tushanshu | Video;

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[ 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?

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[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.]

[ 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.

Don't start auctioning yourself off yet, [he says dryly.] At least not until you see Pepper. Maybe you can convince her to give you more than twenty juulan.

[As much as this is a joke, it's also a silent notice that Pepper's here, and he should probably be looking out for her. Bruce is still mindful that the last Tony had left with the injunction to him to look after her, and he's sure that this counts. She's been more than a little distraught on her own, if hiding it very well.

Then Bruce is looking with tolerant exasperation at the rest of this ramble. Tony really isn't any different, is he?]

See, I don't actually... remember Port Authority. [Though it's nice to know that his future self isn't totally insane.] Timeline discrepancy. But I can tell you what I know. I've been here, uh, four months.

[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.

[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!

I don't think she'd really approve of the whole...

[ He waves a hand, letting his voice trail off and substituting it with a gesture meant to encompass everything. It's offhand and casual, but he's studying him, noticing the differences that his first glance had missed.

Bruce looks subtly younger, which may account for the timeline discrepancy and his lack of memory. But he still obviously knows him, which means... What? ]

Are you trying to renege on your promise? Last thing you said when you got out of the car -- [ His tone turns long-suffering and exasperated in an imitation of Bruce. ] -- "Yes, Tony. I promise I'll send you a postcard."

[ It's bullshit, but if Bruce doesn't remember, then he can't call him on it. And playing dumb has historically been a good way to get information from people. ]

[ 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?

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. ]

[His brow furrows.]

I wasn't being serious. You'd have to come back up for air before you got clear of the shell edge to the stomach.

[Not aware of the suit! Though, Charles does perk up slightly with curiosity.]

Unless you have a mutation that allows you to breath underwater?

[He discreetly glanced at Tony's neck, to see if he could spot any indication of gills. Darwin had been able to adapt but only when in the situation.]

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?

... Right. Which is why you shouldn't, do anything preemptively. And upset her.

[Come on, Tony, don't make this any more difficult for him than it already is. You're relying on Bruce to explain things. He hates explaining things. It feels like opening up and it involves talking. It's only because he legitimately likes him (and Pepper) that he's attempting this indirect form of direction.

At least this other half he can manage more smoothly.] I'm not reneging, I don't remember. The whole-- Avengers. [Oops, is that a note of subtle skepticism?] I don't remember that. I'm from before.

And you were... here, before. That's when we met.

[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.

Pleading the fifth on that one.

[To be fair, Tony, when you're fifteen years old, anybody over the age of 25 can be classified 'old']

I work in a Magic Shop. A bit cliche, but it works for me.

[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.

[ 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.

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

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

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

[It is a pretty big turtle.]

[If it wasn't for the fact that there was no light of recognition in his eyes, she might almost think that maybe this is the Tony she knows. Arching a brow as her smile deepens, Wanda cants her head to the side, gaze unwavering.]

I'm sure we would, though you should be aware that there's a chance you could get bitten.

[ 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.

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. ]

[Rory knows another person who also pointedly ignores the long list of stuff that one shouldn't do, sadly. It seems like people like that are all too universal.]

It might be dangerous.

[...and the turtle is big??]

[... 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?

That depends if being really smart counts as a mutation. Some circles say yes, others say no.

[ Head tipping slightly to the side, he studies the man, trying to figure out what his angle is. Because he sounds awfully at ease with the notion that there are people who have gills.

Maybe he's Asgardian. ]

What I do have is a means to breathe underwater. Not gills though. See? [ He tilts his head further, showing the video the unblemished line of his neck. ] Fishy free.

[ Eyes narrowing, he considers this. Bruce doesn't remember the Avengers. He remembers him because he met him here. Where Tony has, in fact, never been. Except for those two other guys who he's seen on his combing of the network who actually were — are — him.

It's great that the Turtlians... Is that a word? It should be a word. He would ask JARVIS, but he knows he'll have some smartass legitimate answer and that's just not any fun. It's great that they've given him an apartment, but really, he just wants a drink. ]

So we met here and beyond that, you have no idea who I am? [ That's depressing. He doesn't need depressing right now. ] You know what this means, right? It means we have a lot of time we need to make up for. Reintroductions. Hanging out. [ He flicks a finger at the screen. ] I'm not letting you off the postcard hook, FYI.

Cliche? Why's that cliche? It sounds pretty cool.

[ Better to just focus on the magic than dwell on her obviously opinion of his lame, geriatric self. ]

Unless it's the crappy magic. Rabbits in hats, multicolored scarves. That's so pre-alien invasion.

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