thisavrou | [Video] (Backdated: End of January)

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[Video] (Backdated: End of January)

[Hello Moira crew, did you miss him? Probably not. Hell, he doesn't even recognise half the names on the roster anymore, so most of you probably didn't even know he was here. But he's back, not so much in black, and he's getting reacquainted. He's been out of cryo for a bit, but he's been trying to make sense of everything going on until that nifty little warning he saw on the network. A+ everyone. You managed to tick some new race off without the help of a Stark. Which, he seems to be the sole Stark onboard now. That's depressing.]

Okay, can anyone fill me in on who we pissed off this time, since I've been a little out of the loop as of late? Well, actually, until semi-recently, I've been an ice cube. Cap--saw your name on the roster; welcome back buddy--next Cap-cicle joke I make, you're allowed to deck me. I think I have freezer burn, I swear. Is that even a thing I can have? Medical gives me a clean bill of health, but I think I want a second opinion.

What was I saying? Oh, right. A recap would be nice. Stark out. [He waves at the camera and cuts the feed.]

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Surprisingly? We pissed off no one. We just found ourselves stuck between a planet-wide government institution guised as a dating service and some kind of rebellious group trying to take down the whole thing. Not really sure where things are headed from this point onwards, but as you can imagine... probably somewhere downhill.

[ Bruce manages a smile, though. He is genuinely happy to see his friend around again - even if he wouldn't want him to be stuck here, along with the rest of them. ]

Nice to see the ice didn't freeze your tongue.

Edited 2016-02-04 16:55 (UTC)

I don't think we've annoyed anybody...lately. You can fix that, if you like?

[Please don't...]

Damn. And here I was hoping things didn't roll smoothly while I was gone. Guess that's too much to ask--not that I was wishing for a catastrophe. IF anything catastrophic happens, it's NOT because I'm back. Since, I technically never left. That's all I'm saying.

[He's mostly babbling to hear himself talk, you know how it is, Brucie. But he does smirk hearing the quip.]

Oh, you could only be so lucky. Fortunately, you're still blessed with my rambling dialogue. No adverse effects in that department. It's good to see a friendly face, though. How's space life been treating you?

[ Really, Tony? Now isn't the time for jokes, especially when they've had their hands full dealing with a lot of... well, a lot. So, he's just going to ignore literally everything he's said and ask the questions instead. ]

A few things have changed since you've been out. [ Gone? He had mentioned cryo. ] What's the last thing you remember?

I'm sure I will. Alas, it's my curse.

[Oh, he probably will.]

How's things, gorgeous?

That's what I'm afraid of. [So dry it's practically arid.

That last word gets him a snort for his trouble.] I've been doing all your work in engineering, how do you think things are?

[Please, she'd probably have been down there anyway.]

C'mon Tali, I wouldn't be me otherwise.

[His grin is genuine at that.]

Well, consider me back on active duty. Nose to the grindstone to keep me out of trouble. Or, you know, get us both into trouble. However you wanna look at it.

Tony?

Uh, you've missed a lot, bruv. We blew up one planet and got matched up with our 'soulmates' on this one.

[Leave it to Steve to be a buzzkill. Sheesh.

He frowns, thinking back. It really wasn't all that long ago to him.]

That planet with the drugged air. Uh, Exuo, I think the other me called it? We were rescuing our people. You, me, and the kid, Eggsy. After that, you vanished and I took a really long nap.

In the flesh, Eggs Benedict.

Back up. How the hell did we blow up a planet? Better yet, WHY did we blow up a planet? I think I just won a bet somewhere. I'm sure someone was taking bets that I'd be the cause of planetary implosions.

So, who's your soulmate, kiddo?

Well, in terms of catastrophe it's a little difficult topping up destroying an entire planet. [ And that hadn't been Tony's fault to begin with, so. Have a cookie for that. ]

We did have a monster roaming the ship last month. Killed a captain and a crew member, and it marked a number of us. [ He tugs down the collar of his uniform just enough to show the vein-like black marks poking out, going along the side of his neck. ] We got it locked up, though, then arrived at this planet. Things were actually more or less quiet for a while, then about ten days ago there were some kind of planetside terrorist attacks, and now... we're waiting, I guess.

[ Which is even worse-- Bruce knows something is going to happen eventually, he's sure the whole crew does, and they're all on edge because of it. ]

Guess I should count myself lucky I usually don't mind hearing you talk. [ Well, only about half the times, but that's still a step up from the 'just shut up Tony' consensus. ] I'm doing... fine, I guess. Things could be better, but considering everything, I can't really complain.

[ So... all of that was before he showed up. Good to know. ]

It's been about a month for me. You were out longer than that. [ So probably two? Steve's unsure of the time gap. ] What about back home? You remember anything different?

[Eye roll.]

Basically the people told us to leave and somebody messed with Bruce. Things got big and green, their planet Ingress got hit, the planet exploded, and I died.

It ain't you, if that's what you're hopin for. Her name's Jacky, but I don't think the soulmate thing is legit.

Ah...

So there is another dude they gave your bed to, Man.

Sorry about that.

I am glad you're not dead.

Big and green. Those are words I know too well. Okay, so you all met one of my favorite teammates.

