June Test Drive~!

[rubycitymods]

Thinking of apping a character but not sure they'll fit in the city walls?

Have no fear, a meme for you is here.


Directions:

Post with your character with their name and canon on top!

Choose a location and prompt or wait for someone else to tag.

If you'd like, leave contact info for people to get in contact for plotting and other such shenans.

Tag around! Make friends. Don't be afraid to chat OOC while tagging.



Locations:

1. Train Station: New arrival, or waiting to welcome people? Either way, the train comes in, but you still can't ride it out.

2. Cathedral: Looking for redemption? Just doing a little sight-seeing? Or just getting a little shelter?

3. The Clocktower: You can see the whole city from here!

4. The Black Stallion Saloon: You were told the burgers were great here-- but maybe you just came for the beer.

5. The Library: You came to do a little research, but it looks like all of the information's just out of your reach. Though, you can always find a way to pass the time here.

6. The Coffee Joint: A lovely place to have a chat and a bite to eat.

7. Le Cafe Anglais: A Parisian-British fusion that's as charming as it sounds and serves the best tea around.


Scenarios

1. Just walked in: You intended to get here, and you made your way in; but now someone's caught your eye and you'd like to have a chat.

2. Been here all day: You've been sitting around minding the time. Maybe you didn't notice them at first or maybe you were just working up the courage to talk-- either way, they know you're here and you know it too.

3. Bad weather: You're here because you've gotten rained in. This wasn't your choice, but at least it's dry-- right?

4. Wild card: Got something better in mind? Well screw these prompts, try it out yourself!


Have fun, guys!

Comments

[captain_asthmatic]

Steve patrolled, generally in the park or near the train station, rain or shine. It was common for him to head in the direction of the station any time he saw one heading into the city.

As he moved closer to the station, trotting down the street, he saw a man bending down on the ground and slowed from his fast jog to a walk. He pulled off his helmet, letting it dangle from his fingers, and placed the shield on his back.

"Hey!" he called, raising a hand in greeting as he walked towards the newcomer. But as Tony started to react to the call, Steve recognized the trashed Ironman suit. "Tony?"

[shwarm_after]

From beyond the train station he could see someone approaching. His body tensed as they got closer.. What the hell was he supposed to do? He couldn't just leave the suit, plus there wasn't any where he could actually go.

But then they were talking and he knew that shield anywhere. His dad never shut up about that damn thing.

"Steve?" he took a step from under the shelter of the the station and stepped into the rain. God, it was cold. "What the hell are you doing here?" No seriously, what was he doing here? Captain spangly pants was usually out on assignment or getting reacquainted with the 21st century. Not shipped out to Ruby City in the middle of nowhere. But then again, that wasn't really important because there were much more important things at hand.

Things like dealing with The Mandarin.

"You know what, don't answer. SHIELD stuff, I get it. Look, I'm pretty sure Nick just tipped you off with what just happened... Anyways, need to get back to Malibu."

[captain_asthmatic]

Steve trotted over to him and glanced down at the suit. It looked...heavily trashed, and Tony didn't look much better. Steve didn't know what was going on, just yet, but it seemed obvious Tony hadn't yet realized what was happening here.

"No, not SHIELD stuff. Nick Fury..." He pursed his lips. Tony must have been from an earlier timeframe, which meant it was probably best that Steve not tip him off about Nick's death - or his survival. Just in case. "I've got nothing to do with SHIELD. Listen, Stark. Whatever you're in the middle of, it's going to have to wait. We have to talk."

[shwarm_after]

"What do you mean? No, it can't wait. I don't what the little secret mission Fury's got you doing out here, but there's bigger things going on. Someone just went Rambo on my house. I gotta get back to Pepper or at least talk to her-"

Oh, that was an idea. Maybe he could get at least call the Stark private server maybe tap into it enough to access some information, let Pepper know he was at least alive. Maybe even call the House Party Protocol if he couldn't JARVIS up and running. Or maybe it didn't need to be the whole party, more of a soiree, really.

"Hey, give me your phone."

[captain_asthmatic]

"Oh god," Steve replied, his expression going slack.

