El!
El has been with the site for nearly two years now and has continued to prove her value. Currently, she is heading up our site event, Battle for Liberterram, on top of keeping up with her own personal plots.
CHARACTER
SPOTLIGHT
Peggy Carter!
Lux's posts are all wonderful to read. She has done a wonderful job of grasping the new universe and incorporating Peggy into it.
CHARACTER
SPOTLIGHT
Peter Parker!
It's good to see Spidey back on the site. Watching him deal with the universe shift in his own snarky way has been nothing short of entertaining.
THREAD
SPOTLIGHT
Eight O'Clock on the Dot!
El and Lux are making magic in this thread. Straight up fireworks, and the way they've played with drawing out the reveal is top class.
Peter Parker was having a hard time adjusting. He hadn't been in this new world for very long and it was exhausting to say the very least. For starters the world hated him again, after years of working with NYPD and building public rapport he had gone right back to public enemy over night. As much as Peter wasn't one for vanity he had to admit he missed the public photo ops. Children smiling and getting overwhelmed with joy at the sight of the red and blue. There something about being in the limelight that was a rush for the young hero. It was such a difference from being the nerdy kid in the back of the class it was a rush. A rush that, like most things, can be addictive on its own. It wasn't until the first time he saw people hurrying away as he strung up a jewel theif, children being ushered away by their guardians, that he truly realized he had become hooked. But those were selfish things, small wounds that with time he could mend. It was the larger changes that resonated with him. The ones that shook the very foundation of everything he thought he had known in the world. Thoughts of the sweet elderly woman that raised him started to rush to the surface of his mind but Peter quickly pushed them away.
The city was different. In ways he had never thought possible in his lifetime. Swinging the the streets of Manhattan was familiar yet foreign in the strangest of ways. Certain buildings were different. Occasionally streets would be named something different. A street would turn left instead of right. Navigating the once familiar city had become the equivalent of Mirror Mode from Mario cart. That wasn't even starting to mention the fact that traffic had suddenly became a problem for him again. Flying cars. A week ago the concept would have been utterly fascinating to him. Now with the practical application as a Wall-crawler the cars quickly went from fascinating technology to a whole new kind of nuisance. It had taken several days get used to having to look both ways before swinging across a road, not to mention the nasty surprise of accidentally hooking an unsuspecting cab. But with a bit of practice he was able to move fairly similar to how he had before. When the universe wasn't trying to pull the rug out from under him that was, but that was just the usual Parker luck.
He swung up the side the Stark Industries building. The late night air stung even through his mask as he grew higher still. As he approached the higher levels of the tower he took special care to tap a button on his web shooters. A small green light began blinking just above, indicating the security clearance Tony had given him had cleared. He had found out the hard way when first joining up with the Avengers that the billionaires buildings wasn't somewhere you showed up unannounced. Peter had nearly died from the automated defenses before barley escaping with his life. Of course that was the old him. Or the old universe. He still hadn't sorted out how it all worked but it appeared whoever this Peter was he had come to the same conclusion with this Stark Industries. In a moment he was on roof, vacant, as he had expected it to be. Of course the building wasn't nearly as busy this far past midnight any how. Having clearance was like a dream to the budding scientist. Stark labs were some of the most advanced in the world. With access to the resources of his employer Pete was a kid in a candy shop, wanting to relive every small experiment he had played through his mind since he was a young boy. But he had priorities. The Spider came first and foremost.
Taking a moment the spider slipped out of his costume and into his civilian clothing from his back pack. Stashing the suit into bag before striding to the door and placing his palm on the security panel. With a click it was open and Peter stepped out of the cold night air and into the well lit building. From there it was a familiar pace. Step after step door after door and Pete found himself walking into the Penthouse. Peter always felt a slight sense of unease entering the billionaires private home. Sure he didn't necessarily stay there often but knowing he was one of a select few with access to the room made him nervous. Everything in the room easily had to be worth more money then the intern had seen in his life and with his luck he'd find the most expensive things to shatter beyond repair. Pulling his backpack into a tight embrace Pete moved quickly and carefully through the room towards the back where the entrance to the lab was held.
A sense of relief came over him as the light flickered into existence, responding to his presence in the room. Slowly his eyes ran across the equipment, lingering from each piece of equipment to the next. The original universe's Tony kept an amazing lab. The greatest Peter had ever seen but this new universe was a tech nerds wet dream and he was in the epicenter of it all. Wiping a hand across the corner of his mouth Pete broke his lustful gaze and got to work.
