out, if you want to explain why you've been trying crack our encryptions.

[Tony's tone isn't hostile, but he's clearly got his guard up. He doesn't think he's seen this guy around before, so he hopes this is a simple case of a tech-savvy newbie getting curious. He's just not letting his hopes get too high.]

What, a guy can't get bored?

[ He isn't moving from the door. Kid seems harmless enough but that he's tracked Cain down is enough to reaffirm that caring about appearances is not a good practice. ]

No, really. You the admin or something?

[Tony smiles a little at that.] Something like that. Tony Stark. I work at Stark Industries. The big foreigner-run tech company? [If this guy is new, there's no way to know if he's heard of SI yet or not.]

The network technology is local, but the foreigners put the encryptions in place, and it could make people pretty unhappy that you're messing around with them. If you're just bored... you might want to find a new hobby. [It's pretty obvious that Tony doesn't think he's just "bored."

He raises his eyebrows.] But if you're looking for something, maybe I can help. [The invitation is honest, but it caries an implied threat. I know you're up to something. I hope for your sake it's something good.]

[ One of his brows goes up at the introduction, but he doesn't give anything away. Whatever Stark Industries is here in Keeliai, he hasn't heard of it. ]

Just information, really. For some reason, nobody likes to just talk to each other anymore, Tony. Oh, there's the obvious stuff. Turtle is possessed now and the taint is bad and social tensions between foreigners and the locals. [ He shrugs. ] Maybe I'm not bored, but I am just looking for some footing. Think that's worth lending me a hand?

[And Tony is already regretting his decision as soon as he sees the look of panic on her face. But he's here, so he might as well get it over with.]

You told me to bring back the radio when I was done with it. [He pulls the radio out of the small box he'd been carrying it in and holds it out to her: it looks basically the same, except for the addition of a few buttons.] It can receive and transmit now, and it can be tuned to public or private channels.

And... these, if you want one. [He tilts the box so she can see the two small devices sitting inside it.

There's a moment of heavy silence, and then Tony says,] I'm sorry. I was a jerk. I flipped out when Solomon did that death... seeing... thing, and I acted like a huge tool. I can't... do anything about what happened with the Makluans. But while I'm here, I... I just want to do what we got brought here to do. And I could still use your help.

[Tony studies him critically for a second or two, sizing up this newcomer and trying to decide if he's on the level or not.

This is mostly for show, because Tony is terrible at reading people.

And he's also still way too trusting, despite the number of times that's burned him in the past.] Maybe, [he eventually says, relaxing. He'll take the guy's word, for now.] What kind of information?

Good guys from bad guys. Where we're at right now. [ Cain gives little away with his next shrug, offers a bit of a smile. He isn't lying, and at the kid's relaxation he flips the switchblade closed and stands a bit more freely in the doorway. ] Maybe what everyone's deepest darkest secret is, but I can wait on that one.

[Tony frowns. If there are traitors amongst the foreigners like Malicant had suggested, is it possible they've been using the network to communicate? The encryptions had been put in place to keep out Malicant, but now that they know that's futile, they're only really good for keeping things private from each other. Has anyone been taking advantage of that?

Maybe that's not what Cain meant to imply, there, but it gets Tony thinking anyway. He doesn't like thinking it, because he knows that kind of distrust is exactly what Malicant wants, and yet... there the thought is anyway.

He's conflicted, but, in the end, his trusting nature wins out again.]

My deepest darkest secrets have all been spilled already, I think, so I guess I'm safe. [A small, wry smile.] But I'm not sure how everyone else is going to feel about you poking around in their private messages.

[ Cain sees something really strike the kid at his own comments, but doesn't speak of it out loud. That's something to tuck away for later and maybe investigate on his own. Interesting how it it struck a chord like that. ]

What, do they get an e-mail when someone reads their diary? [ It's not like they're going to know, kid. ] So, are you in or are you out?

[The frown returns. This time, it's directed at Cain. This conversation is starting to make Tony uncomfortable, and he's not totally sure why.]

I'm not the only one here with some computer skills. There are a bunch of other people who will notice what you're doing, if they're looking.

The bad guys are the big dude sitting under us and the wackos running around with poison knives. If you think you can dig up some dirt on them, I'm happy to help. But reading everybody's private messages is just going to piss people off.