He knew what this was about. he had heard about the Mandarin - of course. He had also been pursuing the terrorist for SHIELD at the same time Tony's house had been attacked and War Machine had been deployed. Steve hadn't caught up to the criminal, and Tony had saved the day, but Steve had been out there, too, on his own mission.

"I don't have my phone on me," he said distractedly, mind racing. He had to get Tony listening to him before he'd be able to explain. Tony had a tendency to be in his own little world and until Steve snapped him out of it, he was probably not going to make much progress. "Pepper's all right, though. She's just fine, I promise."

He reached for Tony's arm. "I need you to listen, Stark. You can't go back home right now. It's impossible. We're not on Earth."

[shwarm_after]

"What do you mean you don't have your phone SHIELD gives you phones. They give you my phones. I make sure of it-You know, consultant and all." Because that's what he did. Sure, he got paid for it, and got to be part of the superhero boy band and all but making sure the other Avengers had half decent tech was one of the perks.

"How do you know? Does she know what's going on? She doesn't even know I'm alive. I mean, it's not the first time this happened. Kind of a bi-annual thing, actually." He was talking over Steve. Doing that thing that Pepper hated, but it was Steve and if anybody deserved to be talked over it was him. Well, that was kind of unfair, but whatever, it was Cap he'd get over it.

"So we just need to get in contact with SHIELD and they-" Steve reached for his arm and okay, maybe he should really start listening to him. He even had the whole 'I am Captain America listen to me' which okay, that tone kind of deserved to be listened to every once in a while. However, he didn't really catch everything he was saying until the very last sentence.

They weren't on Earth?

Cue the record scratch. So Cap might have gotten his attention. "What?!"

[captain_asthmatic]

There we go. There was the moment Steve had been trying to get to, as Tony talked over him and freaked out. Now Tony was actually paying attention.

He gave Tony his best serious look, holding those dark eyes with his own, and a supersoldier-strong hand around Tony's bicep.

"Tony, we've been kidnapped by powerful alien beings, and are being held in a pocket universe. While you're here, time isn't passing back home, so there's nothing you can do to help Pepper at the moment. I've been here for nearly four months, but for me, what you're going through with the Mandarin was a while back. I can tell you that Pepper is fine, and you will survive it and stop the Mandarin."

He released Tony's arm and sighed. "Bruce is here, and so is Bucky Barnes. And Jane Foster - Thor's girlfriend. And Loki, but he's different. But the rest of the people here are from other parallel Earths, or other alien worlds we've never heard of."

He knew this was a lot to take in, so he stopped there, giving Tony a chance to catch up.

[shwarm_after]

Tony tried pulling away from Steve. His foot kicked against the suit making a loud clang as it slumped further to the ground. Something rattled and it sounded like something probably fell off, but that doesn't really matter (actually it did matter. It mattered a lot since that was his only defense mechanism here) because Steve was still holding on to him. Right, super soldier.

And then Steve was talking, saying stuff about time and space and pocket universes and all that stuff that sounded great in sci-fi shows but was actually wibbly wobbly timey wimey bullshit. Which actually made a whole lot of sense considering Steve would probably eat up any sci-fi crap somebody served him. And it wasn't like they weren't friends with a Norse God or anything. Pocket universes weren't really in the realm of disbelief for either of them.

Eventually his arm was released and Tony absently rubbed at where the soldier's hand had been. Jesus, the guy could probably crush diamonds with his pinky.

"Pocket universes are just a theory because that's not how space and time actually work," he started but stopped when Steve began listing off different names. Bruce was supposed to be back in New York, Jane was off fangirling the stars in Europe and Loki was supposed to be in Asgard doing whatever the hell Asgardians did after they got caught trying to destroy the earth. And Bucky... Who the hell was-wait a minute.

Bucky Barnes? Cap's best friend immortalized in comic books and the other guy his dad never shut up about? Nah, he totally misheard that one. Blame it on the rain.

"You wanna repeat that second one for me, Cap?"

[captain_asthmatic]

Steve hadn't meant to hurt Tony, but he had needed to keep and hold Tony's attention as long as it took to get his mind off Pepper. It looked like it had worked. Mostly.

