13792/It's about Safety

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It's about Safety
Date of Scene: 09 January 2023
Location: Stark Tower: Workshop
Synopsis: Tony goes on an adventure into a portal, to an unknown location, as Pepper mans the console at the workshop...
Cast of Characters: Tony Stark, Pepper Potts




Tony Stark has posed:
"Pep," Tony's voice intrudes on Pepper's activity out of nowhere. "Join me in my workshop for a bit? When you're at a stopping point." Tony's voice over the intercom is relaxed and conversational: but that doesn't mean anything. He could very well be on fire, or be stuck in a mechanical tube, or be slowly bleeding out. His tone is often this mellow even in bad situations -- and that there's no video may make her fear the worst about what this request could pertain to...

Pepper Potts has posed:
That request is suspiciously like, 'If you're not too busy'.. which, of course, means that whatever it is that she's doing, she should finish it or, yes, find that good stopping point to put it aside. Pepper's in her office, the last bits of a business deal being put to bed; trades and stocks and they're in the middle of the first quarter! Year's end report was good, thankfully, but that always means that they've set the bar higher in terms of expectations from shareholders.

Pushing away from her desk, Pepper slides her feet back into her heels and gains her feet. With the next move, she's pulling her suit jacket off the back of her chair and shrugging it on, begins to make her way towards the workshop. Along the way, there are many, many, many thoughts that come unbidden; thoughts that make her feet bring her just a little faster.

By the time she descends the stairs, and puts her hand up to key in the code for the room, Pepper is a little out of breath. Stepping over the threshold, green eyes search immediately for a particular form and figure.

"Tony?"

Tony Stark has posed:
Immediately in Pepper's way is one of the larger bots; it's filling up a lot of the space between the entrance and where Tony is now. It's bulky, and turns a little to owlishly look at her, before shifting aside to give way. It was positioned a little bit like a guard of some kind... which might be confusing until getting a closer look.

"Hey, that was fast; I expected you'd need more time. Great, though, I can get this done," Tony says, pleased. There's a large contraption in the workshop, like a big hoop: a doorway, a portal. It's not empty, either: it's full of fluxing energy, of a smokey and light aqua hue, distorted.

The portal itself is maybe six feet high, requiring the taller folks to stoop a bit if they chose to walk through it. Tony's in Iron Man armor, though the helmet isn't on currently, it's to one side. However, Pepper's arrival seems to make him decide to snare it and begin to wear it. All signs point to Tony going into whatever this portal is that is active now, or some test related to it.

"One of my New Years resolutions is to always get another witness, even if the test is entirely safe," Tony comments breezily. The way he says it suggests his resolution is just to get more attention, not that it's for safety reasons.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper gives the bot something of a withering stare, almost daring it to try and stop her from getting into the room. As she passes, her attention moves from the robot to Tony in his... oh no. Her expression falls a touch as she looks from this giant.. portal of some sort, and back to Tony.. and once more, back and forth.

She slows in her step, stopping a few feet away, more out of caution than fear. "What is that?"

The helmet being placed on his head is a dead giveaway as to his intentions, as if he needed to actually explain what he was about to do?

"Your New Years.. Tony," Pepper takes a steop forward now, towards the now Iron Man and that, for lack of a better term, stargate? "I know you're going to think this is a stupid question, but did you put anything else through there?" Her hand gestures towards the new creation as she continues, "Anything?"

Tony Stark has posed:
"Yes. I have full analysis and video footage, still coming in, from the other side," Tony answers. "HOMER."

The simple command requests of HOMER to set up the feed in a way that Pepper can view it, not just streamed into what will be the main display for Tony inside his HUD. Two of the long analysis screens adjust. They then show a clearly different place: with large structures of stone, overgrown and ancient looking, like you'd expect of a temple hidden deep in the amazon. But it isn't the amazon, it's something with a more blue tint to it, and the foliage is really alien looking.

"So what this is -- is something found by accident about a year ago, when I was keying to a proper dimensional rift we were needing to close," Tony explains. "It was very unstable then, but I got inspired, and figured out how to stabilize it. It's just //interesting//, I want to open a few of these so I can triangulate more specifically where it is in relation to other portals to similar coordinates," Tony chatters.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Concern; that is Pepper's expression. Absolutely. Her lips draw in tight lines, and her arms lift to wrap around herself, and in taking a deep breath, she nods once in understanding.

The pictures, no, the video that HOMER shows causes her breath to stop, holding it in her throat until she realizes that she's stopped breathing. "Oh.." is the exhale, and she can't help her staring. Her shoulders drop just a little bit, but she's still efffectively hugging herself.

"There are more of these?"

Tony Stark has posed:
"Yes, same general place. This is the most stable one of the group," Tony continues. He's gotten his helmet on now, though he hasn't closed the front, so his face and expression are fully visible, though his hair isn't -- the visor does block his hair.

