005 | Tony Stark | Video

[manofiron]

[ For a fleeting moment, Tony Stark’s face fills the screen. Those who know him might recognize his piercing eyes and his immaculately kept hair, perfectly trimmed and styled to look like the dashing figure of the celebrity he is back home. Maybe his skin’s a little paler than usual. And maybe some of its imperfections are gone. But it’s difficult to tell, because it only lasts for a moment.

Two luminous, glowing red orbs suddenly fill the screen as Tony pulls the communicator closer. His lips curve into a devilishly mischievous smirk, but hidden as it as by the limitations of the camera, no one can appreciate it. When he speaks, his voice is a low, throaty purr, edged with just a hint wickedness. ]

Cape Kore. I’ve got a question for you.

[ He moves his arm, pulling it back so more of his finely muscled torso and broad shoulders can be seen. In his skin-tight tank top, there’s plenty of pale, flawless skin to behold. Slowly, he stalks from the shadows of his home’s porch into the brilliant light of the morning.

And the sun, rising over the horizon, fans rays of light over his skin, setting it alight, sparking flashes of fire like a diamond. It’s as though the man is no man at all, but a being of light, angelic and perfect. ]

Do I dazzle you?


(A/N: omg this is my first time writing one of these!! plz be gentle. my poor babu is having a bad day. it will get better tho~ ^_^)

Comments

[pursuitofcappiness]

Yeah, you look just like New Years Eve.

If it helps any, I turned a little green, so I'm hoping this doesn't stay for long.

[manofiron]

I—What? What do you mean, green? Like, green green? Or sick? Are you sick?

[pursuitofcappiness]

No, Hulk green. I think I turned into a goblin. It's probably the same thing that's making you look like the inside of a treasure chest.

[manofiron]

A goblin? Seriously? What the hell's wrong with this place. Can you do anything cool? Like... I don't even know what goblins do. Do you have a tail?

[pursuitofcappiness]

No, I mean, I could. I turned into Stanley earlier when I saw him, just for a moment. It was like a flicker. I turn back into myself too, when I think about it too hard.

--Are you stuck with the red eyes?

[manofiron]

Wait, what? You turned into Stanley? A tiger? Seriously? You turned into a tiger?

[ This completely overrules the red eye thing. Sparkly vampires is old news compared to this. ]

Do it again.

[pursuitofcappiness]

I don't think that's a good idea; I almost broke the door down.

[ He also skittered across the floor like a frightened housecat. Just. Way bigger. And then landed skrullface down in the floor. But Tony doesn't need to know that.

Anyway, he's coming outside now to survey the damages of Disco Stark. ]

[manofiron]

Of course it's a good idea. It's the best idea.

[ Ugh, whatever. Steve's no fun. He hears him before he sees him, though, and turns to face the house to watch him come out. Still in the sun, he's lit up like a Christmas tree. If the Christmas tree was made of diamonds. ]

If you're outside, you can turn into a tiger. FYI.

[pursuitofcappiness]

[ It's definitely preferable to being a green... thingy...

Or, holy God... ]

You're even worse in person.

[manofiron]

[ That gets a scowl and he steps backward into the shade of a nearby tree to help cut down on the glare. ]

Thanks, Steve. That's, that's a great vote of confidence. Never let it be said that I can't count on you to take potshots at my self-esteem.

[pursuitofcappiness]

I meant that you're blinding. You look a lot better without the... glittering.

[ Besides, he can't really talk. He's green and ugly. ]

What are we supposed to be, anyway?

[manofiron]

I'm a sparkling vampire. And you're...

[ He squints at him. Not the Hulk. Maybe an elf? He has pointy ears. That wavery chin's kind of bizarre, though. ]

I don't really know what you are. Some kind of elf, I think.

[pursuitofcappiness]

...Elves are supposed to be slender and pale, or short and look like children. I think I'm a goblin troll.

[ He scrunches up his eyebrows and thinks Tony needs to brush up on his creature mythology. ]

And you can't be a vampire. They don't sparkle.

--You wanted to see me become a sabertooth tiger, right?

[manofiron]

I do want to see the tiger demonstration, yes. Also I thought goblins and trolls were two different things.

[ Clearly Mister I Know Everything doesn't know that. ]

And yes, they do. It's called Twilight. Spare yourself the horror and never read it or watch the movies.

[pursuitofcappiness]

...I think I will, if they made vampires sparkle.

[ Anyway, he closes his eyes and concentrates. It's warm, he's petting Stanley, he's watching Stanley yawn, he's looking into the clarity of Stanley's eyes. He sees the ripples of a sea.

