Video;

[manofiron]

[ The video begins with a dark-haired man centered in the middle of the frame. He’s got dark eyes, a precisely cut goatee, and hair that’s a little too styled to be naturally that neat. There isn’t a lot to see beyond his chin, he’s sitting too close to the camera, but what can be seen looks vaguely like a shirt of shiny red metal.

His brow knits almost immediately after the feed starts recording, his expression edging toward disbelief as his lips twist into a mild frown. ]

Look. I get it. In a time of crisis, rationing’s necessary to keep resources moving in the right direction. Perfectly understandable. You guys needed to save your turtle. What responsible citizen wouldn’t do their part for that noble cause?

[ There’s a slight hint f sarcasm creeping into his voice, as though he’s heard the whole turtle spiel already and not only hasn’t been impressed, but also doesn’t really buy it either. Not even after having spent half a day scouring the network for information about what’s really going on here before making this video. ]

But really? Twenty bucks?

[ The low, indistinct murmur of another voice can be heard, though what it’s saying and who it belongs to is anyone’s guess. Whatever it says, it’s enough to make the man roll his eyes. ]

Juulan. Whatever. Doesn’t matter. The point — [ Whether he’s talking to the camera or the unidentified voice is unclear. ] — is that it isn’t enough for a day, let alone the entire bogus adventure.

[ It isn’t so much the way he looks at the camera – his eyes have never left it – but the change of his tone, less querulous and more curious, that indicates that he’s talking to whoever’s on the other end of the console. ]

So really. Turtle propaganda aside. What’s a guy gotta do to get some decent money around here? Sell his organs? Hit the street corners? Scrub barnacles off the bottom of the turtle? What?

Comments

video;

[angermanaging]

[Bruce really tries not to admit to the lurch of relief that he feels at seeing this post. The truth is, there's still so many unanswered questions about what's going on here-- he hadn't known what actually happened to Tony when he disappeared. He was just as likely to be dead as anywhere else, if anyone here could be said to die.

And this one was probably just another clone, a new one from a fresh batch, he thinks sardonically to himself. He really shouldn't be getting excited about it.

But there is a relief at seeing him physically there, just as much Tony as ever, intact and maybe a new clone but at least not dead or trapped somewhere. There might be a slight smile hovering around his expression at seeing him, Bruce leaning back in his creaky chair and looking into the camera like he has all the time in the world. There's the recognizable signs of a lab behind him.]

I have some shares in Stark Industries floating around, for some reason. [Because you'd given them to me for reasons I still can't fathom.] But I really don't want your organs in exchange for them.

[This is how you greet back a close friend that you'd been worrying over for a few weeks, right? Refusing to acknowledge the emotional underpinnings and focusing on the blithe jokes? Right.]

[manofiron]

[ He knows he's there. He's seen the posts he's made. But knowing that he's been there and is there right now are two different things. Although how Bruce Banner gets somewhere exciting before Tony Stark does, Tony doesn't know, but he intends to find out. ]
 
You sure? Some of them might be worth something.
 
[ Talking of organ trading a perfectly ordinary way to greet a friend he hasn't seen in days and who has inexplicably turned up on a turtle. At least, Tony thinks so. ]
 
You know, when I dropped you off at the Port Authority, I thought I was going to be getting a postcard from Africa or one of those countries with all the consonants that end with stan. Not Turtleworld. Which, by the way, I never got.
 
[ Judging from the way he's looking at the camera, he's extremely disgruntled about this lack of imaginary postcard that he didn't know he didn't receive until right now. It lasts for all of two seconds before he smirks at him, like he's just had an ingenious idea. ]
 
So you should make it up to me and bring me one now. And then you can tell me what's really going on, because this place is ridiculous.

video

[backwordscompatible]

[Well...there was a slightly familiar face she hadn't been expecting to see again so soon. Pepper and Jack would certainly be happy. Then again, judging by the video--unless this was some kind of elaborate ruse (she honestly wouldn't put it past someone like Tony)--he had no memories of being here before.]

[It wouldn't be the first time.]

I hear lemonade stands were all the rage way back when.

