11th Command; Video

[aggravating]

[Hey guys. Hey. Guys. Was Tony kickass in that Port or what? Yeah, that's right. He was.

And he is totally lording it over all of your heads for the rest of time.]

So, uh, for the record. We should probably have some sort of actual sane plan for situations like that. Like. The Bargites Guide to Surviving Alien Kidnappings. First chapter: Listen to the Locals and Don't Rush the Aliens.

[And, almost as an afterthought:]

And in case anyone knew her, Pepper Potts went home.

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private video

[aggravating]

[His lips twitch, despite himself. Despite the nagging nausea in his stomach, the pain in that red, slightly swollen spot on his face - it'll probably bruise, and he can still taste blood from where his cheek had caught on a tooth. Damn could Peggy punch - he still manages to feel a spark of tired amusement at what Natasha's saying.

Even if it's amusement tinged with the slightest bit of... well. It almost feels like a sort of weight settling over him. A sad sort of resignation.] Like Fury deals in green cards.

[It's said easy enough, normally enough, and Tony can move again, pushing himself up and off the ground with a grunt, working his jaw as he stares into space for a moment. Finally, the corner of his lips pulls up, into a smirk that's more him than it was before.] But yeah, pass on the whole taking your place thing.

[He glances down at the communicator, a bit of life back in his eyes, a bit of that snarky, billionaire playboy crawling back to the surface.]

I can't really pull off leather catsuits.

private video

[persuadeyou]

[She can see him pulling himself back together - just like she can see that kind of resignation. It's consoling and disheartening at once - because she knows there isn't much more she can do for him. There's only so much anyone can do for him, in the end.

So she keeps an almost smile on her face, and shakes her head; she'll take normal, and she'll give normal back, because it's easier. Even if she could do without that image.]

Please never feel the urge to try.

private video

[aggravating]

[Hey now, some people would pay good money to get Tony Stark in form fitting leather. He tends to avoid them with near military precision, now, but they do exist.

Still, those walls are falling back in place, the mask sliding back on, clicking firmly back in place. Almost as if that entire conversation, that miniature breakdown had never happened.]

Trust me, too much effort to get in and out.

private video

[persuadeyou]

[Luckily she is not one of those people and she really does not want to know they exist somewhere. Really really does not. But she sees the mask come down and knows that's it, this is as far as the conversation is going to go for now. And she's okay with that.]

I'm going to ignore that you sound like you know what you're talking about.

private video

[aggravating]

[It's an easy enough shift, even if it leaves him tired. Leaves him mentally kicking himself for actually opening up to someone who's only goal in life was wheedling out secrets.

And he knew that, too. Which was what made it worse. Because if he knew she was a spy, was on Fury's payroll and he was still letting his guard down?

... That's when things got tricky.]

I'd tell you to google it, but we're kind of out of range right now.

[And so starts the now tradition of seeing who will get frustrated and hang up first.]