012 || Sharon Carter || LYING AND SAYING DAY 74 OKAY?

[agentx13]

[ Sharon is far from pleased to find herself back here. She can remember it now, even though she could swear she had gone home. She and Steve, Sam, Rachel, and SHIELD had fought Codename Bravo and Madame Hydra, and- But it doesn't matter now, because she's back, trapped here by forces she still can't understand.

She surveys the house, noting that if nothing else, the Doctor has been here, and finally stops at the a window. She pours herself a glass of water, takes a sip, and then cues up the video. ]

This is Sharon Carter. Again. It seems I'm back.

What did I miss.

[ Oh, damn it. And she'd better do that, too. But- you know what? No. She can track people down and apologize for screwing them in a sex-crazed haze privately. ]

Comments

[manofiron]

[ He hears, but doesn't remark on it, thinking it a better tale to be told in person than over a compromised communications system. At least, Extremis is. He doesn't think much about AIM.

True to his word, he's there in a matter of minutes and knocks once on the door. ]

[agentx13]

[ And she opens it immediately, moving aside to let him in. ]

AIM are a bunch of assholes, aren't they? Want something to drink?

[ Yep. That's the hero lifestyle. Talking about supervillains and world-shaking events over tea and biscuits. ]

[manofiron]

[ Stepping inside, he flashes her a smile and nods. ]

Yes to both counts.

[ The smile gets slightly more vicious than it was a second ago. ]

They get taken out in your world too?

[agentx13]

Taken out? No. AIM gets beaten, but not taken out. [ She turns and heads to the kitchen. It doesn't take her long to realize that the fridge is nearly empty. She groans as she thinks of the Doctor's alien physiology and gets them some water from the tap instead. ]

AIM. Advanced Idea Mechanics. They're a terrorist organization where I come from. They're actually really bad at the terrorism part, too. Basically, they're just a bunch of science geeks who want to blow stuff up. A group actually shot off and formed RAID to try and have scarier reputations. They'd be cute if they didn't manage to kill so many people.

[ Yep. Sharon's life has been violent enough lately that she considers a world-wide terrorist organization to be "cute." ]

How'd you come across them?

[manofiron]

[ Water is better than nothing. It’s not whiskey, but he’ll take it. ]

Guy I snubbed thirteen years ago at a party decided to get revenge. Took his little think tank and used it as a front to hide his creation of a terrorist organization called the Ten Rings. He even got some washed up drug addict actor to play the part of its leader. The Mandarin. But it wasn’t really about being a terrorist organization. It was about creating supersoldiers to give to countries to fight wars he created.

[ Tony shrugs, like it was all in a day’s work. ]

He’s dead. Extremis is contained. All’s well that sort of ended well.

[agentx13]

So... you didn't inject yourself with Extremis?

And wait, what? Tony- Where I'm from, the Mandarin isn't an actor. He's one of the biggest criminals you've come across. Are you sure that guy was just an actor?

[manofiron]

[ His eyebrow rises and every so slightly, he smirks. ]

Not yet.

Criminal? What? No. [ He adopts a ridiculously over-the-top British accent. ] His name is Trevor Slattery. [ And back to normal. ] He's some drugged out actor who let the dope get the better of him. Real guy's name was Aldrich Killian.

[agentx13]

[ She stares at him for several more seconds before lightly punching him in the arm. ]

You got played, Tony.

[ And that's the nicest way she can say it. ]

[manofiron]

[ He shrugs. He knows it, he doesn't mind her pointing it out. ]

We all did. But it's fine now. Killian's dead. AIM's a mess. Slattery's in prison.

[agentx13]

So that's that, then. [ She's still thoughtful, though. The Mandarin behind bars. If it were her Mandarin, she'd say the only reason he would be in prison was if he wanted it. ]

How'd you leave things back home? How's Pepper?

[manofiron]

Mostly okay. I mean, the president's safe, the vice president's behind bars. I reversed Pepper's Extremis. Rhodey's still Iron Patriot, but he admits War Machine sounds better.

[ Tony himself is still a mess, but Sharon isn't asking about him and he wouldn't want to go into it anyway. ]

Happy's got a girlfriend. JARVIS is bugging me about making him a real body. Same stuff, different day.