[manofiron]

[ His eyebrow rises. ]

Either you're calling me old or you're insinuating that I've got the mentality of a twelve-year-old.

[ Technically, he can't really argue with that assessment. Middle age isn't old, but it's not twenty, and he has been known to carry on in less than a mature fashion. Sometimes. ]

Do you have a job? What do you do here?

Video

[excessivehubris]

[There is something familiar about this man's speech pattern but it's eluding Charles at the moment and then he's being distracted by the list of possible 'jobs'.

In fact, he's chuckling softly as he responds.]

I do not know what one might receive as payment for scrubbing barnacles off the bottom of the turtle but it is quite possible that I would pay to see you attempt it!

[manofiron]

Really?

[ This sounds promising. Brightening, Tony leans forward slightly, tiny smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. ]

How much are we talking here?

[ The suit can go underwater. It's totally doable. ]

[doesthemath]

I could give you a job washing the swizards if you'd like.

[This she says with a somewhat obviously too-sweet smile as she gives him a curious look. He seems somewhat like the Stark who was here before, rather than the one from her world, but she can't help but ask.]

I expect it's too much to expect that you know who I am, yes?

[manofiron]

[ Tony doesn't have the first clue what a swizard is, but in the presence of a gorgeous woman, he's willing to pretend. What he can't pretend is that he knows her. An examination of his memory turns up nothing, and he'd like to think that if he had known her, he would remember. ]
 
I don't know. You let me wash your swizard, I'm sure we could get to know each other just fine.

video

[knewtoomuch]

[Balthazar isn't above helping anybody. All he wants is work, right? Not that he will personally offer it, but a suggestion's a suggestion.]

Since you mentioned street corners, we do have some lovely brothels around here. I'm sure the ladies would love it.

[manofiron]

[ Okay, this guy? Tony likes this one. ]

You think I'd do pretty well? Have lots of clients?

video;

[definingfuture]

[He was really considering just not saying anything. They were bound to run into each other eventually, so he didn't really need to say anything to make it happen. But that wouldn't be as fun as popping in on him on the first day. There's some mental note about common courtesy in there too, although that isn't the reason he connects.]

Take two.

You could always become an entertainer. I hear that's always good money.

[manofiron]

[ There's the tiniest hesitation before he says anything. He knows who he's looking at. The face is a little younger than the one he sees in the mirror and the eyes aren't the right color, but that's him. A younger, blue-eyed him and while this isn't the strangest thing that's ever happened to him, it's certainly in the top five. ]
 
Like a magic act?
 
[ Maybe he's seen the Prestige too many times - and really, once had been enough - but looking at himself, he can't help that that's the path his thoughts take. ]
 
You want to join me, we could probably sell out a few hundred shows.

video;

[pandoricas]

I'm not sure if you can manage to scrub the bottom of the turtle.

[It is a pretty big turtle.]

[manofiron]

Really? Why? Is it shy? Doesn't like being touched?

[ He's Tony Stark! He can do anything! Except for a long list of stuff he can't do that he ignores. ]

video;

[trainwrecked]

[... if he hadn't seen Tony(s) before, his first thought at that post would still have absolutely been Stark. Really.]

Hey, you'd be surprised how far twenty bucks can go, if you've got the rent paid, it's summer, and you pay attention to what you're doing.

[The first two being actual circumstances. The third, up to Tony.]

Just arrived?

[manofiron]

[ Is this guy for real? He sounds like he's for real. And some kind of young, darker haired Steve Rogers clone of frugality. ]

Yesterday. Got the whole weird alien welcome.

[ Okay, he has to ask. ]

Okay, I'll bite. How far does it go?

Video

[the_other_eight]

[Pepper had no idea Tony had arrived. That's what happens when you don't ignore your day job and overwork yourself thanks to grief and being a work-a-holic. When she does see it though, she almost forgets to breathe. That's defiantly her Tony and she thinks she can hear JARVIS in the background. She's pretty sure that shiny red is the suit peeking into the video - and he's from about the same time she is.

Trust Tony to go home, save the world, and be back in time to not let the bed get too cold.

