FuturePharm, Tuesday Afternoon

[imafuturist]

So, instead of calling The Avengers for help, Tony had decided to use an experimental process to fix his injuries and upgrade his... everything. Because that seemed like a reasonable thing that in no way would get him yelled at by anyone.

Sure.

For the moment, he was in what could only be described as a metallic cocoon as the changes to his body took place, blissfully unaware that someone was going to yell at him very soon.

[NFB again, duh. For the ladies]

Comments

[notarescue.livejournal.com]

The difference between showing up alone and showing up with someone in a superhero costume was like night and day in how the security team in the building treated Pepper.

That and the fact that she placed a stern phone call to the board of directors.

"I swear, this is ten times worse than when AIM attacked us."

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

"We can deal with ten times worse," Jessica suggested. "Eleven might be a problem. But ten? We've got this." Her goals right now were threefold. One, make sure the security team was uncomfortable around her. Two, be ready for any advanced science that might need to be scienced, although she was probably out of her league here. And three, try to keep the tone light (or frustrating... but she was shooting for light!) around Pepper, who was clearly not having a good day.

[notarescue.livejournal.com]

Pepper kept her chin up and continued on like she was the boss of everyone they passed. Because it was close to being true as JARVIS continued his hostile takeover of FuturePharm.

She was going to have words with Tony about that one.

"If anyone asks, you're an Avenger."

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

"Yes, ma'am. It's close enough to true anyway," Jessica confirmed as she followed close behind, waiting for any warning from her spider-sense.. "But am I going to get weird looks if I call myself Black Widow? I've heard there's already someone on this world who uses that name."

[notarescue.livejournal.com]

"I... don't know." Look, she could not keep up with all the people in costumes all the time. She knew the Avengers and the Fantastic Four because she'd met them.

Also, Pepper was the superior redhead, damn it.

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Jessica's red was fake, so she couldn't argue that point. Also, the red really worked for Pepper. "I'll use it if necessary and see how it turns out," Jessica decided. "We should be getting close to the right lab."

[totheextremis.livejournal.com]

Which was why their was was suddenly blocked by a woman in a lab coat. "Excuse me, where do you people think you're going?"

[notarescue.livejournal.com]

"You are going to want to get out of our way," Pepper said. Because she wasn't about to stop now, damn it.

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

"I'd do what the lady says," Jessica said. "She's pretty determined right now."

[totheextremis.livejournal.com]

Maya looked like she really, really wanted to argue that one. In fact, she was already pulling out her phone to call for security when there was a noise from the room she'd been in before confronting the pair.

It was way too early for the process to be over. "Tony," she said, taking off at a run.

[notarescue.livejournal.com]

Which meant Pepper was hot on her heels, moving surprisingly fast for someone in a sensible pencil skirt and high heels.

It was a talent.

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

Reasonable boots were the way to go for this kind of running around. But still, credit given, even as Jessica passed her by running along the wall. "What's he doing in there?"

[imafuturist]

What he was doing was being in a cocoon, Jessica. Like a cybernetic butterfly.

Or he had been and now he was breaking out of the strange metal surrounding him in the most dramatic way possible with a flash of light that resembled a repulsor blast.

He was also naked as he pulled himself free. Because that seemed reasonable.

[imafuturist]

"Locals are finished with the evacuation of the area," Tony said, tracking Mallen and keeping an open line to listen to the police chatter in case something slipped through. "Ready?"

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

"Yep," Jessica said, scoping out the area from her rooftop with binoculars. She really needed to add a HUD in her mask's lenses. Get some digital magnification in there. "You're the big gun since you have the new fanciness. I'll be looking to keep him off balance so you can hit him hard. And if anything goes terribly wrong, I'm also ready for extraction."

[imafuturist]

Get to work on that, Jessica. Or let Tony repay you for helping him with new tech. It was how he rolled.

"You know me so well," Tony replied, taking off to position himself above Mallen. He lined up the shot and then fired far more missiles than he'd risk with most humans. It was about Loki level number of missiles to knock Mallen down.

"Lay down on the ground, hands behind your head and ankles crossed. Or we will do this the hard way."

He was sort of hoping for the hard way. Look, he still remembered what the bones in his hand breaking felt like.

[totheextremis.livejournal.com]

"Then we're gonna do this the hard way," Mallen sneered. Mostly because that seemed to be his normal expression. "I have the power to protect people from the criminals in the White House and I'm gonna use it."

Wow. He lived to be a cliche.

[imafuturist]

Tony really hoped this wasn't going to be a poorly written monologue. Because it was starting to sound like it.

"Hard way it is. Lock him down, Jessica."

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

While Tony was firing missiles, Jessica found her way into position and snapped on her shock gloves. Diving from a story above Mallen, she she fired an electrified web-net. From what she understood, it might not hold him long, but it should hold him long enough. And annoy the crap out of him with the shocks!

"Nobody has ever chosen the easy way," she said as she landed. "Ever!" She was on the move immediately, going for cover.

[imafuturist]

Good thing she moved because Tony was taking a page from Mallen's playbook and picking up a nearby car that he'd totally pay for--sorry poor person who owned it--to launch at Mallen. And then fire a few more missiles for good measure.

"What would we even do if they did?"

[totheextremis.livejournal.com]

"Shut up!" Mallen snapped, crawling out of the burning pile of scrap metal and looking a little worse for the wear. Hey, they were making a good dent on his... shirt. "You're all part of the problem!"

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

Jessica leaped in to deliver dropkick to the back of the head so she could smash his face into the street. He was a big boy, he could take it. "Interesting theory, unsupported by facts."

[imafuturist]

Tony helped keep him down with a punch, breaking the asphalt of the street as Mallen's head was forced further down. "They never think these things through."

[totheextremis.livejournal.com]

Excuse you, stupid heroes who needed to die. Mallen gave this loads of thought. Murderous, murderous thought.

He pushed himself up, digging fingertips into the street to send an electric burst of energy.

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

Jessica sprang off a building, snagged a nearby manhole cover with a web, and swung it like a pendulum at Mallen's back. "This guy can take too much damage. I don't like it."