He feels a tickle of breeze against his skin, rough leathery pads of feet, the strong scent of grass and flesh and something tinny. He smells something cold. He's loud when he breathes out. He raises his massive head towards Tony, tail bobbing back and forth with a curiosity in his gaze. ]

[manofiron]

Holy shit, you're a tiger.

[ Not that he necessarily disbelieved him. Captain America isn't really synonymous with lying. But there's a difference between hearing that someone turned into a tiger and seeing it happen in front of him.

Tony reaches for his head, intending to run his hand over his fur. ]

Can you talk? Or is it all tiger?

[pursuitofcappiness]

[ Steve tries to say no, but all that comes out is a slight whine. Apparently he's not used to speaking tiger. He wills himself to stay in this form if Tony wants to start petting him, because holy goodness would it be awkward if he changed back into a human while Tony's patting his head.

He finds it's easier to keep his form when he thinks of how he's supposed to be. He'd turned into quite a few people from back home, because he thinks of them often. It's easiest with a strong emotional memory.

Right now he remembers being scared, having just lost ten more days of his life to God knows what, feeling like every displacement is a great loss, and falling asleep petting soft fur and listening to the sound of heavy breathing.

He nudges Tony's hand, lightly, with his head. ]

[manofiron]

[ This isn't the strangest thing Tony's ever done, but petting tiger-Steve on the head is pretty high up there. That doesn't mean that he stops, though. No, he gives tiger-Steve's head a good scratching, along the top of his forehead and around his ears.

Once he's done, he retracts his hand and straightens up. ]

Okay. I'm done. You can change back. I mean, you can, right? You're not stuck like that now?

[pursuitofcappiness]

[ Tiger-Steve is feeling pretty good. In fact, he thinks he feels a purr coming when-- aww, shucks, fine.

He stops thinking about Stanley, tries to think back to being himself. It's easier to transform, he finds, when he uses himself as a control, because he's the easiest person to change into.

Unfortunately, he has poor control over the emotions tied to his memories, and a lot of those memories involve other people. ]

No, I'm fine.

[ He certainly isn't expecting to sound like Bucky Barnes. ]

[manofiron]

[ Steve might be green and wrinkly around the chin, but his powers are infinitely cooler, and more useful, than Tony's. Again. But what else can he expect from Captain America?

So he's waiting for Steve to come back when the transformation starts. Not... ]

Uh, Steve?

[ He waves a hand at him, brow furrowed in concern. ]

You're not, uh... Maybe you should try again.

[pursuitofcappiness]

[ Yeah well, he's also stronger and has a legacy of taking over worlds and being an asshole to other species, but humans kind of do that too, come to think of it.

He is... well, he shouldn't say shocked, but he's a little upset on account of his own body trying to fuck with his head. Story of his life. ]

Yeah, working on it.

[ And then he tries to stay quiet, because he never wants to hear his best friend's voice coming out of his own mouth, even if he gets to hear it again. ]

[manofiron]

[ Tony doesn't know how to shapeshift. Sadly, being a sparklepire doesn't give him the ability to turn into a bat or a wolf or whatever else vampires are supposed to be able to turn into. So it isn't like he can really help out. But he tries. ]

Would it help if I talk about you?

[pursuitofcappiness]

We can try.

[ Because right now he's flickering in and out of being a skrull and being Bucky. ]

[manofiron]

You remember that costume you used to wear? Before you actually got involved in the war, I mean.

[ He feels like he ought to step out in the sun for this, because what's more ridiculous than singing a stupid song than sparkling while doing it, but he refrains at the last second and just launches into it. ]

Who’s strong and brave, here to save the American Way?
Who vows to fight like a man for what’s right night and day?
Who will campaign door-to-door for America,
Carry the flag shore to shore for America,
From Hoboken to Spokane,
The Star Spangled Man with a Plan!

That one? That was my first introduction to you. My dad was watching an old video of one of your performances and there you were, dancing around in that, I don't even know what it was made out of. I don't think Spandex existed back then.

[pursuitofcappiness]

[ Steve just kind of looks at Tony.

And then. Stares, in disbelief, as he gets the whole damn first verse word for word.

Wow.

Wow.

And then he just, he just bursts out laughing, almost doubles over in it, and transforms into himself.

Wearing. The costume. That awful one. So Tony can figure out what the non-spandex is, because, and holy shit, he even transforms with the old triangular shield, cue cards on the back and all. ]

Next time I put on a show, you should audition to be one of the chorus girls. You really got that number down.