manofiron: (kinda working here)
Tony Stark ([personal profile] manofiron) wrote in [community profile] tushanshu2013-07-29 10:01 am

Video;

[ 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?
definingfuture: (Default)

[personal profile] definingfuture 2013-07-29 06:24 pm (UTC)(link)
An act performing the miracles of science. Although it could be magic. Technically, we haven't ruled that one out yet.

[He's not sure how they copy memories, but at the moment Tony's thoughts are running along similar lines. His choice of focus, however, is likely different. The mental image he has is an assembly line of heroes, all lined up by different models, waiting to be the next one sent out into the world.

So this is the other Tony. He looks right, so that's one question out of the way. The little differences aren't too important--he's not a kid or some unrecognizable version of himself--and that's most of what he wanted to confirm. He flashes his double a smile. There is a show of smug pride laced in the gesture too. This is Tony Stark he's dealing with.]


Too bad they've already seen this trick once. We'd have to come up with a better finish.
definingfuture: (Default)

[personal profile] definingfuture 2013-07-30 01:47 am (UTC)(link)
Right, except when it's magic. Then it's just magic.

[He's not promoting the idea, but he's had time to swallow the pill. It's uncomfortable and not remotely tasteful, but so is a lot that he ends up dealing with. At least he's helping this Tony be prepared for the magic that he's going to run into. Then again, sometimes magic is actually alien technology, so this Tony does have a point.]

You think you can come up with something that will impress the magicians in this place?

[It's kind of funny to hear himself talk about them in plural and their relative intelligence. They're definitely some of the smartest men in the world. And others, that's not really a question. But hearing his mirror image say that is not what he was expecting when he woke up that morning. It strangely reminds him of earlier days, even though the man is clearly older than him.]

Don't be too sure about that yet. They can surprise you.
definingfuture: (Default)

[personal profile] definingfuture 2013-07-31 12:51 am (UTC)(link)
Well, you're in luck. You just won the magical lottery.

[He likes himself. That really shouldn't be strange, but considering everything, Tony is kind of surprised that he does. He smirks when the other Tony doesn't even bat an eye at the warning. He's good at improvising. It would have shocked him if this Tony wasn't, but it always pays to check before laying things out.]

I can't wait until they start pulling out the other surprises then. This isn't Asgardian technology. We'd be lucky if it were something familiar. No Thor either, although there are some Avengers around. Not all from the same place. Like you and me: similar but different.

By the way, be gentle. You were here before me.
definingfuture: (Default)

Private; encrypted 100% unhackable

[personal profile] definingfuture 2013-07-31 07:36 pm (UTC)(link)
[Right. No one would handle being told that they weren't really who they thought they were. Particularly not Tony. Luckily he'd been different enough that it never really mattered. He had never been the man they were looking for, which got him off the hook.

He pauses before answering so he can set up an encryption.]


Sort of. A lot of us are originally from other dimensions. There are some people I know here and we all seem to have memories that match up the way the should as far as I can tell. Different lives, but similar faces.

[Maybe he isn't the right man for this job. Well, too late.]

We're also clones. When I first got here, there was already someone named Tony Stark running a company with the same name as the one I used to head. But based off of a different model as far as I can tell. He never mentioned using liquidtech.
definingfuture: (Default)

[personal profile] definingfuture 2013-07-31 11:53 pm (UTC)(link)
[He's not looking at him anymore. He's not eager to get into this topic, because it burns his ego enough to know someone else managed to copy his work. And managed to copy him, which was what he wanted to prevent. But getting mad won't change anything, so he's grudgingly working with it.]

Yeah. Some magic trick, huh?

I haven't been able to figure it out. It shouldn't be possible. There are features that should make it impossible, actually, but we're still here. You can talk to the others about what they've found if you want to.

[Maybe he should have let Pepper or Bruce ease Tony into this. But once again he dove in and just let his gut reaction lead. He scratches the back of his head.]

You're me, so you already have your own way to check. Security features. Sequences that only you'd be able to reproduce. But if we were really the original versions then a giant turtle wouldn't be able to cut off my power supply. At least, I don't think it could.

[Magic always makes things more difficult to guarantee constants, but he hopes that he's biologically autonomous enough that he wouldn't rely on Asti normally.]
definingfuture: (Default)

[personal profile] definingfuture 2013-08-01 06:54 am (UTC)(link)
Trust me, I know. It shouldn't be possible.

[There are parts of them that no one should be able to copy. The wry expression that crosses Tony's face says that he's fully aware of how wrong the whole assertion is, but there isn't much he can do about it.]

But if you check back through the archives on these things, you'll find records of being here before. Or ask JARVIS. Apparently whatever happened to the last Tony Stark from your world didn't happen to his AI. And before you tell me it's a mistake, check it for yourself. You know your own work.

False memories might be possible, but they're not trying to convince us. If anything, it's supposed to be a secret.