When she turns on the video she can't hide the tears glossing in her eyes as they scrunch into one of the brightest and happiest smiles that she's shown in weeks. When she speaks her voice hitches. It's thick with emotion.]

This is why I don't let you handle PR.

[She presses her lips together tightly, trying to stop herself from smiling. It doesn't work.]

Where are you?

[manofiron]

[ Bruce told him that she was going to be upset, but she doesn't look upset. Of course, Tony knows that he isn't always the best at reading emotions. He's actually kind of the worst. But she looks happy. In that crying-doesn't-actually-mean-I'm-sad kind of way that never fails to leave him feeling slightly confused and wrongfooted. ]

Let me handle PR? Excuse you. I don't want to handle it.

[ Her next question is a little more difficult to answer. Ostensibly, he knows where he is, but damned if he knows how to explain it. ]

Uh, Turtleworld city? Is there more than one? I've got a place in the Fire District. Sector. Whatever.

Video; fire sector cafe

[backinakidflash]

So. In order:

One that would starve on the rations.

Yes, really. If it was cheap, we'd all live like kings. Then what would separate us from the Emporer?

Work two jobs or find the latest novel use for tribbles. Pretty sure your organs are incompatible with most of the population. Too many people would arrest you. I think the Atlanteans either took those jobs or they'd be all barnacles-are-fish-people-too. Chicken butt.

Got any more? The other you is more about the nature of the universe.

[manofiron]

[ Okay, he can get behind this guy's question answering style. ]

Our sense of style? Our connection to the poor huddled masses? Not having a big gaudy throne?

That's the trouble with tribbles, figuring out what the hell to do with them. [ There's more trouble than just that, but Tony will be damned if he's going to look clueless in front of a guy who obviously knows more about what's going on here than he does. ] Are barnacles fish people? Or are they shell people?

And no, sorry. I already got the whole nature of the universe thing figured out. That's what I did last weekend.

video;

[wintershepherd]

[ He doesn't even listen to the message in its entirety (mores the pity as that would probably have changed his reaction quite a bit) but just flips the video to reply with a joyful beaming smile. ]

You're back! That's gotta be the shortest round trip ever! I knew you wouldn't stay gone lo-- does Pepper know you're back? Tell me you called her first!

[manofiron]

[ Some people might find empty space talking to them disconcerting. But Tony talks to JARVIS on a daily, even hourly, basis. This is so normal it's almost like being back at home. ]

She called me, I didn't call her. Which is good, because the last time I tried to call her, she didn't pick up the phone. [ And then he almost died. But he's not going to think about that right now. Or bring it up. ]

Why? Is she complaining about my phone habits?

Video;

[parallels]

What d'you think we'd use to scrub the bottom of a city-sized turtle? Something tells me a sponge isn't going to cut it.

[manofiron]

I don't know. People adapt tools to their environment. This one's a giant turtle. People are nuts about their pets. I just assumed someone would adopt it, the Save the Turtle Foundation or whatever, and by now there'd be turtle washing parties, birthday celebrations, that whole crazy nine yards.

video;

[storm_warning]

[Ororo's sitting -- well, curled up is more like -- at her console when this one hits the network and wow does her eyebrow raise up.]

Seriously? Another you? How many's that make now? [She leans back in her seat.] You're, like, number three. Of you. Maybe you should just sell your clones. Or whatever they are.

[manofiron]

[ If there's one thing this place has going for it, it's the number of gorgeous women that call it home. ]

Just goes to show you, the multiverse can't get enough of me. Why? Were you thinking about buying one of those clones?

[urbanmagic]

[Wait, didn't he manage to get off this place by his choice? And now he's back? Aaaand he doesn't remember a thing, it seems. Well, guess that was a bust, thinking someone actually figured it out. Ah well.]

Would you be able to do it if you actually scrubbed the barnacles off?

[manofiron]

Probably. I don't see why not. Do you?

[ He's Tony Stark. He can do anything. And he's going to keep telling himself that so he doesn't have to consider the possibility that he can't. ]

late tag is late

[everylittlegirl]

Aren't you supposed to be a genius or something?

[manofiron]

Or something. You can test for genius. There isn't a test for me.