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[manofiron]

[ Finding out that Pepper's stocks in Stark Industries have been transferred to him - and because she'd been running it, he can only assume that it's the lion's share - and that that means she's presumably gone is not the way he wants to start the day. But it is what it is and there's nothing he can do about it.

He's wearing the suit, though the helmet's off, and the expression on his face is as professionally detached as the matter-of-fact tone of his voice when he speaks. ]

It's come to my attention that Pepper Potts may no longer be in residence in the city.

[ That covers that and he's not lingering on it. If he does, he'll wonder what that means, if some piece of her has gone back to the world she remembers or if she's dead and her body is being recycled or whatever it is they do with clones when they're gone. It isn't something he needs to worry about right now. Not in front of an audience. So he moves right along to business. ]

I've been informed that per her request, her interests in Stark Industries have been transferred to me. For those of you don't know, I'm Tony Stark, and if you work for SI, it means you're working for me.

[ May whatever aliens people consider gods help them all. ]

If you do, I want to know who you are and what you do for the company. If you don't, and you want to, talk to me.

And be prepared for change. It's coming.

[ What that change is, he doesn't know yet. But once he finds out what the company's been doing, he'll figure out the right path for it to take under his leadership. And this time, it's going to be a damn sight better than the last time he was at the helm. ]

Comments

[guiltapalooza]

And you! I know you're the other one, but you should know better. Don't antagonize the reforming villain.

[She's not actually sure Loki is reforming. Or that he's a villain. But it sure sounds good when she says it.]

[definingfuture]

[What the-]

Hey, I'm not the one threatening lives!

[guiltapalooza]

It's called escalating and you were doing it. You can't react to stuff like that.

[definingfuture]

Too late. [Ugh, okay. Maybe this is a good thing.]

[guiltapalooza]

[It's not like she's unsympathetic. She's a bit torn between feeling loyalty for someone she kinda sorta feels like she's friends with but is probably a lying villain, and then someone who's demonstrably the good guy in the exchange and a double of another person she's kinda sorta friends with. It's tough.]

It's not fair, I know.

[definingfuture]

No. You really don't.

[Does it matter, though? He'd like to think it does, but in all likelihood that's his own wishful thinking. It's not his problem. It's not. They'll probably all end up in a worse hell anyway, so why should he care?

Damn the city, anyway.]

[guiltapalooza]

[That instantly closes her off, sympathy drying up. Willow never reacts well to having her input rejected or her feelings invalidated, even when it's justified.]

I'm just a stupid bystander who couldn't understand anything. Right.

[So she'd barged in where she probably doesn't belong. That doesn't stop her from being passive aggressive. Willow's feeling a little desperate for connection with how stranded she is, and therefore extra sensitive to rejection.]

[definingfuture]

[Ouch. Yeah, okay, passive aggressive answers still work on him. And he's clearly the bad guy here, so there's no ground to stand on.]

People died. Good people. I'm sorry if I let that get to me.

[guiltapalooza]

[She doesn't exactly relent, not in her demeanor, still as hard as before. But she relents a little in explaining her perspective, why she'd felt like she could barge in.]

That's why I said it isn't fair. Being the good guy isn't. People die and there isn't an answer. There isn't something you can do about it. Retaliation doesn't bring anyone back, and--

[An exhale, because now this is really getting too personal even for her.

More normally,] I understand more than you think, okay? [Not about this exact situation, but the pattern she can see fitting into her life.]

[definingfuture]

[She seems like a nice girl. That's the thought that he has when he looks up again. Honest. Just a decent person trying to back up her friend from the strange man that was attacking him. That's what she sees, he realizes, and maybe she isn't so far off.

It's not like he's that different, right?

He's still looking at her. Tony should have said something a few minutes ago, but he dropped the ball and he's now just watching the screen. People die and there isn't an answer. He shakes his head.]

There's always an answer. We just don't want to take it.

[guiltapalooza]

[It's partially backing up someone who might be her friend, but more strongly, it's her honed urge to prevent any and all conflict she sees. Conflict means more to Willow than a fight on the network. It means irrevocable, heinous acts, and she's sick of it. Sick of watching it, sick of being part of it-- sick of letting it happen.

She can't do that anymore, she just can't, and she's left floundering without a direction here in Keeliai. So this petty squabble got more energy directed at it than it really merited. She yelled at Loki, too, for good reason, in her mind.

Willow isn't sure what he's talking about, the other Tony, but it sounds far too much like her own mental thought process that had led to her resurrecting Buffy. One of her greatest sins and greatest regrets. She can't help tensing.]

We don't take it for a reason.

[definingfuture]

[Now that he's had time to cool down and actually remember where he is, Tony's starting to realize the position he's in. He fought it--and subsequently Loki--because he didn't want to have to accept that. But this isn't the first time he's been told off either. Even Tony can't ignore the pattern forever. He can play the denial card for awhile, but Loki is the kid here. At least, he seems to be. Maybe they're all wrong about him, but he's certainly not changing that.

And now they're discussing things he didn't want to bring up because he just couldn't keep his mouth shut. Good going, Stark.]

Right.

[They do the right thing because they're the good guys. He hears what she's saying, and it's a nice sentiment. Bullshit. But it's a nice sentiment. He smiles thinly.]

I'll try to keep that in mind.

[guiltapalooza]

[That's not at all the reason. Willow can't believe that being the heroes is enough to make you morally right, not anymore. It's enough to place certain responsibilities on you-- not reacting when provoked, not killing anyone, never making anything worse. There's weights that come with it.

But it doesn't make you a good person, and it doesn't make you right. Dead things should stay dead because when they don't, you're being the epitome of selfish. You're cracking under the pressure of being without the leader for the first time, holding up the war by weight of your power alone; you're lonely and grieving and you just want her back and everyone wants her back; and you don't think, not for a second, about where she is or what she wants. That she might be in Heaven instead of Hell, and finding peace.

Willow's not sure whether she's thinking about Buffy or Tara anymore. She knows one thing: they don't do the right thing because they're good guys. They do the right thing because nothing else in the world is right, and something has to be.

Too distraught to keep up with the conversation herself, she shuts off the feed after a single, clipped,] Good.