[agentx13]

[ Stare. Stare. Stare. Starestarestarestarestare. ]

Maybe we should back up. Because where I'm from, you used Extremis to turn yourself into some sort of highly-advanced computer that could make the Iron Man suit appear at will, Pepper was Rescue - I don't think she ever had Extremis. Norman Osborn was Iron Patriot. Happy... [ Is dead. ]

And Jarvis is just your butler, just like Smithers is mine.

So... back up. Please.

[manofiron]

Really? I did that?

[ It's a little to casual to be innocent and the way he smiles says that if he hadn't already had the idea, he does now and means to run with it. ]

Killian infected her, wanted to make her his trophy... whatever. She wore one of my suits once, but it was because I put her in it to protect her when my house fell down on us. Norman who? I don't know him. Unless he's one of Ozzy's kids and trust me, he's not piloting Rhodey's suit. It was a PR thing. They repainted it red, white, and blue, tried to make it more family friendly. Don't ask, it wasn't my idea.

Jarvis was my butler as a kid. He raised me. JARVIS is his namesake, and arguably my greatest creation. He's my legacy and my friend and whole lot of other things. Happy's my bodyguard. Was my bodyguard. Now he's my friend who sometimes still drives Pepper around and heads up security at Stark Industries.

[agentx13]

Yes, you moron. And it saved your life, or else I wouldn't be telling you now.

[ She taps her fingers against her chin. His world is so... different. So much more than she had thought it was before. ]

You still have Stark Industries?

[ Hadn't Happy died during that time? Some sabotage plot... ]

[manofiron]

Of course. It's my company. Stane tried to take it from me once, but that didn't work out so well for him. Pepper runs it now. She's better at the business end than I am. But it's still mine.

Why? Don't I have it where you're from? What happened to it?

[agentx13]

You... started a new company called Stark Resilient. Trying to make clean-energy cars.

[ She hopes to God she doesn't have to explain more than that. He'd only do that "I'm extremely hurt and scared and worried but going to play it cool as I fray at the edges about my inability to help the people I care about most" thing. She hates that thing. ]

[manofiron]

I make cars? With clean--You mean arc reactors? Arc reactor cars?

[ He stares at her, hoping she's joking and knowing that she's not. ]

What the hell happened to me?

[agentx13]

Yeah.

Well, you stopped making weapons, Tony. What did you think you were going to do? You're too active to retire and too you to let go of a challenge.

[manofiron]

I don't make weapons now either, but I'd like to think we do more good for the world than just making some nifty cars. I can do better than that.

[agentx13]

Well... Back home, you kind of... lost everything. Money-wise. And cars were a way of rebuilding... you.

[ She clears her throat. Sharon isn't good with tact. She doesn't know the right thing to say, and she's slow to pick up on social cues most of the time. She only tries with Tony - to some degree even succeeds with Tony - because they've known each other so long. Well, she's known a version of him for so long. ]

But they were some kind of cool cars. And hey, you helped SHIELD with their flying cars. Though I wasn't such a huge fan of the red and gold color scheme.

[manofiron]

Back home, I lost everything not money-wise. Me and other me are kind of even on that one.

[ Other him has apparently mastered Extremis, too. Other him might be an idiot, making cars instead of more important things, but other him also has the power and protection that Tony wants and doesn't, as yet, have in his possession. ]

And I can still do better than cars. Really? He's modeling them after the Iron Man? [ He shakes his head. ] This is what happens in a life without JARVIS. I see that now.

[agentx13]

Really? Mine still has Jarvis. And Pepper and Bethany, Steve, Reed... And you still have Pepper and Steve, too.

[ And let's just not mention Happy. ]

So really, don't play that "Poor little Stark boy" card with me. I'm wise to what you've got in both worlds, Stark.

[manofiron]

I think what I've got in my world might surprise you, then.

[ It's quieter than the rest, more somber, and then it disappears. Tony can't be too serious for too long. ]

Who's Bethany? And Reed? I don't know them.

[agentx13]

Uh-uh. Tell me what you've got in your world. I've been talking too much in this so-called conversation.

[manofiron]

Minus JARVIS and a couple old robots I was still cleaning seaweed out of, you're looking at what I've got. The company, sure. Money, yeah.

Believe it or not, Agent Carter, there's more to life than money.