Tony takes in her expression and reaction, though, and pauses. ...And deliberately decides to misinterpret what he's seeing. "Are you sad to not get to go along?" he teases her, but there's no force in teh question. "I didn't think you'd like to, but I'd feel better with you at the helm here, not just HOMER."

Pepper Potts has posed:
"The //most// stable of the group," Pepper repeats, and she dips her head slightly, her eyes cast up to look at Tony through the open visor. "And-and-and you did all the testing," she begins again, trying to convince herself, perhaps, that this might in some way just be okay, and that he'll be back soon enough.

In time for dinner?

Pepper can't help herself, and she utters a soft laugh despite her misgivings. He has a way of doing that, always has. No matter what, he's charmed his way through many, many.. disagreements, landing all the better on the other side. "I.. I.." What can she say to that?

Other than, "Please tell me that HOMER or JARVIS can cross over? How is communication back and forth?"

Tony Stark has posed:
"So, just to set you at ease -- two options if something goes strangely here," Tony says, smoothly. "First thing that may go weird, is there could be a power surge. I've seen two others. If so, HOMER'll run a reboot, and it'll come back online in about twenty minutes. If there turns out to be a huge tribe of amazon mermaids that take me prisoner as their love slave, HOMER can fit protective wear for you if you need to step into the portal briefly to augment the battery for the device on the far side to hold it open long enough for other Avengers to embarrass me by having to rescue me from obvious torture..."

"So, the two most likely problems, we have solutions," Tony teases her, approaching with the clear intent to kiss her forehead. It's not a goodbye, it's flippant: he doesn't think there's real risk here. It's like going out to get a burger, by how he's acting.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper listens, and her arms remain wrapped about her; she's not happy, but she's trying not to laugh at his antics that are obviously meant to allay her fears. Brows rise at the recounting of potential issues, and remarkably enough, she's a little more concerned about being out of contact for 20 minutes rather than the beautiful Amazon women that want to keep him as a slave...

"So, those are the two most likely problems.." Pepper does have that ghost of a smirk, even if those green eyes of hers still show concern. She does stay still, but her head raises to look in those dark eyes of his, searching for someing, anything, that'll tell her that it really will be okay. That a jaunt to a different dimension won't end badly. "If it's beautiful women, I'll come through myself and rescue you."

Tony Stark has posed:
"I feel like we'll need to have a serious chat about trust related to beautiful women," Tony responds in a similarly 'concerned' deadpan, giving her a direct look. His brown eyes are warm, lightly amused, but there's a window into some real depth, real feeling there as well. It's a window that isn't often open, not really...

"But I appreciate your bravery in the face of such terrors," he concludes. With that, he closes the mask of the helmet, gives a little flashy half-salute, and starts towards the portal.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper can't help herself again; the smile that creeps up is a concerned one, but also one that can't hide her love and affection for the man, the brilliant genius and inventor. She utters another laugh, soft but audible, and genuine. "I'm mean with a stick." It seems to be her weapon of choice, given the opportunities she's had to wield something for protection.

"Tony?" Pepper calls out to him as he starts towards the portal. Whether he stops or doesn't, it doesn't matter. Her words are little more than a whisper to him, "Be careful." //Come back to me because I love you.//

Tony Stark has posed:
"Really, I'm getting a scan of some stone and twigs. It'll be fine," Tony chuckles, stepping through.

"Also," HOMER supplies just for Pepper, "A full suite of supplies was previously sent through, that could sustain two people for a month's time."

That information might make her feel better, except that Tony did decide to send it at all - making being stuck there a possibility ....

"So far so good over here," Tony reports back. "Going to do a little aerial sweep, get my coordinates and take a look over the treeline," he says, cheerfully. There's full video now, from all the sensors. It's a structure of stone in a wooded area, but away from the forest it gets very barren quickly.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper watches as Tony steps through, an unbidden step forward as if to follow him taken, but she stops short. Instead, as HOMER offers up information that is meant to make her feel better, her arms drop to her side, and she nods in acknowledgement. "At least.." No, she refuses to think that he'll be marooned.

At the sound of Tony's voice coming through, Pepper perks up, slides out of her heels and crouches to pick them up and carries them over towards a desk that has Tony's main unit set up. It's where he does a great deal of his designing. The shoes are dropped, and her fingers glide briefly over the top.

"Okay, just.. be careful. The air might be different," which means different resistance? "It all looks so strange, but familiar.." she breathes soon after.

Tony Stark has posed:
"Power surge occuring; closing portal to preserve the signal," HOMER then says, as he takes in the flux.

"Yep, expected as much," Tony replies, with zero surprise. "I'll finish my loop, see you in twenty." There's full confidence there, a smooth quality to the reply. He's not worried at all, and Pepper shouldn't be.

The portal neatly closes out of existence, while the lab machines whurr gently and begin the cycle of restarting it. "We have done this successfully four times. Please standby, Ms. Potts," HOMER says....