tushanshu_logs | Talk about a crash landing [Closed to Gene and Tony at first, open later at request]

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Talk about a crash landing [Closed to Gene and Tony at first, open later at request]

Characters: Pepper Potts, Gene Khan, Tony Stark
Date: May 14
Location: Metal Sector, possibly the Midnight Hotel and/or the Welcome Center
Situation: Pepper gets pulled to onto Tu Vishan, and someone she's familiar with happens to find her
Warnings/Ratings: N/A

This isn't the first time Pepper has experienced the teleportation of the Mandarin, but it definitely feels like it. Normally she ended up on her feet, or at the very least in the same position as before being beamed out in a giant bubble of light. It always made it hard to see properly afterward, like a huge camera flash going off, and she had to wonder how the Mandarin avoided developing photophobia. Maybe that was why Gene always wore sunglasses, even indoors? she thinks idly.

Her head is spinning - she can tell even though her eyes aren't open, and all the bumps and bruises from the fight with the Makluans are already starting to hurt. Slowly, Pepper peels her eyes open. Her armor's display is still on, which is good, but it seems to be very dark outside for some reason. Oh - she's lying facedown, which is weird, because she was definitely standing up a moment ago. Groaning, Pepper rolls over and sits up on her elbows. She's lying in the entrance of an alley between two tall buildings; her view of the city beyond is...confusing.

Did Gene give Times Square a makeover after destroying it? Makeovers were her territory, how dare he! Either that or he took her to a completely different city, which was almost as offensive.

"Owww." Pepper's head is displeased that she's sitting up fully to look out of the alley. She's glad she's still got her suit on - wherever she is, Pepper does not want anyone to know who she is. She needs to get home, like, right now - Manhattan is still in danger, and even worse, Tony is still in danger. Right now, though, she's just going to lean up against this nice wall here until she trusts herself to stand.

"God, Gene, the least you could have done was drop me off in one of the boroughs!" she complains loudly. "Computer, location."

"Unknown," the interface replies inside her helmet. "Power levels at critical."

"What? Check again."

"Error. Unable to comply."

Pepper is starting to get a little worried now. What's going on?

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~~Don't ask, and they won't tell.~~

"You'll have to get a job," Gene says, and then imagines Pepper getting a job, and regrets every single life choice that has led him to this moment. "I wouldn't recommend Stark Industries right now, though. Zanru doesn't like to hire Foreigners."

Not strictly true, she just doesn't like Tony.

"But there's lots of options. We can help you find something."

Tony rolls his eyes. "She might give you a job if you don't tell her you're friends with me. She can't wait to kick me out again as soon as my contract is over." Then he adds, grudgingly, "They do still pay pretty well."

Then he imagines Pepper clashing with Zanru and... stays mum, trying valiantly to contain his evil glee. Man, if that ever happens, he needs to figure out some way to film it. YES PEPPER, BY ALL MEANS, GO AHEAD AND APPLY TO SI. He'll cover all your shopping spree expenses by selling tickets.

...except kedan self-determination something something goodwill something foreigner-kedan relations blah blah blah. "...There are plenty of businesses actually run by foreigners, too. And it's not too hard to start your own, if you want." See? He can still be diplomatic.

"Sooo, you're working there but not running the place." Pepper gives Tony a funny look. "Are you sure you're Tony Stark and not some robot replacement?"

Better get working on that Keeliai camera, Tony, 'cause Pepper doesn't care who or what is running SI when Tony should be at the helm. She's an equal-opportunity disruption. Where does she sign up?

"Oh." She looks a little crestfallen. This is genuinely concerning. "I don't know what I would do. I doubt SHIELD has a satellite office here."

"You can do pretty much anything. I'm teaching at the dojo now." Teaching at the dojo, which is owned by the guy he rage-murdered. Pepper does not need to know that. Not ever. He smiles. "Want to see me beat people up for money?"

It's not a bad gig, all things considered.

Okay, okay, he's nice about it. And he actually does let himself be thrown from time to time, to demonstrate. Otherwise, how would they learn?

"Yeah, it's this thing called 'diplomacy,'" Tony says, with sarcastic air quotes. "I don't like it."

Gene's suggestion of the dojo briefly distracts him from his perpetual resentment over the state of Stark Industries. He grins. "Hey, maybe you should work at the dojo with Gene. You could get paid to beat people up, too. Isn't that your dream job?"

Edited 2015-06-19 08:30 (UTC)

"You're teaching." Pepper is not sure what to say to that. Gene always had this 'holier than thou' attitude and was always irritated whenever they didn't know as much as he did. "Well, it's a lot better than seeing you beat Tony up and way more productive." She thinks about this for a moment. "Could you teach me to beat people up? You know, without the armor."

It's almost as good as getting to arrest people and is probably good training for when she does try to arrest someone, which, let's be honest, is inevitable.

Gene's changed a lot in the past three years. Granted, he still has a bit of a short fuse, but he's been working on that. Honestly.

