[action - semi backdated to midday]

[sublimating]

[at midday Bruce finds himself hovering at the edge of the sand near where the sand begins to give way to grass and trees, milling about and rubbing his hands, occasionally ducking down to survey the plants that are visible from the tree line. the heat is oppressive, but he's unfazed by it, having spent times in hotter climates. it's already been a trying day, and the last thing he wants to do now is dwell on the things he can't change about their situation]

[he promised Sif that he would forage for food, edible fruits and vegetables and berries; and Sif promised him volunteers. so he's waiting to mentor whoever shows up -- and/or who he stumbles across in the jungle while hunting over the next few hours]

Comments

[sublimating]

They unionized. Threatened to strike unless I gave them longer breaks. [folding his arms, with a grin quirking up the corner of his mouth] What are you... drifting around for?

[cleanedslate]

See, that's why you only hire ten-year-olds in Somalia. [ Somalia's a place, right? impoverished? making iPhones for pennies a day...? he's not getting it confused with Ethiopia? good, good ]

And contrary to popular belief around here, I can actually walk and chew gum at the same time. I'm designing huts in my head.

[ probably also still turning Extremis over in his head, but. this needs work, too. and it's much easier to be flippant here! ]

[sublimating]

Right... But you don't appear to be walking, chewing gum, and building anything. We weren't told to make a marketable gated community, you know.

[cleanedslate]

Oh, come on, we've got days. Are you gonna tell Mommy Valkyrie on me?

[ but already he's looking back the way he came, and he brings his hands together, cracks the knuckles and stretches out the joints. ]

[sublimating]

[leaning forward a little] Yeah, what is the deal with her? Is she -- for real? [Asgardian, valkyrie, both, none of the above]

[cleanedslate]

I don't think they have silicon in Asgard, but I could check, if I ever really needed a broken nose.

[ casually ] She says she knows Thor, and that tracks with what little SHIELD had on the Puento Antiguo incident. Plus, ripping trees out of the ground with her bare hands, BayCon outfit, that weird British-y accent they all seem to have...

Oh, and she knew about Thor's mission to Earth, and wanted to know how it went. So there's that.

[sublimating]

That's not bad, as far as evidence goes. [she definitely seems the part, but he didn't press the issue. he's inclined to avoid Asgardians in general. they make him a little itchy] In that case, I might suggest not checking for any other forms of realness unless you're -- suited up.

[cleanedslate]

[ cracking a wider smile ] Suit versus object of confused ancient worship hasn't worked out yet, but I did make some modifications. [ the Hulk Buster unit could probably take Sif, to a certain extent! ]

[sublimating]

Well, let me know when you've got the suit built. I'll keep an eye out for any corn so we can, you know. Pop it.

[cleanedslate]

[ he hisses through his teeth ] I kind of blew it up, actually? Symbolic gesture. Getting my life back on track. That kind of thing.

Might be hard to reconstruct the blueprints without JARVIS... [ he misses you buddy ]

[sublimating]

[he lifts his eyebrows]

--I guess as far as gestures go, that would be... suitably dramatic. You have more than one, though, don't you? [he thought you were on, like, seven, or something]

[cleanedslate]

[ uh ] Yeah, I had. A few more than one, actually.

Like, forty-six more than one.

[sublimating]

--Forty-seven? [oh] You know what? I think you probably made a good call. It would be kind of awkward if you started getting into triple digits anyway.

[cleanedslate]

They made one hell of a fireworks display.

[ beat ] This thing where you don't remember anything that happened in the last seven months, or weren't there for it? It kind of sucks. [ lips curve up ]

Lesson learned, is the point. One suit was always more than enough. All I really needed was me.

And the right backup. [ curving higher still. might have some of that backup right here actually. ]

[sublimating]

[he laughs a little, light] Yeah, a good team at your back can do -- wonders for your confidence level. [he's familiar]

[cleanedslate]

You're welcome. [ graciously just taking all the credit ] We didn't do half bad for a time bomb, in the end.