Mark I

[mechanica]

video | ota
[ Standing near the entrance to the Bay was a man of average height sporting a rather striking three piece suit and tinted sunglasses. His posture was composed and the persona he projected quite obviously calculated. Upon closer inspection it might be apparent through small points of behavior or in the way he forced his smile that he was much more tired than he cared for anyone to know.

Regardlesss, there had been very few times in Tony Stark's life where he didn't feel the need to engage in theatrics. It was what he had been taught, and it was his way to hide. A safe place to reside in a situation that, had he not already become intimately familiar with things beyond the knowledge of most, would likely have broken him even further than he already was.

Really, it was about needing to stay in control.

The way he looked into the camera was like he had done it a hundred or even a thousand times. He didn't seem to be phased by public speaking at the very least. ]

Greetings, citizens of... Genessia? It was Genessia, right?

[ He put a finger up and pulled out the map he'd arrived with. It went back out of view into his chest pocket after a few moments of being studied. ]

Yep. Just confirmed it in case anyone didn't know. By the way? Shout out to the kind folks who left me the goodie box. Way generous. Wouldn't have expected it. Can only assume the party was great and I was at least 5% sober when I agreed to trans-dimensional travel.

[ He gave a charming grin. ]

Now, I'm not one to be a rude guest -- but curiosity, you know? I can't help but think all of this isn't as simple as the welcoming committee -- again, God bless their souls -- made it out to be. Therefore I come to you, the humble public. Simply put, I'm looking for information. What goes on around here, where you're from, any sort of important details that could have, I don't know, slipped between the cracks? I'm interested. Hit me up.

[ He gave a lazy peace sign and proceeded to pick up the device he'd been using to record on, but just before turning it off he paused and held it up selfie style. ]

Almost forgot. Name's Tony Stark. Expect to hear it a lot.

action, various locations around genessia city & nova city | ota
[ After his successful performance, Tony decided the best course of action was to see everything that he could see. He could be found at various odd locations throughout Genessia City during the day, and Nova City later into the evening. Running into him anywhere and everywhere was very much possible. ]

anonymous text | ota
Need to know if anyone from home is here.

Tell me what the initials S.H.I.E.L.D stood for as proof.

xoxo

Comments

action; Nova City

[highprices]

[Crystal is one of the many viewers of Tony's video. She finds him charming, however his questions weren't ones she was interested in answering. They are common and he'd learn either from those responding or others asking.

She finds her usual path through Nova City, keeping to her usual patterns after the latest horrors. Her heels click pleasantly on the street as her hips pill the eyes down the curve of her lovely frame. A light smile teases her lips with a cup of coffee is wrapped firmly around her fingers.

Seeing Tony on the street makes her pause and pull her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose. Bright shimmering blue eyes stare at him, her expression filled with humor.]

If it isn't Tony Stark. [She steps closer and takes a sip of her coffee before continuing.] I was able to witness your welcome to Genessia. Are you finding you like it?

action; Nova City

[mechanica]

[ He'd known before asking them that the questions were likely mundane to anyone who had been there for more than a week, but he was sort of in a situation where being screwed was the most likely scenario if he didn't ask. Win some, lose some.

By the time evening was coming around, Tony had come to learn about Nova City, which was definitely a big point of interest for him. He still had no destination, but walking the streets and getting to know the place was his brand of intriguing if nothing else.

At the sound of his name he turned, and although the face he found was unfamiliar he certainly couldn't complain. ]

And if it isn't a beautiful young woman that I've not yet had the pleasure of knowing.

[ He didn't miss a beat as usual, his award-winning grin already in place. ]

Honestly? There's a distinct lack of shawarma places around here and it's fundamentally offending me.

[ action | nova city ]

[aceparagon]

[ One thing that Hikaru wasn't expecting was being out of commission for four months. She's used to that if and only if she's seriously overexerted herself and required to be put into a coma. Regardless, it's more than a little unsettling but she's able to adjust rather easily.