"I could," Gene says, a little warily, sine he knows Pepper and thus knows just about exactly what he'd be getting into. "Though you would have to do what I say."

It's really a toss-up between how mad she still is at him and how much she wants to learn the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon shit he pulled off while fighting the Makluans.

"That'll be fun to watch," Tony says, stifling a snicker by taking a sip of tea. "Yunxu's going to have some competition, if you learn to kick butt in and out of the armor."

You know, maybe he shouldn't have said that. If anybody would have the nerve to challenge Yunxu and Zanru to their faces, it would be Pepper. If he gives her too many ideas, in place of a kedan mafia they might find themselves with a Queen, as beautiful and terrible as the dawn. All shall love her and despair!

Gene's offer, in the abstract, is highly appealing. The addendum to that offer is much less so - Pepper doesn't like listening to the rules set by other people. She's not entirely sure she could listen to and follow Gene's directions on a good day, much less when she can't decide between hugging him and punching him.

"Well, it sounds like I'm gonna need it around here, if people are getting attacked. It's not like I can wear the armor everywhere." She takes another sip of tea. "Who's Yunxu? Is he part of SI, too?"

Gene let out a tch! at her question, though more in annoyance at Yunxu than at Pepper asking. "He's the leader of the Snakes. They're the local gang that's taken it upon themselves to act as law enforcement around here. They're corrupt, and they took advantage of our absence to overrun the city."

That's...a little vitriolic for someone you barely even know, Gene.

"I don't have what I need here to reconfigure your armor to fold up into a backpack like mine," Tony agrees apologetically. Some non-armored self-defense lessons couldn't hurt.

He nods at Gene's description of the Snakes, his expression darkening. "At least the Metalworkers want to help the kedan." Even if Zanru's a huge bitch about it. "The Snakes just want power and control."

"Gasp, the great Tony Stark has been bested by magical turtle alien dimensions?!" Pepper teases. Now that she's had some time to absorb all of this information (as well as the tea - Gene wasn't wrong), she's starting to feel more normal.

Just as with the mention of Zanru, Pepper's expression hardens at the explanation of Yunxu and the Snakes.

"You're saying a lot of words that I both don't understand and really don't like at the same time." Gangs. Power plays. Violence. "Just like home," she muses absently.

"...more like home than you might expect at first," Gene says, and nods. "I guess some things just don't change, no matter where you are."

And some things do. Exhibits A through Z: this entire conversation being civil and not full of punching and handcuffs.

"Resources here a really limited," Tony grumbles, feeling the need to defend himself even though the conversation has already moved on.

"At least the criminals and gangs here don't have power armor and laser rifles." He pauses, then concedes, "...though they do sometimes have magic." Case in point: the gravity orb that the mugger had used to steal his soul gem.

"I think I'd prefer the armor and the lasers and the really stupid villain names." Pepper yawns, suddenly very tired. This has been a Day. "Are we sure it's magic and not, like, Doom quantum whatever?"

She tries to stifle another yawn, and fails.

"So, this has been a completely not-awkward reunion, but I think I could use a nap," she says tiredly. "Please tell me they have normal beds here."

"Some of it's definitely magic - or at least, something we don't understand yet," Gene says.

And...yeah, they should probably get Pepper to the Hotel. "The beds are normal enough, even if little else is. We can take you to the Hotel and get you set up."

Tony shrugs, looking resignedly annoyed, and says, "It's easier to just call it magic. Nobody who uses it can tell you anything scientifically useful about how it works." Other than his continued experimentation with sigils, the obtuseness of magic remains the mildly frustrating background radiation of his life in Keeliai.

And speaking of magic: "The Hotel is a good place to stay while we finish one of our extra rooms for you." The house is basically done, but the extra spaces are lacking in some essentials, like furniture. "It's got everything you need, and it's designated neutral territory, so you don't have to worry about anyone bothering you. It's got access to all the sectors of the city, too. Because it exists in its own pocket dimension." Minor detail.

"Knowing you, you'll figure it out eventually," Pepper replies sleepily. If they're here long enough, she's sure he'd make some strides, but she hopes they aren't here that long.

"Yes, please. If it's in a pocket dimension does that mean I have to wear jeans?" Dimensional physics was never her hobby, Tony.

"Um, I don't think they have denim here," Gene says lightly. "So you're probably fine."

He stands up from the table. "Let's get going. You look dead on your feet."

"Not that kind of pocket," Tony says, grinning. Gene's right: Pepper's practically falling asleep in her chair. Understandable, given what her day's been like.

Tony pays the bill while Gene gets Pepper up and moving again. Tony would suggest that Gene teleport them, but he doesn't think Pepper's in a good place to appreciate that right now, no matter how tired she is.

"Ready? The Hotel is just a couple more blocks."

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Talk about a crash landing [Closed to Gene and Tony at first, open later at request]

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Am I going to have to make a plot request of the mods at this rate? xD

triple dog dare you

fuckin do it

I so will I am excite

vigilante pepper? vigilante pepper

so, you mean, normal pepper

Yes, basically ;)

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