"You can go ahead and debate the nature of this place with Jane. She's the astrophysicist, not me. I'm going to take her word for it for now."

He had started to crook a smile, but it vanished at Tony's question. "Bucky Barnes. My best friend. We thought he died in the 40's but it turns out he was captured and brainwashed by HYDRA."

[shwarm_after]

Tony saw Steve's expression falter and that pretty much confirmed the whole Bucky being alive thing. Awkward. And impossible, but hey, pocket universes apparently existed (which he still totally wasn't believing yet) so maybe World War II soldiers could come back from the dead. Well, unless they were a super soldier but Steve was kind of the exception to the rule.

"So what, is he a geriatric HYDRA agent? And I thought you destroyed HYDRA. You know, before the whole freezing thing."

He scrubbed a hand through his hair and frowned when he felt something come out. Was that plaster in his hair? Not that there hadn't had worse in his hair but... Damn, he needed a shower, and not one in the form of rain. Oh, and he should probably clean up the cuts on his face at some point in time.

[captain_asthmatic]

Steve's expression was rather wooden, and his blue eyes dropped with sadness. "I thought so, too, but HYDRA is very alive and well, working in the shadows. Zola had already started experimenting on him when he fell from the train, so that's probably how he survived the fall." He was assuming that Howard had told Tony more details and that he would be familiar with what happened to Bucky. "He's not geriatric - no more than I am. He's a supersoldier, like me. But he's been in cryo for a lot of years, and doing HYDRA's dirty work when they took him out. He doesn't remember much of his life. But...we're working on it. He's not trying to kill me anymore, so that's good."

He looked up, squaring his shoulders. "How badly are you hurt? I can take you to the clinic to get checked out by Bruce. Or we can go straight to my place so you can rest up and we can figure out where you're going to stay for the long-term. I've got a lot to fill you in on." He glanced at the suit and decided he wouldn't have much trouble carrying it, but he'd wait on Tony's permission before touching it. It was his baby, after all.

[shwarm_after]

So apparently talking about HYDRA seemed to be a major downer for Steve. That or the whole best friend dying thing. That could also be it.Tony knew some of the details. There were reports and stories his dad told him about, but they weren't necessarily detailed. They certainly left out the whole super soldier thing. That was kind of new. He raised an eyebrow at the last statement about Bucky. "Not trying to kill you anymore... Sounds like a good friend. So attempted murder was a thing in the 40's? Sounds like those were the good ol' days."

Then Steve was asking about him and Tony gave an experimental stretch of his arms and winced. He was sore, banged up and bruised. Getting thrown into the Pacific with the a house falling on top of you kind of did that to a person. "I'm fine," he shrugged. "I'm not here for the long term but..."

He turned back to look over at the Iron Man suit. It was crumpled, and powered down. Damn thing didn't even have enough power to fully disassemble. "I'm need a power source for him, then I'm getting back to Malibu."

[captain_asthmatic]

"Not in the 40s," Steve said with a frown. "But when he arrived here, HYDRA had sent him on a mission to kill Natasha and I. He saw me and attacked. He didn't remember our friendship at all, but now he's starting to remember."

He stepped closer and bent, carefully picking the Ironman suit and slinging it over his shoulders to carry it. It's heavy, but not as heavy as a car. He can carry it for long enough to get them to shelter.

"I thought that arc reactor in your chest was a power source," he said, grunting slightly as he straightened and turned south to lead Tony towards his house.

[shwarm_after]

"You know there's something really wrong with your friendship when your friend tries killing you the first time he sees you, right?" Because hell, he pissed Rhodey off all the time and there hadn't been any attempted murders...yet. Then again, his best friend wasn't part of a secret evil super Nazi organization, either. Or a super soldier.

"Hey, careful with the goods," he gave Steve a tap on the arm. "It's a new model." Maybe he should be grateful for the help. Despite the fact that Mark XLII was built for aerodynamics, it was was still a metal suit. Having Steve do the heavy lifting was a bit of a blessing. Eh, maybe he'd upgrade his spangled suit later as thank you. Seriously, it was almost embarrassing. Then again, that's what happened when fanboys were in charge of designs.