She's decided to forgo her hovercar for now and instead focus on catching up on... everything she missed by being in the Dream Docks. The officer needed the walk, anyway, so as to get the lead out. Oh, dear... This was going to take several days to work through.

However, her eyes landed on Tony and she smile, knowing that he wasn't someone that she hadn't seen before. ]

Hello, sir. Are you new here? I can help out if you'd like.

[ action | nova city ]

[mechanica]

[ Tony hadn't noticed the girl before she addressed him, but when she did he raised a brow. Her question implied that she hadn't seen his broadcast. ]

Yikes. Is it that obvious that I don't know what I'm doing?

[ He looked at her as if he was embarrassed, but no later than a second after he gave a polite smile. ]

What kind of help are you offering?

[youfool]

Important details? Why sure.

"Certainly, I can provide extra information beyond the basics. The first thing to know is that everything's very numinous. Spirits are the leaders of the world, though the CPU makes day-to-day announcements. City limits are protected by a barrier, and beyond that barrier lie ravenous spirits, ever eager to make their way in and make a mess.

Oh! But not to worry. It's been a long time since a break-in. And what the spirits want, so far, comes down to two things: one philosophical, one practical.

The first is discovering 'what it means to be alive'. The second is trying to restore the world's population.

There's some debate over whether we were stolen from our worlds, or simply made like copies or clones. You'll have to talk to Liv Moore for more on that; the specifics escape me.

Oh! This one's important. You can't really die here; not so long as you've got some will to live. If you do take a mortal blow, you can come back, but at the cost of an important memory or skill. Those two things are a kind of currency here for this and that.

[mechanica]

[ For possibly the first time in his life, Tony was completely silent for longer than two seconds. The expression on his face grew more and more baffled as the stranger went on and on further and further, and he honestly couldn't even process a comeback or flippant comment to throw into the mix. Was he getting a headache? Because he felt like he was.

It wasn't that he couldn't comprehend the information, really, but more that it was said in such a "don't worry this is normal and totally chill" way that he didn't know if even he could have pulled off spouting so much nonsense in such a short period of time. ]

... how hard are you bullshitting me right now?

[ Yep. Headache. ]

video response

[hero_for_fun]

[Saitma scratches the side of his head.]

I dunno, man, I just showed up here too. This sorta thing happen to you a lot?

video response

[mechanica]

By "this sorta thing" do you mean bizarre phenomena or cross-dimensional travel? Because yes to the first and no to the other.

Video Response

[dives_through_rock]

Someone with confidence. I just wish we'd had the choice to travel like this. I'm not one for traveling alone when I can avoid it, yet... Here I am.

I suspect the phrase 'Dimensional Sea' is unfamiliar to you?

Video Response

[mechanica]

You'd think they could at least have us sign some paperwork first.

[ Tony folded his arms and put his hand to his chin. ]

It won't be if you would be kind enough to explain it.

Anonymous Text | Private to Tony Stark and David Haller

[lunarlegionnaire]

[Totally Stark, if not quite his and David's.]

Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate.

And if it's not, just know I'm from a parallel world and you're Iron Man there too.

Welcome to the party, Shellhead.

Filtered to these two

[rulerofme]

[Not anonymous, unlike these two.]

What the above gentlemen said. Though me and him are from the same world. [Assuming that anon is who he thinks it is.]

action: Nova City

[burning_highway]

Priss had much the same idea Tony had, about scouring the cities for information.

She had no particular reason to find Tony interesting just yet; he was just a normal dude to her. But perhaps someone walking around in a hardsuit -- a heeled hardsuit -- was enough to catch Tony's attention?

So, here she was exiting a dodgy mechanic shop, a chunk of red metal in her robotic grasp. With the visor of her helmet firmly down, it was impossible to tell by looking if she was a person in a suit, or -- perhaps more likely -- a machine entirely.

action: Nova City

[mechanica]

[ Yeah, that was an attention grabber alright. Tony squinted as he studied the exterior of the robotic suit, his eyes venturing away only to note what the person -- he could only assume it was a person -- was holding.

