Despite reports that Marvel’s playboy billionaire Tony Stark will get a sleek new 2014 Bugatti Veyron for his third solo cinematic outing, a photo recently surfaced via GTSpirit, picturing Robert Downey Jr. on the Iron Man 3 set alongside his beloved Audi R8. However, this is no ordinary Audi. Judging by the graphic imprinted on its windshield, this is Audi’s first Electric supercar, the R8 E-Tron.
The Hulk turned toward her upon impact of the fireball, but Tony got between them, far enough away that they’d have time to move if they needed to. “Any new info? Got anything on him?” he asked, looking back at Banner who’d turned his attention back to Cap and Natasha for the moment.
“There’s someone trapped in one of the cars, one of the upsidedown ones. They aren’t badly hurt but they’re terrified. Haven’t found anyone else hurt,” Summer rattled off in a hurry. “I need a way to communicate with y’all; fuck, I need my /armour/.” Something occurred to her, and she called a little flame to the top — well, the bottom — of the car with the hurt person in it.
“The uniforms have got a path to clear people out, and the folk inside are being diverted from this area. We’ve a clear lot now, except the cars.” She blew a breath out. “Give me a second to focus in, and I can try to read the Hulk.”
Tony scanned his eyes over some of the upturned cars and saw the flame dancing to mark the right vehicle. “I don’t have any extra comm sets on me… Look, I’ll get the civillian out of the car if you can do that,” he said, already turning toward the car. He landed in front of it, seeing a young man still seatbelted in and hyperventilating a little.
“Hey, hold tight, all right?” Tony said, glad his faceplate was up—his natural voice was always better in situations like this. Less alien, more soothing than a robotic one.
Time to split the attention again. Summer let the wings drop; there was no need for them anymore, and they’d only draw attention she might not want right now. Unconsciously, one hand went to rub at her temple, and her eyes fell out of focus while she reached out to the pile of rage that was the Hulk.
Anger, where was the edge of the anger? What else was threading through it? Guilt. Grief. Too common, too common, there was — “I don’t have enough data!” she spit under her breath. Landing next to Rogers and Romanov, she said without preamble, “I’m going to try something stupid.”
Linking her fingers together, Summer pointed her palms at the sky, hooked on to the Hulk’s anger, and pulled. A column of flame exploded from her palms with a sharp snap, arrowing straight up into the sky.
That was going to be interesting. Splitting her attention two ways, she marked the minor part to keep her aloft, and concentrated on alchemising panic to decision, or at least lower panic. Oh, there would be payment for this later!
Tony kept the Hulk’s attention, letting the others regroup and letting Summer get to the people there, as he led Banner in circles. He let his faceplate slide back in hopes of generating recognition. “Bruce! Dr. Banner. It’s me, it’s Tony. C’mon man, what’s going on? What ha-!”—he dodged a big green, grabby hand—“Shit. What happened?”
The Hulk threw a motorcycle skyward, clipping Tony and making the suit sputter for a moment. “Hey now, no throwing toys, Banner!” He turned his head, catching sight of Natasha and Steve in plainclothes, like they’d been there before and hadn’t had a chance to change. “Rogers, Natasha, any clue what happened?”
Steve chimed in. “He was fine and then all of a sudden, this! We were just able to get him outside…”
Finally, the policemen and mall cops formed a line of flashlights and badges, guiding people away from the vehicular carnage. Summer spiraled back up into the sky, pulling a whirling mental scan of the whole area. Tony, rage, concern (Steve), no pain, no pain, shock! — someone trapped in an upsidedown car, cushioned in airbags.
“Fuck, I need a way to communicate with them while I’m airbourne,” she muttered through clenched teeth. She popped a fireball at the Hulk and shot across the parking lot to Tony. “Tony!”
The Hulk turned toward her upon impact of the fireball, but Tony got between them, far enough away that they’d have time to move if they needed to. “Any new info? Got anything on him?” he asked, looking back at Banner who’d turned his attention back to Cap and Natasha for the moment.