[He didn't realize this Tony would have this kind of reaction to cloning. It's far more than pride or questionable technology for him. He can feel the resistance. That push of denial that he has toward anything concerning a higher power. He didn't expect to feel it here.]

A lot of this doesn't make sense. The turtle got sick and somehow that affected everyone's powers. That doesn't make sense either. But if we're being tricked, it's one hell of a trick.
definingfuture: (Default)

[personal profile] definingfuture 2013-08-03 05:31 am (UTC)(link)
[He's right. If they aren't who they think they are, then a lot of that essential meaning is lost. But memories only hold as much value as they are given. That much he believes.]

Maybe you're right. Maybe it's all just a big game someone's playing and we're just the pieces. Does it matter?

[A voice in the back of Tony's mind is telling him that this is his own stubborn form of denial manifesting in front of him. He's also probably just tired of having to catch up after everything that happened.]

You're Tony Stark. All right, great, so while you were out someone did things in your name. Not bad things, either. He was Tony Stark too. If you are some form of me, there are a lot of things that you've done that I'm sure you don't remember. No one is asking you to stop being who you are, Tony. But for everyone else this is round two.

Besides, this is still your legacy.
definingfuture: (Default)

[personal profile] definingfuture 2013-08-03 06:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Right. It doesn't matter.

[He objectively knows that this is an offense to their identities, but he's been shoving that aside because it's just not going to get him anywhere if he panics now. And now that this Tony is planting his feet, he can't understand why he would waste him time with that.]

You're still you. Your friends are here and we kind of need your help if we're going to help them.

[Borrowed or not, it's still part of them.]

If they are just twisting memories, then we need to find out how they're bringing everyone in and how we can get home. And we know that they are taking us from different dimensions whether we're clones or not. I'm not you.
definingfuture: (Default)

[personal profile] definingfuture 2013-08-04 06:16 pm (UTC)(link)
You think they're just churning out these memories to keep us from asking questions? They picked the wrong guys to do it.

[If his life were a lie, they should have stopped a long time ago. The weirdness that he lived through--and at times it was really weird--leaves way too many loose ends.]

I have friends back home. I was actually just starting up a company before this. Things were... not good for a time and I sort of ended up in the hospital. Lost some memories.

[They're just exploring the possibilities. He's cautious about it, dancing around the details, but there's a point to make.]

I still remember making a time machine. I remember traveling to other realms and I don't really go out of my way to do it. If they're coming up with these lives for us, they aren't taking any effort to convince us to stay. Pretty sure Fury would have just made us all soldiers. It would keep us from asking questions. How practical is it to leave so much open if have can implant whatever you want?

I still think I'm me. If I weren't me, I couldn't access the suit or know the things I do. But some things aren't adding up.
definingfuture: (Default)

[personal profile] definingfuture 2013-08-05 01:55 am (UTC)(link)
What about what you don't know?

[It's an off-the-cuff answer, but as he says it the idea sticks. It's one thing to fill them with artificial memories, but another to make those memories coordinate.]

Talk to them. Ask them about your world. You know the first question a friend asked when she met me here was whether or not she had punched me.

[It's not so much the question's answer as the question itself that was familiar. Tony isn't having a breakdown yet. He doesn't like the possibility that the Emperor has recreated his technology, but from what he's seen, they don't know how to use it. And they don't know the significance, or there would be a lot more weapons arming the kedan. The situation is still workable. Just as long as he doesn't think too hard about how it affects who he is.]

I am Tony Stark. Trust me, if they were making our lives up they would have come up with something better than this.
definingfuture: (Default)

[personal profile] definingfuture 2013-08-08 05:42 am (UTC)(link)
Wouldn't really be her any other way.

[The smile is a little dry, but still appreciative. It's one of the better parts of his history. He has to take the good times however they come.]

She's a teammate.

[He can almost see the wall that's up. Not that he blames him. It's an unsolved problem and has been since he arrived there. But he's still going to talk because it's Tony.]

Talk to the ones that are here. Just think of it as a cross-dimensional party that just so happens to be caught in a time loop. The people here are different, but that happens when you jump dimensions.
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[personal profile] definingfuture 2013-08-10 06:45 am (UTC)(link)
Do you? Good for you.

[He has to comment on that. Not really because it's important, but because it's not. It fills the space between them without adding to the tension and makes him feel more comfortable. And Tony doesn't really think twice about approving of that particular decision.]

We keep having this problem with inter-dimensional travel. I think we attract it. I'd say I've been lucky lately, but here we are.

[It doesn't bother him too much as long as he can find a way out. The more unsettling part of this situation is the number of people involved.]

You get used to it.
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[personal profile] definingfuture 2013-08-14 12:04 am (UTC)(link)
We're adaptable.

[He keeps the casual tone to agree with that. Tony doesn't want to break through the act any more than his counterpart does. Everything becomes a lot easier to talk about when you pretend it doesn't matter. And maybe it really doesn't. He hasn't decided about that part yet.]

Anyway, they're pulling us here for a reason. And based on what we've got, they have limited resources. That, or they're just bad at it.

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