He was a few steps behind, so in the interest of sating his curiosity he lightly jogged forward to catch up. ]

Excuse me? Hi. Robot, A.I., android, cyborg, human in a suit? Something not human in a suit? Inquiring minds need to know.

Text

[alwaysimpaled]

Lemme take a stab at it. Sandwich Having Itinerary Engaging League of Doormen.

Was I close?

anon text

[mechanica]

Spot on, actually.

video;

[stairsbro]

[ clears his throat - pauses with a hesitance to it for a second then opens his mouth. time for words from the kid in the $5 plain black plastic sunglasses and red cape ]

I guess everyone's not so blatantly aware of this shit as I am but we're ticking about twenty thousand times slower than Earth. F.Y.I. I don't want to explain this fucking bullshit so let's just say that if you go home, you're not going to miss a damn thing because it'd be like a millisecond of you disappearing if you're here for a while.

People usually find that soothing. That you basically hit pause on the DVR of your life and this is like a really fucked up bonus round. Is it hard to shave your beard that way?

video;

[mechanica]

[ Poor kid. Look at those sunglasses. ]

That's comforting. I think. Probably more so for me than other people. I imagine they'd like a vacation from me once in a while.

[ Interesting segway. ]

No. I kinda have it down to a science.

anonymous text; private.

[kto]

[ Fuck. ]

Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division.

Nobody is here. Just me. I checked.

anonymous text; private.

[mechanica]

Is it too much to hope that whoever I'm talking to is someone that doesn't hate me?

video;

[nodeathinhope]

I'm new here too, sir, but if you really want to know about Hinamizawa, I don't mind sharing. Nipa~✰

[ That is most definitely one of the most cheerful voices that you'll be hearing here today, Tony. ]

video;

[mechanica]

[ She sure seemed to be taking things... well. ]

Okay, I'll bite. The name is pretty attention grabbing.

[ Japanese, if he was right. ]

[VIDEO & TEXT]

[aphotic_auror]

"Well, hello to you, Mister Tony Stark!" Maria grins into the video camera upon her phone. She likes this bloke, she really does! If she weren't already married so happily to Teddy, why, she might just end up being one of the Genius-Billionaire-Philanthropist-Playboy's Bunnies, here...

"I'm sorry for the— well... Kidnapping, really, but let me assure you that I had nothing to do with selecting the people to— re-populate this world, as my husband has said... Although... Well, if I may say so... I DO think that the Powers That Be chose very well indeed, in your case..." She winked at him, even as she blushed a little, knowing full well that this was a public channel, and thus: her husband was probably hearing this awful flirtation of hers, too!

"I mean— well... how about I just let you get settled in first?

"Oh yes, and if this— G-Phone thingy is bugging you to vote for anyone for the positions of City Guardian, well... I would very much appreciate your vote to go my way, for Maria Selwyn of Everglade..."

[TEXT, later!]

Well... Wait, is this a trick question? SHIELD is actually a borrowed word from the Norse— Skjöldr to be exact!— but anyway. It doesn't "stand" for anything... Although: well... I can think of at least one way to create a Shield: aside from the bloody obvious of actually smelting a bloody bit of metal, that is! Anyway, it's called the Shield Charm: PROTEGO!

[VIDEO & TEXT]

[mechanica]

Hey. Hiya.

[ He gave a small wave. She seemed enthusiastic enough. Before he could get another word in, though, she was off on a tangent. A really long tangent. A tangent so long that he was starting to wonder if she knew him and was some sort of unhinged fangirl.

The flirting kind of sealed the idea in his head. He raised his brows, but kept his confident exterior otherwise unphased. Even if just about everything else she'd said had been a little... off kilter. ]

You know, I was going to get around to asking about the voting thing. Lucky coincidence that you brought it up, all things considered. I might think about tossing one your way. [ Probably not, but it might appease her if he said as much. ] Qualifications?