“There’s someone trapped in one of the cars, one of the upsidedown ones. They aren’t badly hurt but they’re terrified. Haven’t found anyone else hurt,” Summer rattled off in a hurry. “I need a way to communicate with y’all; fuck, I need my /armour/.” Something occurred to her, and she called a little flame to the top — well, the bottom — of the car with the hurt person in it.
“The uniforms have got a path to clear people out, and the folk inside are being diverted from this area. We’ve a clear lot now, except the cars.” She blew a breath out. “Give me a second to focus in, and I can try to read the Hulk.”
I hate having those nights where I’m all set to write … and nobody else is. Pleh. So I’m just sitting here fiddling with other things and hitting refresh every couple minutes, throwing out asks that get ignored.
Stark grinned as the kiss broke just before the faceplate closed and he positively bolted into the sky toward the Hulk to get his attention. “Bruce!” he yelled, making him look skyward at Stark and letting Hawkeye roll to get out of the way. He made a mental note to try to come up with some sort of tranq arrows for the archer to use for the next time this happened.
People, everywhere, was /no one/ trying to get a handle on this situation? Screaming, running for their cars, as if a piece of metal and plastic was more important than their lives! Spotting blue lights, she dove for them, coming to a halt just above their heads. “You need to establish an exit route. Right now people don’t know where to go. I can get them calm, but you’ve got to give them instruction.”
“Who the hell are you?”
“You know me as Naienko. Id on the wings and /get moving/.” Tapping their urgency and panic, she dropped it off to a level that would let them think, wishing she didn’t have to, before she made a low level beeline for the biggest cluster of people blocked off by the Hulk.
That was going to be interesting. Splitting her attention two ways, she marked the minor part to keep her aloft, and concentrated on alchemising panic to decision, or at least lower panic. Oh, there would be payment for this later!
Tony kept the Hulk’s attention, letting the others regroup and letting Summer get to the people there, as he led Banner in circles. He let his faceplate slide back in hopes of generating recognition. “Bruce! Dr. Banner. It’s me, it’s Tony. C’mon man, what’s going on? What ha-!”—he dodged a big green, grabby hand—“Shit. What happened?”
The Hulk threw a motorcycle skyward, clipping Tony and making the suit sputter for a moment. “Hey now, no throwing toys, Banner!” He turned his head, catching sight of Natasha and Steve in plainclothes, like they’d been there before and hadn’t had a chance to change. “Rogers, Natasha, any clue what happened?”
Steve chimed in. “He was fine and then all of a sudden, this! We were just able to get him outside…”
Finally, the policemen and mall cops formed a line of flashlights and badges, guiding people away from the vehicular carnage. Summer spiraled back up into the sky, pulling a whirling mental scan of the whole area. Tony, rage, concern (Steve), no pain, no pain, shock! — someone trapped in an upsidedown car, cushioned in airbags.
“Fuck, I need a way to communicate with them while I’m airbourne,” she muttered through clenched teeth. She popped a fireball at the Hulk and shot across the parking lot to Tony. “Tony!”
“I… Yeah. Mine’s not even all the good against him for much longer than a few minutes, honestly…” Tony muttered, accelerating to just get them to the parking lot. The tires squealed as he topped the car suddenly and popped the trunk. “Do what you’ve gotta do, but be careful. You’re still technically a civillian, and the others won’t take it too well if they learn I was the one who got you hurt.” And I sure as hell won’t take it well either, he thought, knowing she’d catch the feeling. He pulled the briefcase out and activated the suit, letting it fit to him as he watched the Hulk, still quite a ways off.
“Civilian, hell. I’m just not SHIELD.” Summer was already halfway through the leap that would take her skyward, but she abandoned it to drop in front of Tony. Utterly ignoring the clicks of the forming suit, she grabbed his face and forced him to look at her. “You be careful too.” Slowly, this time, she rose off the ground until their faces were level, then kissed him, quickly. “For luck.”