[Hayley accepts the radio after another moment of skeptical staring. When he tilts the box, she looks at the items and is just considering whether or not to take them when he continues talking. She looks up to him, surprised at his apology and still not entirely sure about the idea of genocide in self-defense. It's too outside her scope of experience.]

My help? [She asks with surprise, then frowns. Hayley drops the radio back into the box and then takes the box from him. It's a very subtle acceptance of his apology and the most that he'll get.] What do you need? The radios? Dick's headsets? You already have Stark Industries.

[Tony looks at her warily, wondering if this is some kind of trick question.]

Um, I mean, that would be great, but... like you said, you've been here a lot longer. You know a lot more about what's happened and how things work around here. And I don't want to screw up or overlook something just because I didn't know something that I should have.

[Now that his hands are empty, he shoves them in his pockets, looking awkward and uncertain. He doesn't know if that's the answer she wants, but he's trying very hard to be honest and not a douche, so he hopes he's not too far off.]

[ Cain sees the misstep and tilts his head in acknowledgment. ]

That's the idea. Looking for the big bads. See if there's anything more incriminating under the cloak than sexting.

[Tony's a little bit on edge, now; not enough to make him suspicious of the guy, but enough that he thinks he'd like to keep an eye on what he's up to, if only to make sure he doesn't get distracted and start reading people's private logs for fun. It wouldn't be the first time he'd have to rein in somebody who was a little too nosy for their own good. (*coughPeppercough*)

He nods slowly at Cain.] Okay. I think if there was anything to find in the consoles' programming, someone would have spotted it by now, but I guess it can't hurt to check again.

[She'd seen Tony at the Hotel directly after the possession attempt, but quite honestly she's concerned that she didn't do enough at the time, and in any case she wants to check in on him to make sure nothing's worsened, so Raine stops by his suite in the Metal sector when she has a spare moment. She hasn't let him know she's coming, however. She knocks twice on the door, steps back a pace and waits.]

[IT'S A TRAP. Hayley glowers at him, suspecting him of something else. Everyone has been using the girl for her resources on the rare occasion that they bother to ask her for anything, so Tony possibly wanting her rather than just what she can provide seems suspicious.]

Yeah, I do. [She agrees quietly, not as angry as she anticipated being.] But I can't help you right now. You.. killed a lot of people, Tony. And I'm having trouble knowing what to think about that.

[It's an honest response, almost a question. She wants him to tell her that it's okay and to justify why what he did was right. Otherwise, everything's fucked and it's too hard to know which it is, so she'll refrain from facing the issue at all - refrain from interacting with him.]

[On the couch, Tony hears the knock, and groans and pulls a pillow over his face. Ugh, visitors, now? Couldn't they have shown up when Gene was around to deal with them, instead of out doing grocery shopping or whatever? Tony sighs into the pillow. Can he just ignore them?

...No, probably not. He still needs to be available, even if he feels like shit. He can't risk missing something important because he was too lazy to answer the door.

Groaning again, he heaves himself off the couch and plods over to the door. He doesn't care that he's in wrinkled pajamas and probably looks like he got run over by a bus - if whoever it is can't deal with him not looking presentable, then they can just fuck right back off and he can go back to napping.

He opens the door, and manages a weak smile when he sees Raine. Definitely one of the more tolerable visitors he could have gotten.]

Hey, Raine.

[She only cares about his lack of presentability in that it speaks to his physical and mental state. Raine glances him up and down, decides it was probably a good thing she stopped by.]

Hello, Tony. How are you feeling?

[He definitely looks like death warmed over, but he's not actually falling over, which is something. And she does have other things to ask him, but ascertaining his well-being comes first.]

Like I've got a railroad spike behind my eyeballs, [he grumbles. He's pretty much had a headache of varying intensity since he woke up in the hotel two days ago. Which makes sense, he guesses. Not that that improves the experience any.]

And tired, and generally like crap. [He squeezes the bridge of his nose, and rubs his eyes. The bright sun outside is starting to make his headache worse.] Are you coming in?

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Catch-All | Open

For Amelia & Gene | In Gene's suite, Huo-Xian | WARNING for gay nerds making out idk

For Jackie & later Costigan | at Stark Industries

For Hayley | Hayley's suite, Jin-Gai

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For Cain | Cain's suite, Jin-Hao

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Jin-Wei; a day or two after the possession attempt;

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