First he reached into his bag, pulling out his prototype. Carefully he laid the material across the work table, the light above dancing on the vibrant red and blue material. A new costume, or he supposed it was more than just a costume any more. When he had first started the red and blue spandex he wore would definitely fall under that category. This was too high tech to carry the same classification as it's predecessor. With Stark tech behind him it didn't take him very long to get a head start on the project. The flexible and breathable mesh material was sturdy, stronger than anything Pete had warn before and still kept the same flexibility he was used to. With weapon tech being as advanced as it was in this universe he was sure there were plenty of bullets that could make their way past the material but it was mainly edged weapons he was worried about. No more sewing had become the mantra. No more sewing.
Placing his bag on the floor he pulled out the rest of the costume: boots, gloves and a mask though there were several holes where his white eyes traditionally went. Satisfied he had brought everything Pete pulled out his phone, syncing to the lab speakers and started up his playlist. The musical styling of No Doubt floated into the room, the only artist on the new Pete's playlist that was the same as the old Pete's. Bobbing along with the music Peter walked over to the far cabinet, back facing the door as he started pulling out equipment, pausing between each grabbing each tool. Gradually he started humming along with the music, the familiar beats and instruments prompting him to tap his feet and sway with the music, not realizing that he was no longer the only one in the room.
One of the main irritations of living with his new-world girlfriend was that for some reason she seemed to expect him to sleep at the same time she did. The fact that this universe’s Tony had apparently been pretty good about sleep schedules was something that would continue to baffle him, but he eventually gave in to the whole thing at least somewhat by sneaking out of the bedroom after she’d nodded off.
He stumbled into the kitchen with a yawn and flipped on the coffee maker, slumping over the counter while he waited for it to finish. He’d gotten a cat-nap in while waiting for Kayley to pass out, but he’d still need a little extra jump before returning to the lab. Grabbing the cup when it was finished, he sipped at it as he headed down the stairs.
Tony paused when he reached the lab, watching through the glass windows as Parker danced around the interior area. He was such an odd kid; Tony really didn’t know what to do with him most of the time. He was glad that the kid seemed to have come along on this weird alternate universe with him, though, as he wasn’t sure what he would’ve done with a Parker he didn’t know hanging around in his labs with security clearance.
Shaking his head to himself, he pressed his hand to the lock and slipped inside as the doors slid open, still sipping from his mug. He paused at the table the kid had clearly been setting up on, looking over the new costume, which was being put together with the same tech that this universe’s Starks had begun to use with all their superhero friends.
“Doesn’t your Aunt wond-- Uncle, I mean. Doesn’t he wonder where you’re always disappearing to at night?” Parker’s Aunt had been the one that raised him in the real world. Here, it had been his Uncle. That had to be a bit rough to get used to, he figured. Tony had gained all his parental figures back in this world, not exchanged one for another. Not that he’d appreciated it so far.
The sudden voice made Peter jump. He always forgot that he wasn't the only scientist who had trouble sleeping at night. Of course that was immediately followed by the sting of May's memory that was becoming all to familiar. He knew it was just a slip up. Anyone who spent more than a few minutes with Pete knew what she meant to him. Sure the joy of seeing Ben was overwhelming but the look on Ben's face when Pete went to find May. Maybe it would have been different if it had been his life. If it had been him that had been there for Ben things would have been different. He wasn't sure how much more loss he could take. He cleared his throat and turned around to face the man he viewed as a mentor with a nonchalant shrug.
"I guess this worlds Peter didn't keep up on appearances as well as I did for May." Placing a small metallic device on the counter he reached over and drastically turned down his music hoping Tony didn't notice his guilty pleasure. "I tried apologizing like day two but he sort of shrugged it off. Think they had a bit of a strained relationship. Here check this out!" He moved to a more comfortable subject instead moving his attention to the suit he had on the table. Spreading it out to its full length picking up the small device again he held it against the material.
"So basically I figure if we're trying to go for some stealth I probably wont help anything bouncing around in primary colors. So..." He clicked the device in his hand, activating a magnetic pulse into the material of his suit. At it's touch the red and blue suit turned to a matte shade of black, the symbol on his chest changing from black to white. "I took some liberties from the...you know. Symbiote this a while back but I figured 'Hey everyone else gets to look flashy so why not...'" He stopped himself short. The familiar feeling of talking too much setting in. Brushing it off he clicked the device again returning the suit to it's original red and blue. As he turned to pick up the mask and his new lens prototypes.
"I figured as long as we're... You know. HERE." He made a wide gesture in an awkward attempt to signify their shifts in reality. Something about being verbal diarrhea had a way of taking away someones ability to describe things with any sort of finesse. He heaved a sigh before picking up one of the lenses and started fidgeting with the circuitry. "I can tinker with the fancy future tech and make some Spidey upgrades."