Then she was gone, tearing off into the night sky, wings formed of flame trailing from her shoulders.
Stark grinned as the kiss broke just before the faceplate closed and he positively bolted into the sky toward the Hulk to get his attention. “Bruce!” he yelled, making him look skyward at Stark and letting Hawkeye roll to get out of the way. He made a mental note to try to come up with some sort of tranq arrows for the archer to use for the next time this happened.
People, everywhere, was /no one/ trying to get a handle on this situation? Screaming, running for their cars, as if a piece of metal and plastic was more important than their lives! Spotting blue lights, she dove for them, coming to a halt just above their heads. “You need to establish an exit route. Right now people don’t know where to go. I can get them calm, but you’ve got to give them instruction.”
“Who the hell are you?”
“You know me as Naienko. Id on the wings and /get moving/.” Tapping their urgency and panic, she dropped it off to a level that would let them think, wishing she didn’t have to, before she made a low level beeline for the biggest cluster of people blocked off by the Hulk.
That was going to be interesting. Splitting her attention two ways, she marked the minor part to keep her aloft, and concentrated on alchemising panic to decision, or at least lower panic. Oh, there would be payment for this later!
“Crowd control might be best to start with,” he decided. “Especially since we don’t know how he’d react to fire, or even to you trying to calm him down. And to be honest… I’d rather you not get too close to him unless you have to…” He grimaced a little. “The rest of us have experience with him, and hell, I have armour… We’re not far, ten more blocks until the parking lot, I think.”
“He’ll have a fun time trying to catch me.” Summer opened her eyes again, frowning in concentration. “I’ve /got/ armour, though it’s not meant to withstand something like the Hulk. But I think you’ll be surprised how much I can d—” Her hand snapped up to her temple as the taste of the panic at the mall swept into her mind. There was still too much distance for any kind of resolution into individual minds, though. “I have to get airbourne.”
“I… Yeah. Mine’s not even all the good against him for much longer than a few minutes, honestly…” Tony muttered, accelerating to just get them to the parking lot. The tires squealed as he topped the car suddenly and popped the trunk. “Do what you’ve gotta do, but be careful. You’re still technically a civillian, and the others won’t take it too well if they learn I was the one who got you hurt.” And I sure as hell won’t take it well either, he thought, knowing she’d catch the feeling. He pulled the briefcase out and activated the suit, letting it fit to him as he watched the Hulk, still quite a ways off.
“Civilian, hell. I’m just not SHIELD.” Summer was already halfway through the leap that would take her skyward, but she abandoned it to drop in front of Tony. Utterly ignoring the clicks of the forming suit, she grabbed his face and forced him to look at her. “You be careful too.” Slowly, this time, she rose off the ground until their faces were level, then kissed him, quickly. “For luck.”
Then she was gone, tearing off into the night sky, wings formed of flame trailing from her shoulders.
“Thank god I met you,” he murmured, changing gears and heading toward the mall, thankful for the fact that he’d stowed one of his suit-briefcases in the trunk. “The fire… Well, we’ll see. Should work, but he can jump pretty damn high if he wants out, and something tells me he will…” He bit his lip, trying to bring up his memory files on Banner to see if there was anything, anything about his response to fire.
“Irrelevant. Just bear in mind I can’t do all those things at once. Someone’s gotta prioritise for me, or I’m going to do it myself, and my priority will be civilians to cut down my risk of overload.” Summer closed her eyes, her mind already spinning scenarios from best to worst. She let her body relax, moving with the motion of the car, while she reached outward, but she couldn’t get a fix. “Not enough data,” she muttered. “How long?”
“Crowd control might be best to start with,” he decided. “Especially since we don’t know how he’d react to fire, or even to you trying to calm him down. And to be honest… I’d rather you not get too close to him unless you have to…” He grimaced a little. “The rest of us have experience with him, and hell, I have armour… We’re not far, ten more blocks until the parking lot, I think.”
