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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?
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?
no subject
Yeah. I get that. I know you're not me.
[ But he sees his point. The kedan - he assumes it's them - are getting their memories and personalities from somewhere. They're not just fabricating them. Unless... Are they? There are a lot of things about his world that doesn't make sense. Maybe that's why. Maybe it's because the story he's been fed is a little sloppy in some places. ]
If it's different dimensions, that's easy. Just tear a hole in the space-time continuum. I've seen it. It's possible.
[ And he doesn't want to talk about it. ]
But if we're just meat-suits with implanted memories, there's no guarantee they've come from anywhere. Maybe it's all just fiction. Some kedan paid to write lives for people like screenwriters write movies. I fly around in a metal suit. How realistic is that really?
no subject
[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.
no subject
I’d like to think that too. Things only I know that couldn’t be replicated. But where’s the control in that experiment? What do I know that only I truly know? What can’t be fabricated?
[ He isn’t a philosopher. He’s never wanted to be. But cloning and memory implantation, something he only knows through science fiction, is a slippery slope and it’s easy for the paranoia to take hold. ]
Who knows? I don’t have the answer to that. Not yet.
no subject
[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.
no subject
[ Not that he doesn't remember people like that. Might not be the same person, he hasn't seen many familiar faces since he woke up, but he's known plenty of people who would've liked to have taken a crack at him. Or had.
]
I see some of them, I'll talk to them. Timelines are a little skewed with the ones I've spoken to, though. Makes it harder.
no subject
[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.
no subject
How they're different. And why. ]
I try to keep the partying to a minimum these days.
[ The last one hadn't gone over so well. ]
Still, when in Rome...
no subject
[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.
no subject
[ It's offhand and casual, but it has to be. He doesn't do feelings, and maybe it should be easier with himself, with someone who knows how important it is to avoid them and present an untouchable exterior, but it's not.
Maybe that's just because he's feeling superfluous. He's never been very adept at dealing with feeling mediocre and unnecessary. ]
I'll deal. We both will. Something tells me that we always do.
no subject
[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.
no subject
[ Whatever the case, he isn't impressed with what he's seen so far and he isn't likely to be. ]
Which means they'll screw up and we'll all be there to catch them when they do.
no subject
[That should lighten the mood, right? Or get a reaction. He's not sure which he's really going for, but he's talking to himself so it doesn't matter that much.]
no subject
Yeah, good luck getting that to stick.
no subject
[For all the good it would do them.]
no subject
[ Woe unto anyone who tries to put a collar on Tony Stark. Or whoever he's supposed to be. ]
no subject
[There's a challenge in there. Different universes; different experiences. He can't help it. He has to push his luck. Besides, the last one left him feeling slighted so he's getting out some pride he didn't get to before.]
no subject
[ Whatever else is going on, whoever he is, one thing will always remain the same. He will never back down from a challenge. ]
no subject
I only said I could do it. I'd like to think I'm not that into myself, although there are a lot of people who would disagree with me on that point. you've probably got the rest of the city keeping tabs on you right now. I guess I can live with that.
no subject
[ No one's keeping an eye on him, like he's a child that needs monitored. ]
no subject
[Temper. He really doesn't have room to talk, but he's going to take the liberty to point that out anyway. It doesn't bother him here, where no one really knows what he's up to.]
no subject
I don't care what anyone else wants. People can get their kicks nosing into somebody else's business.
no subject
Don't take it personally. It could be worse. They actually like you here from what I've seen.
[Or the last one. The other one. Whatever, he's still wearing his face and is probably closer than he himself is to that world's Stark.]
I was joking. I wouldn't actually do that.
[He gives the other man an almost concerned smile. As if he's actually questioning why Tony would be angry at him for the suggestion.]
no subject
Whatever floats your boat.
[ It's been too long of a day and it's been filled with too many unpleasant surprises. ]
Thanks for the heads-up about the cloning. I'll look into it.
no subject
I thought you might want to. At the very least they are replicating other worlds' abilities with the hope of fighting off their enemy.
[Maybe a parting gift will help. Or not, but he hopes that Tony will look at the bigger problem they have anyway.]
no subject
[ It's non-committal, but at the moment, it's the best he can do. ]
I'll talk to you later.
[ That's all the goodbye he can muster and whether he means it or not, he doesn't know. But for now, he's done socializing with everybody. With a last glance, he turns off the console. ]