[anon text; later on]
Okay. Can I be blunt? Let's be blunt. That was so far off the mark from what I was looking for that I can't even comprehend what I just read. Can you read? If you managed to type all of that without knowing how words work I'd be impressed but as it stands I'm extremely confused and a little grumpy about it.

text; Dated: 06/25/2016

[imaginationswoes]

I KNOW THIS ONE!

Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division.

I'm not part of SHIELD or anything but I could totally be. Just saying ... I'd rather stay out of politics tho <3

anon text;

[mechanica]

This is a prank, right? Is this Clint? The guy who can shrink and turn huge? This is Scott Lang, isn't it?

video;

[dolleyed]

It's frustrating, but the 'welcome committee' is pretty spot-on about the amount of info we have on how this place works or how to leave it. There's not much of any of it.

Whatever you have in your homeworld that you think is damn defining? May not exist here. At least that's what it's like for me and I doubt I'm the only one.

[ An annoyed grimace. ]

Someone went on a murder spree lately and they're not yet caught. Welcome.

video;

[mechanica]

I'm gonna call shenanigans on that right now. People always know more than they tell you up front.

[ He'd been on the "not knowing" end a few more times than he would have liked.

The part about not having defining things rung true enough, though. ]

Elaborate or nah?

[ Tony looked a little more frustrated every time someone brought it up the murderer. How hard was it to catch a crazy guy with magic in Genessia? ]

You weren't a victim, I take it.

video

[spoilsfun]

[The video feed opens on a tiny child, not any older than seven, wearing a pair of oversized glasses. ]

You're being much more sensible about this than most people who arrive here.

video

[mechanica]

[ Apparently child prodigies weren't exempt from this dimension hopping nonsense either. ]

I don't see a reason to be anything other than sensible. If you're not sensible you don't get results. Simple. By the way, how do you keep your glasses on your face? Legitimate question.

action; Genessia City

[schrodingersghost]

[The thing about being able to fly, was that is was really hard to resist just using it for random every day things. Like skipping traffic on the morning commute to work. Or making a quick late afternoon trip for ice cream.

Most of the time people didn't even notice. It would involve looking up, and it was surprising how many people never bothered.

Of course, a few months of this had made Danny a little less careful about being spotted. Just like right now, when he came speeding down from the sky and glided down to land on the sidewalk just a little bit in front of Tony.]

action; Genessia City

[mechanica]

[ That was... not entirely expected. Not entirely out of the realm of possibilities, but still unexpected. His eyebrows were raised pretty high at first, but within seconds he looked as if he had taken it in stride all along. ]

Any chance they have good frequent flier miles here?

text;

[strawberrypenguin]

Shields are those things knights have, right?

Though you asked what initials stand for, but I don't know, sorry.

text;

[mechanica]

Know what? That's some beautiful simple honesty. Can you believe someone was rude enough to suggest "Sandwich Having Itinerary Engaging League of Doormen"? I'd give you a good job sticker but I don't know who you are and I'm running low.

Action; Genessia City

[proud_knight_king]

[Saber was walking home with a bag of groceries in her hand as she watched the man who was on the video just a little bit ago walk towards her. She was dressed in her usual clothes of a white blouse and long blue skirt as she approached the man. No sense in not helping where it was due right?]

I believe you were the man who made the theatrics earlier on the device? If there is anything you might need to know, feel free to ask. I have been around for a month or so so I know a few things, or I can direct you to the welcoming center.

Action; Genessia City

[mechanica]

[ He raised a brow at her. ]

Theatrics guy. That's me. How's it going?

[ He tilted his head in acknowledgement before crossing his arms casually. ]

Already been to the welcoming center. Kind of a bore. I did start wondering about something else, though. Is there a calendar system here? As in, what year is it. That sort of thing.

Text, Private

[wizard_redfive]

[Dairine only watches the first minute of the video broadcast before she snaps her videophone closed and tosses it onto her bed. Leaning back, the young wizard rubs her face as bitterness and irritation war in her chest. Of all the people from that world, it had to be freaking Stark.]