“He’ll have a fun time trying to catch me.” Summer opened her eyes again, frowning in concentration. “I’ve /got/ armour, though it’s not meant to withstand something like the Hulk. But I think you’ll be surprised how much I can d—” Her hand snapped up to her temple as the taste of the panic at the mall swept into her mind. There was still too much distance for any kind of resolution into individual minds, though. “I have to get airbourne.”
“Yes, and find out who’s been actually hurt and who’s just having hysteria, and calm the crowd enough to actually get them /out/,” she jerked open the door and flung herself in, remembering to jerk her head sideways so the door wouldn’t close on her hair. “How’s he about fire? I might be able to establish a containment perimeter, and I might be able to siphon off enough of the anger to unwind him. Can’t tell those til I get a read on the situation.” Fighting the wind, Summer collected her hair into a tail, then tied it into a lover’s haste knot.
“Thank god I met you,” he murmured, changing gears and heading toward the mall, thankful for the fact that he’d stowed one of his suit-briefcases in the trunk. “The fire… Well, we’ll see. Should work, but he can jump pretty damn high if he wants out, and something tells me he will…” He bit his lip, trying to bring up his memory files on Banner to see if there was anything, anything about his response to fire.
“Irrelevant. Just bear in mind I can’t do all those things at once. Someone’s gotta prioritise for me, or I’m going to do it myself, and my priority will be civilians to cut down my risk of overload.” Summer closed her eyes, her mind already spinning scenarios from best to worst. She let her body relax, moving with the motion of the car, while she reached outward, but she couldn’t get a fix. “Not enough data,” she muttered. “How long?”
Tony rubbed the back of his neck, grinning warmly, and feeling a certain warmth in his chest. “I’ll catch you if you do,” he teased, knowing just how easily he could do very much the same. “JARVIS’ll get over it. It’d rather not see me lonely anyway.”
“Is that so?” she chuckled. She fished around in the bowl for the last bits of meat, avoiding looking at Tony, because she knew if she did she’d just start giggling and not stop.
“You bet,” he said, nodding and taking up his fork again to get the last few pieces of broccoli he’d left at the bottom of his own bowl. His phone vibrated on the table, and he thought about ignoring it, but he knew he should at least see who was calling.
“Shit..” he muttered under his breath before looking back up at Summer. “I, uh… I gotta take this. It’s Fury…” he explained, standing up and answering the phone a few feet away from their table, peeking out the window to see if he could see what he was being called about.
It was Bruce. Something had triggered his Hulk form and he was busy flipping cars outside a mall. Stark cringed and promised he’d be there before heading back to the table to explain.
Summer felt his mood drop as he answered the phone, and braced herself for bad news. It was almost a relief to hear it was ‘just’ the Hulk scaring people. She stood up almost before he finished explaining. “Let’s go, then. Um, check, check … ” She scanned around for a hostess, beckoning urgently.
Tony startled a little at the term ‘us,’ but remembered who she was. Maybe she could help, as long as she stayed far enough back to not get hurt. Tony threw a bill down on the table, more than enough to cover their meals and the tip, figuring that if she really wanted to, she’d pay him back later, when the Hulk wasn’t playing demo-derby around innocent bystanders.
“Do you think you can read what’s upset him for us? Or at least what’s helping as we try to calm him down?” he asked as they got outside and he hopped into the car.
“Yes, and find out who’s been actually hurt and who’s just having hysteria, and calm the crowd enough to actually get them /out/,” she jerked open the door and flung herself in, remembering to jerk her head sideways so the door wouldn’t close on her hair. “How’s he about fire? I might be able to establish a containment perimeter, and I might be able to siphon off enough of the anger to unwind him. Can’t tell those til I get a read on the situation.” Fighting the wind, Summer collected her hair into a tail, then tied it into a lover’s haste knot.