He bent over to pick up a piece that had fallen off. It was a finger. Nothing too bad. He could just solder back on later. "The suit's powered by a different arc reactor. It'd be stupid to let this one power it," he tapped the reactor in his chest for emphasis. "I'm trying to keep the shrapnel from entering my heart."

[captain_asthmatic]

A muscle jumped in Steve's jaw. Tony could be such a self-centred jerk sometimes, and this was definitely one of those times. "He was brainwashed by HYDRA, Stark. None of the things they made him do were his fault. He's my best friend."

He was trying to be careful, but it was pretty awkward and heavy. He didn't respond to the comment about being careful, just shifting it a little on his shoulders to make sure the weight was evenly distributed, and, well, soldiering on.

"Then you've got a problem, because there's no electricity in this town." He glanced sidelong at Tony, thoughtful. "Except for that reactor in your chest. Better be careful. A lot of people will probably be wanting to charge their iphones."

[shwarm_after]

"Hey, no judgement here." He held his hands up as a sign of peace. "You're a big boy. As long as it's consensual and you've got a safe word, you can do whatever you want." Note to self, Bucky was still a touchy subject for Cap. Patriotic buzz kill duly noted.

His eyebrow raised at Steve's look. It had a little too much concern for a simple power outage but Steve pretty much worried about everything, so probably nothing to worry about too much. "So are we talking massive generator failure? 'Cause you know, I bet even Bruce could fix that... Probably. Anyways, it's not like anybody would be able to power just anything with this baby." He motioned toward the reactor in his chest. "There's a reason why you don't power a light bulb with a nuclear reactor."

[captain_asthmatic]

Steve looked at Tony in obvious confusion. Safe word? What did that even mean? But it was probably best for everyone if he just stopped talking about Bucky right now. Everything was a joke to him, and Steve was way too sensitive about this topic.

"No, we're not talking massive generator failure. We're talking no generator at all. Everything's gas powered. The fridge is cold because there's ice in it, which you have to get at the store and cart home. We're talking my parents' childhood level of tech." He didn't ask, but learning that you didn't power lightbulbs with nuclear reactors was a revelation. He thought that was kind of the point of nuclear reactors - to power things, like the lights.

[shwarm_after]

Tony was about to on and explain how the power in his arc reactor could probably surge and fry any small scale electronic unless they had a hell of an adapter. There was definitely a way to share the power, but 1-Tony didn't go for that sharing is caring bullshit especially when it came to his heart, and 2-It was more hassle than it was worth, it'd be better to just get the whole town up and running. But then Steve answered and Tony stopped walking, cold rain be damned.

"What do you mean everything is gas powered?" Because no he was not stuck in a place where there was no electricity. There were things he had to do. Places he had to be. A CEO Girlfriend in charge of his company that he had to make sure was still okay. A giant computerized suit of armor he had to get up and running. His life ran on electricity. "Who runs everything on gas? What, are our pocket universe abductors Amish?"

[captain_asthmatic]

Steve shook his head. He'd been pretty sure Tony wouldn't be happy about this, but it is what it is.

"I have no idea who they are, really. I mean, I've met one of them, and I know the names of several others. But we don't know what they are, or where they get their power. We don't know why they've brought us here, or why they do most of the things they do."

He drew a breath, pushing the suit a little higher on his shoulder. "But Tony... you built the first suit in low tech conditions that were probably worse than here. I'm sure you can handle this after what you went through."

[shwarm_after]

"I built the first model with with soldering guns and a Mac from 1991. Jesus, I'm stuck in a place with worse tech than Afghanistan."

And... oh. Oh, was that his heart beating fast? Was that a heart palpitation, because that was kind of impossible considering he had something in his chest that pretty much prevented that. Why was there a tightness in his chest and why was it suddenly hard to breath and why was he was stuck in a place that might be worse that freakin' Afghanistan and no, this wasn't happening because he had to get back to Malibu and fight off a goddamn terrorist but no, he was stuck in nonexistent pocket universes-

"Holy crap," He held a hand to his face. Breathe, just breathe. Jesus Christ. Nope, this wasn't going to happen. Not here. Not in front of Captain Freakin' America.