[Her issues with the seemingly overconfident billionaire stemmed from her past 'visit' to a world like this. There the name of Tony Stark was well known indeed. He had set up radio, cellphone service, a whole team of law enforcement, and an underground base with the highest security. The internet in Paradisa might also have been his doing, Dairine wasn't sure. No matter where she went in the castle, his name and achievements followed her. Whereas whenever she tried to so much as step in during crises, others would question the wisdom of letting someone her age help out. The disparity really got under her skin, since she too wanted to make a name for herself. Whole star systems knew about her back home, why couldn't she manage to do the same there?!]

[Her actual encounters of the man hadn't helped. Within a few minutes, her irritation had turned into outright dislike. Arrogant, immature, self absorbed... why did he deserve to have such a wide legacy?! Had she bothered to take a moment and get past her first judgement, perhaps she would have noticed that, like a certain King she knew, that confidence was all an act. But the chip on her shoulder hadn't budged, even after Stark had left the castle.]

[Now he was back. Not Steve or Clint or any number of other folks she had gotten to know. It was Stark. Still, she wasn't really in the mood to lash out at a guy who no doubt didn't remember her. There was little point. So at first she intended to ignore him for as long as she could.]

[When the anonymous text shows up later though, Dairine can guess who is behind it. As far as she knows, Stark is the only one there. She bites her lip, debating against replying until she decides screw it. It was only a matter of time before Dairine would have to deal with this. Might as well get it over with.]

[She puts the setting on private, considering how secretive the organization is supposed to be.]

Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division.

But I'm probably not who you're looking for.

Text, Private

[mechanica]

[ All things considered, he didn't really know who he was looking for. Who he was hoping for. But from the look of things, whoever this person was it was someone he hadn't parted on good terms with. Bucky had already told him that no one else was around, though, so unless he was talking to Nat or someone with an equally high skill level in hiding in plain sight it couldn't be someone that they both knew. Maybe it was someone he didn't even know. ]

Depends on who you are. I might be.

[Video]

[brokeyourarm]

[Well, that certainly more theatrical than she was used to seeing. The only one that got to that levels was Mr. Satan and the ridiculous shit he tended to spout. Though this man certainly seemed to be more... sarcastic than touting his abilities that were an outright lie. Perhaps it was worth investigating into more.

She raises a brow as she flicks the video on, leaning against the wall of a particularly nice looking dojo, the sounds of children talking in the background.]

Long story short, from what I've gathered, is that we're stuck here for whatever reason. Though this place is... rather peaceful for the most part, depending on what you do or don't get yourself into. Hell, I'd say this place is far more peaceful than the world I'm from, at least there's no constant threats of aliens trying to destroy the world or my friends and family. [You say that like you know more than just Cell right now, Eighteen.]

And a pleasure, I suppose, Mr. Stark.

[Video]

[mechanica]

Peaceful is what I keep hearing but I'm finding that a hard pill to swallow. What would you recommend I don't get myself into? Besides being murdered, obviously.

[ He squinted at the information she gave about her world. Sounded a little too familiar for comfort, but he just played it off. ]

Aliens? Huh.

[ Tony waved his hand dismissively. ]

The pleasure is mine, miss...? [ Miss whatever her name is. ]

video;

[truesmiles]

Tony Stark. Interesting name. my name is Fai D. Flourite and it depends on what you consider important. You know people think differently after all.

video;

[mechanica]

I'm talking to a Fai D. Flourite and I'm the one with the interesting name?

[ He gave an easygoing shrug regardless. ]

Things like what this place's actual purpose is.

[ There had to be one. ]

video;

[livable]

If you're looking for more information, the Genessian Scientific Research Foundation is trying to find it. We've some things that aren't in the welcome spiel. Mostly things that would make people go "yikes" if it's the first thing they find out, which is why it's more of a ask-first thing. Or just come look at our research since interpretation of the facts isn't really definitive. Some people like the more optimistic reasoning for what they mean.

video;

[mechanica]

Someone who speaks my language? About damn time.

[ It was good to get any answers he could wrangle, but scientific ones were even better. ]

May I? Come look at it, I mean. Things that make me say "yikes" are often all I have to live for.