You
died?
The hell?
Who let my favorite kid die? They brought you back from that? Damn, medical's good here. Okay, I'm no longer worried about freezer burn.

Damn. How did you know my secret fantasy was to be a pedophile? Sorry kid. I roll tall, strawberry-blonde, and busty. But you'd be my close second.

Too bad. Did you two at least stay friends?

Edited (Ugh. Editing words so they're American. XD) 2016-02-04 21:20 (UTC)

Yeah, they stuck me with a kid. Eh... I'll live.

Thank you. I'm glad I'm not dead, too. Was that--was that in question?

And hey, good to see another familiar face.

You've only been back about a month? Is that what I'm getting here? Okay, I can work with that.

[Steve, dear. You're gonna have to tell him sooner or later that you don't remember their fun and games.]

Nah. Same ol', same ol'. You? Did you catch up to me yet?

[ From the sound of it, this guy already has plenty of connections. That means there's probably a few people who have jumped to fill him in, which leaves Snake to focus on the portion of the broadcast he finds of particular interest.

He sends back a video clip. He's in the cargo bay, but it doesn't look like he's got much to do. Hence sending this message. ]

You were in one of those cryo units? Do you remember anything before you ended up there? Or during.

I sort of worry about that every time someone disappears. You never know.

So they tell you about all of the things that have been happening?

Go big or go home, huh? Okay, do I even wanna know how that happened? Or why that happened? Are we setting the bar a little high for the disaster-prone or what?

[At the sight of the marks on Bruce's neck, the humour drains from his features and he stares closely. One of his best friends--one of the only friends that doesn't tell him to shut up on a minute-by-minute basis--has strange black vein-like things crawling up his neck. The last time he saw something like that, he was dying, so if he's a little concerned about you, he's warranted.]

Bruce. Buddy. Have you been to medical? That looks serious. And wait, you caught this thing and didn't flush it out an air lock? Really? It killed a captain and we're what, holding it in the brig? Marked you for what?

[You're not allowed to die, Bruce. Just so you know.]

[ Right. Sometimes he forgets what Tony was here for or not. ]

Glass planet. They wanted us to leave. I was trying to get people back to the Moira, and I was... attacked. [ Tony can probably imagine what came out of that. ] Someone in the crew actually tried to stop the other guy, but it only made things worse. We damaged the Ingress on the planet, and it just... cracked open and folded in on itself.

[ All that is delivered in a plain tone, almost detached. He's explained what happened time and again by now, relived the whole thing in his head more times than he even cared to count, and right now he really doesn't want to give all that the weight and seriousness that it's due. He's tired of it, just... tired.

He smiles feebly at Tony's concern, though, letting his collar cover most of the mark again. ]

It's fine, Tony. This is almost two months old, and yes - I have been to the medbay about it. Physically, I'm fine. This doesn't hurt, nor does it do anything to me. At least not so far. Most days I don't even remember it's there until I look into a mirror. [ Not that it doesn't weird him out anyway, but he's kind of learned to ignore it. ] It was how the Ploiatos operated - that was its name. It touched you once, it marked you. It touched you twice, it killed you. It was fast in the dark, and if someone happened to be alone, they didn't even see it coming, then they passed out. That's what happened to me.

[ Calm down Tony, he still can't die, not even here. Not so far, anyway. ]

[ It's unfortunate that she doesn't have the leeway to roll her eyes. ]

I am sure it is only a matter of time before someone becomes annoyed, Iron Man. Experience suggest it's inevitable.

[ Not her, mind you. She would never give him the satisfaction of knowing he could get under her skin. Any Stark, even ones that aren't technically the ones she knows. ]

I'm still trying to wrap my head around it all myself.

[The video doesn't start until Pepper says that, doesn't show how long she's spent staring at the feed, scarcely able to believe it's him. Bruce had told her at the very start that while Tony once resided on this ship, he'd vanished from it, presumably gone home just as Steve had. Yet here he is, with all the attitude and annoyance she'd expect to see given their circumstances.

For the record? She has missed him, dearly.

But on top of everything that's happened, there's also a lot that Tony implies. Ice cube, freezer burn, and Bruce had mentioned working in cryogenics, right? The purely logical portion of her mind can put it together easily enough, but it's still got to fight against the part that's getting used to all of this, even after spending nearly a month here.

And the budding realization that Tony's been here, captive and helpless, the entire time. She sucks in a breath, unable to keep her voice steady any longer. He's been here the whole time.]

...Being frozen isn't a good excuse for being late.

[He knows that voice better than he'd recognise anything else in his entire life. He'd checked the comm for people he knew had been here before but he hadn't looked that far. He never expected her to be here. He was both relieved and further worried now. He'd said before that his only hesitation enjoying his involuntary flight in space was leaving Pepper behind, but with her here she was in danger.

Damn the lopsided grin that tugged at his lips, though.]

Technically, from my point of view, you're the one that's late. I'll accept your apology if you join me for dinner in the mess hall at 1900. I promise I'll actually be mostly on time.

Where are you, Pepp? How long have you been here?

[He's looking her over as best he can through the video to make sure she isn't injured.]

So I'm not the only one who's been brought back for a second run here.

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