Abandoned Warehouse District, Tuesday Afternoon

[hooraycivilwar.livejournal.com]

Ben had not come back to the dorms last night. Nor had he answered any of Tony's calls or text messages. It was almost like he was in an entirely different country!

So, that would be why Tony was skulking around one of the warehouses, looking for any clues to where he could have been taken. Or, god help them, killed. He crouched down, looking at what looked to be an old anti-personnel mine. Well, that totally boded well for him.

In all his concentration to disarm it, he didn't notice that he was singing right away:

Generals gathered in their masses
Just like witches at black masses
Evil minds that plot destruction
Sorcerers of death's construction
In the fields the bodies burning
As the war machine keeps turning
Death and hatred to mankind
Poisoning their brainwashed minds... oh lord yeah

...so, it was one of those days, was it?

[[Open, of course!]]

Comments

[gameinprogress.livejournal.com]

Ender had been planning to clear out the mines now that Ben had been secured-- but apparently someone had beaten him to the punch.

He moved silently along the shadows, keeping an eye on Tony, keeping his tread light. Sure, he could leave, but... it might be possible to have a conversation with Tony-- or secure him another way.

[hooraycivilwar.livejournal.com]

There was always a possibility...

Tony went still for a moment, straining his senses to make certain he was alone. This is what he got for not having any sort of super powers, you know.

Politicians hide themselves away
They only started the war, he muttered under his breath, finishing the job on the mine.

[gameinprogress.livejournal.com]

After running the odds through his mind and making sure he had a plan ready in case Tony decided to get violent, Ender spoke up. Call it intuition, but he had a feeling this wouldn't get too ugly. Too soon, anyway. "Nice work," he called.

[hooraycivilwar.livejournal.com]

Tony stifled the next lyric, calmly putting the now harmless chunk of metal out of reach. "Could have taken someone's leg off."

[gameinprogress.livejournal.com]

"That would be why I'm here," Ender said lightly, "To disarm them. You just beat me to the punch by a few minutes."

[hooraycivilwar.livejournal.com]

"Only reason?" Tony asked. Because he'd met Ender, thanks.

[gameinprogress.livejournal.com]

"Only reason," Ender agreed, and flashed him a smile-- which failed to reach his eyes, but then they always did. "Want to help me out?"

[spoilthatforyou.livejournal.com]

Stephanie totally didn't mean to head toward the warehouse district. At least, she hadn't intended to when she set out from the dorms, but she'd just sort of . . . ended up heading that way. Call it old habit, or stupid nostalgia, whatever.

So of course she happened to run into Tony. Of course she did.

"Oh," she said, trying and failing to look nonchalant. "It's you."

Awwwwwwkward.

[hooraycivilwar.livejournal.com]

Narrative causality was a bitch, Stephanie.

"Stephanie." Ignore the odd pitch to his voice when he said that, please.

[spoilthatforyou.livejournal.com]

"That's my name," Stephanie tried to joke, but not before she caught herself humming and rolled her eyes because wow, it took a ridiculous amount of effort to stop. "Imagine running into you here. What were the odds?"

[hooraycivilwar.livejournal.com]

"You know I can run those," Tony said dryly, pushing himself up from his crouch on the ground. "It's been a while."

An awkward, awkward while.

[spoilthatforyou.livejournal.com]

"Oh, I just bet you --" Stephanie started to say, and then talking had to take a back seat to singing.

And it's been awhile
Since I've gone and fucked things up just like I always do
And it's been awhile
But all that shit seems to disappear when I'm with you . . .

She slapped a hand over her mouth and counted to three. "No, no, no, Stephanie Brown, don't you dare!"

Getting her head voice confused with her actual voice wasn't a consequence of the day. It was just a thing that always happened.

[hooraycivilwar.livejournal.com]

It looked like they were indeed going to do this. What better day, really?

When there's nowhere else to run
Is there room for one more son
One more son
If you can hold on
If you can hold on... hold on

Tony rubbed his forehead.

[childhood-taunt.livejournal.com]

And at some point when no one else was in the warehouse, a shadowy figure entered through a skylight and into the rafters carrying a satchel over his shoulder.

And at the right opportunity aimed and dropped said satchel crashing right at Tony's feet.

"I think these security cameras belong to you," he called out in a deep voice.

[hooraycivilwar.livejournal.com]

Tony tapped his fingers against his thigh, assessing the damage and what repairs would be needed as he stood up to look at his new friend.

"Not really," he said, relaxing his shoulders and altering his stance just enough in case this turned ugly. "But that's for the public service."

[childhood-taunt.livejournal.com]

"Seems to me they're to spy on people just trying to live their lives," he replied flatly.

He then opened his mouth to lecture Tony about the rights of the individual to privacy and the use of surveillance in a totalitarian state.

But instead he sang:

And I always feel like...
Somebody's watching me!
And I have no privacy!
Whooooa-oh-oh!
I always feel like...
Somebody's watching me!
Tell me, is it just a dream?

He scowled under his mask. Damn it Rockwell island! He was trying to be menacing!

"Don't put them back up," he warned. "Or the next time those cameras will be dropped on your head."

[hooraycivilwar.livejournal.com]

Tony snorted at both the song and the threat. "Really? That's the best you've got?"

Looked like he'd get a chance to test the suit and bring someone in for detention.

"We wouldn't need those cameras if people just cooperated."

[childhood-taunt.livejournal.com]

"You mean like how people cooperated in Russia under Stalin?" he retorted. "Or how people cooperated in Germany under Hitler? How about under Mussolini in Italy? Is it worth having the trains run on time when innocent people are killed or thrown in to a cell?"

[hooraycivilwar.livejournal.com]

"Seriously?" Tony snapped. "Are you insane or just stupid? They will kill you. I'm trying to stop that from happening."

[hehasheart.livejournal.com]

Clint made his way to Tony's warehouse with a smile on his face and a bow in each hand. Yeah, that was surely a pleasant sign. "Hey Stark, what are you up to?" he asked, setting Alec's bow down on one of the workshop tables while he snapped his own back down to storage size.

[hooraycivilwar.livejournal.com]

"Disarming mines," Tony replied, looking up at the bow he didn't recognize. "Picking up a new weapons manufacturer?"

[hehasheart.livejournal.com]

"Like I'd ever cheat on you like that. No, I got it off some kid today," Clint said, looking smug. "I figured you can have it if you want. He wouldn't be able to use it for a while anyway."

[hooraycivilwar.livejournal.com]

Tony swallowed, closing his eyes for a moment. "He in detention now?"

[hehasheart.livejournal.com]

Clint's smile fell a little at that question. "No, he got away from me. He had some sort of super speed. I'll get him next time though." Probably not to detention, sorry Tony.

[hooraycivilwar.livejournal.com]

BAD, CLINT. BAD.

"Super speed?" Tony looked up at that, thinking it over. He'd never had to work around that. "Dodged your arrows then?"