[captain_asthmatic]

When Tony suddenly stopped and began to hyperventilate, Steve stared at him for only a moment before he realized what was going on. Though PTSD had been poorly understood in his time, his association with Sam and a lot of time on his hands worrying about what was wrong with Bucky had caused him to turn to books on psychology. And he'd quickly learned what shellshock really was and what to do about it.

He turned to Tony, shifting the suit on his shoulders just enough to free one hand. He wouldn't be able to hold it long like this, but he put his free hand on Tony's shoulder, hoping to give him something to distract him from his fear.

"Hey, Tony," he said in a quiet tone. "Just relax, soldier. You're gonna be just fine."

[shwarm_after]

Breathing. Breathing was a thing. A thing he was kind of failing at properly doing, but it was a thing that kind of needed to happen soon because oxygen was a necessity. But the thing with the whole anxiety issue was no matter what stupid logic he thought, it didn't help because how do you even stop thinking about everything wrong and supposed nonsensical abductions were the norm? How was he going to get back to Pepper when he was stuck in Amish country and-

But then there was a hand on his shoulder and Steve was calling him soldier and really, that should bother him a whole lot more than it did because he wasn't a soldier, but blame anxiety for that. Tony was forced to pull hand away from his face if only to attempt to move Steve's away. It didn't work but it did distract him at least enough to get a half decent breath of air. Good to know he still had half functioning lungs.

He glanced up at Steve, trying to catch his breath before he looked back down. Okay, he could breath. At least a little bit. It wasn't normal but it was better, if only marginally.

"Just... Just give me a minute, okay?" A minute and a bottle of scotch to forget this ever happened.

[captain_asthmatic]

Steve let Tony push him away, and lifted that hand back up to steady the suit. When Tony looked up, he saw that he was starting to recover, and nodded with approval.

"It's all right, son. You've got all the time you need. But let's keep walking. You'll feel better when we get into shelter, and I can only carry this damn suit for so long before I'm going to have to put it down."

He put a hand on Tony's arm again, squeezing, then turned to head off again, at a slower pace. Best to keep Tony distracted, not by frightening things, but minutia. Trouble was, he wasn't sure what to talk about. Maybe the suit was a safe topic.

"How many of these things have you got, anyway?"

[shwarm_after]

A few seconds passed and Tony watched Steve pull back and nod with approval. Why did it feel like he was getting approval and a stern talking to from a grandfather he never knew? Great. He had just freaked out in front of Captain America. Good job. He stood there for a few moments, regaining his composure, half tempted to yell at Steve for bringing up stupid crap. But the Mark XLII was currently in his arms, and... that was probably a bad idea.

Then Steve squeezed his arm, and yeah, it might have been slightly comforting but Tony would never mention it. Instead he bristled and shrugged out of his grasp. He was fine, or at least he could pretend to be fine and trudge through the rain despite his still uneven breathing. Just blame it on the rain and hypothermia. Sure.

"Keep talking like that and you're going to start sounding your actual age, Cap." His voice was little bitter. He wasn't in the mood for gratitude. Or talking about anything, really because people generally wanted to ask about things like what had just happened and no, that wasn't an option.

But then Steve was asking him about the armor, and yeah, he could talk bout tech. Technology was probably the only thing he could talk about that wouldn't...whatever. "42. Well, technically a little less than that since the first model is somewhere out in the desert and Rhodey took the second one. Then Mark VI got shredded since a certain someone couldn't pull a lever in time... Not that I'm blaming anybody." No, he would never do that.

Ever.

[captain_asthmatic]

Steve pretty much expected Tony to bristle and growl at him and not want to talk about anything serious, which was why he did his best to reassure him, and then moved on. Best thing for him, really.

"Next time people are shooting at me, I'll just get hit, then," he said agreeably, hitching up the suit. Then he paused. "Wait, did you say 42? You have 42 suits now and you were on six back then?"