Notes: hopefully i can get back on track now. Tagged:Peter Parker
Tony chuckled a bit as his arrival startled the young scientist. He hadn't really meant to do that, but he supposed that the Spidey-Sense thing just alerted him to danger and negated Tony from that kind of thing. Since Tony liked Peter and wouldn't hurt him. He really wasn't sure how those Spider-powers worked, to be quite honest. And as long as they continued working he didn't really need to investigate.
"Sorry to hear that, kid," Tony replied before moving to look at whatever it was that Peter was using as a distraction from the conversation that he clearly didn't want to have. He didn't want to dwell on it, as i was clearly something that made Peter uncomfortable, but he couldn't just not say anything either.
Making a noise of agreement as Peter mentioned the bright colors not being too stealthy, he watched as the device he'd been working on pulsed and turned the colors to black and white rather than the red and blue that were almost brighter than Cap's suit.
"It's not fancy future tech," he grumbled at Peter as he changed subject, "I can make stuff like this, if I have the right materials." He studied the suit again, fingers running over the fabric. He rubbed a hand down his face before turning back to Peter. "It's slow going. We still don't know what caused the shift, Pete," he replied to the mention of being stuck here. He wanted to be home as much as the next guy, but it wasn't possible. Yet. He would figure it out eventually, of course.
"Unless you have any ideas, we're relying on Richards for that one," he added with a scoff.
Pete felt a bit of relief as his mentor let the subject of the Parkers pass. That was a can of worms he wanted to leave shut as long as he could. Healthy? Probably not. But he wasn't any use to anyone as a puddle of emotions. He was at least adept into crushing his darker thoughts into submission.
"I was still getting used to the regular Stark tech in our world. This stuff makes my old lab look like I was rubbing together a couple of sticks." It was certainly a far cry from the watches he had used at the mounts for his original web shooters. He couldn't even count how many times he had to sew the spandex costume back together. If all else failed he could make an honest living as a seamstress.
"I played around with the idea of doing armor kinda like...well you." He started off, a bit bashful even at the thought. "Missles and repulsors aren't my thing. I couldn't figure out how to get the same effect and keep my mobility so." He gestured to the suit in front of them. It had been a learning experience working alongside Earth's mightiest heroes. The young scientist had been trying to observe his colleagues and taking notes on anything that he might be able to use help him be more useful.
The shift itself was still such a mystery to them. Like it wasn't confusing navigating a foreign universe as is without worrying about a way home. And did Peter wish they had a way home. But for now he had to adapt. He had started sifting through this Peter's personal files to try and make some sort of a cheat sheet. A quick reference to help him keep up the act.
"Multiverse theory was never my strong suit. But I know Doctor Richards specializes in that sort of cosmic study so with any luck..." They'd be home? To their universe? Who was to say that they wouldn't end up somewhere else. "I suppose there was an equal chance of us ending up in a universe where English was never invented so there's always that." He shrugged as he fiddled with the suit on the table. The stealth switch fit into the side of the chest piece of his suit, right under his spider emblem. Would make for easy switch in the field.
"I can't shake the feeling that this should be more interesting and exciting...as a scientist you know?" There had been science fiction writers dedicating their careers to this subject matter and here they were living the dream.
"Being more armored isn't a bad idea for someone like you," Tony replied to the thought, "But I would definitely go more the Cap route than the Iron Man route. After all, your agility is an important trait in your fighting style. Not so much with mine - I'm a forty-something without superpowers, y'know? The material should fit the use." It was one of the reasons he'd worked so hard to develop better-armored materials for his spandex companions, as this universe's Tony apparently had as well.
Parker, for all the energy that Tony associated him with, seemed almost unusually subdued at the moment. Tony could understand the inclination, given that they were out in the rough when it came to having any idea of what they were doing or should be doing.
"He also specializes in being a dickbag, so I'm keeping my hopes low on working with him being anything other than frustrating," Tony sighed in response, "But yes, hopefully his area of expertise helps us."
He snorted at the idea of landing in a world where English didn't exist. "No, here we just have dinosaurs and a Nazi country," he replied with a small, wry smile. He was really never going to get over either of those facts, though for different reasons. One was awesome and the other was completely terrible.
Tony shrugged a bit at the idea that this whole thing should be more interesting. "I'd always thought first contact would be more intellectually stimulating than playing Galaga with aliens in real life, but that didn't turn out to be the case," he replied, "I think these things might just be cooler in theory."
