video;

[upshore]

[There's a man in his late 20s on the screen, and he looks tired. Not like he hasn't been sleeping well - though that, too - but like 'tired' is just generally a state of being for him. His hands are out of frame. He's going to keep it that way.]

Not to diss Raine and Heather, without whom I would be dead, and I am very grateful for their help, I've got a question. Out of curiosity, are there any doctors here? Gonna be clear here - I don’t mean maniacs with rusty shears, I don’t mean someone with a penchant for making people into unwilling human guinea pigs for whatever the fuck, I don’t mean Dr. Strangelove’s crazier Nazi cousin who’s trying to turn mental patients into batteries for nanomachines with more tubes in them than that one senator guy called the internet.

‘Cause before I let anyone come near me with so much as a stethoscope in future, I’m going to need to see some medical credentials.

[A pause, and then:]

Also, if anyone comes at me dressed as a priest, this is the only warning you’ll get that I am going to set you on fucking fire. It worked on the last guy.

Comments

[upshore]

[Dryly:] Maybe I can use them for whittling.

[Miles, don't be an ass.]

Controlling them would be good, even though I don't intend to use them. I just don't want to hurt anyone by accident.

[highprofilerichkid]

If they can function outside of the host, you can use them for... Anything. [Come on, Miles, use a little imagination.]

One of the other versions of me based his armor on nanotech like that. He stored the whole thing inside his body as a disassociated swarm, and then he could form the armor with Extremis commands. [It's basically the coolest thing ever and Tony wants it so bad.

He regards Miles with new intensity. If he could figure out how to make these Walrider nanites compatible with Extremis...]

[upshore]

[Tony, no. Miles isn't really liking the way you're looking at him, Tony.]

Hang on, 'one of the other versions of you'?

[highprofilerichkid]

Yeah, this place can grab different versions of people from alternate universes. [Tony says it so casually, like he expects Miles to find this merely a moderately interesting factoid.] I'm the third version of me that's been here.

[upshore]

Wait.

What?!

[This is not just an interesting factoid. This is WEIRD SHIT, TONY.

Also, playing up his reaction means that Tony stops looking at him like he's a science experiment.]