[ Opening Mingle ]

[randomly_modding]

[Everyone will wake up suddenly, as if having drifted off -- while sitting upright in an uncomfortable office chair. In one hand they're holding the communicator, and in their lap is propped a clipboard with a job application (standard, looking something like this; it requests up to ten years of job history, ) and a pen. The waiting room is also fairly standard, except for being empty.]

[The communicator's lock screen reads, Complete the job application. Time limit, twenty-four hours.]

[There are magazines, fake plants, and computers. There's a staff lounge with food -- tupperware that might have belonged to some of these nonexistent workers, popcorn and cocoa packets, vending machines -- and restrooms. There are exits, but characters will be unable to use them... or make their own, or escape in any way.]

[So the characters are stuck here, until tomorrow morning. Set up a comment telling everyone what your character is doing, and thinking, whether they're obeying the task or not, at any time during the day. Then tag other people! Be sure to check back later in the week, when people are encouraged make threads for the evening as well as the day! Characters that have been claimed are also welcome at this point to join the community, and will be able to make their own posts, which can be tagged by anyone taking part in the event.]

Comments

:3

[onehotpepper]

[Pepper recognizes his voice at once, familiar with it since -- in her timeline -- Bruce started doing R&D with Tony in the wake of the New York incident. He's a good guy, a much less energetic presence than Tony. Ironic, perhaps, all things considered, but that's life, isn't it? She can breathe fire now, for goodness' sake. It happens to the oddest selection of people.

[In any case, this place feels less outrageously random with him around. she smiles fondly] How nice to see you here, Dr. Banner. [we'll play the formal game, sure]

[sublimating]

[he offers her a crooked smile] Then you -- recognize me? That's good. That's great. It saves some explanation. Though I have been looking forward to meeting you, so it's a little disappointing to learn that I missed it.

[and, because he's not Tony, he'll go ahead and explain that] It... seems like for some reason I don't remember anything after the invasion of New York.

[onehotpepper]

[Her smile melts into a frown.] Oh, that's terrible. [It had been a nice first meeting, too.]

I know that this probably won't be worth much, but I don't know where this is or why we were asked to fill out this paperwork. [She taps the clipboard] I don't suppose you do?

[sublimating]

[chuckling] I'm afraid I don't have much help to offer there. Apparently, everyone here just -- woke up, without warning, in what appears to be a shabby real estate office.

I'm hoping that if we do what they want, we'll get to see who's behind it.

[onehotpepper]

[there isn't much else they can do-- well, that's not true, but she gets the feeling that using any abilities to try and destroy things will count against them.

Unless--] I don't think it'll be that simple. I'm starting to wonder if this isn't some sort of trap.

[sublimating]

A trap? [folding his arms, nodding at her. go on]

[onehotpepper]

Bringing in a bunch of people from who knows where, including a handful of geniuses and superheroes, and throwing them together in one place with a timer and an assignment -- I don't know, it just seems-- [she shrugs. it's obviously strange. that doesn't need restating.] How long will it take for a fight to break out? Who knows what some of these people are capable of?

[sublimating]

That's a good question. [he had extremely similar doubts about the Avengers Initiative, after all] But as long as we can remind people that we all have a common enemy, we might be able to turn that expectation against them. [a small smile for her]

[onehotpepper]

That assumes we're all on the same side. [it still pisses her off that she trusted Maya. Pepper's become more suspicious now, because that last time had ended pretty badly. all okay in the end, but still.

[breathing deep, shrugging it off, she smiles at him] Anyway. How have you been, besides just...waking up here like the rest of us?

[is it weird to ask someone who's forgotten a chunk of their life if they want to be told what's happened since? she thinks so. better to focus on the small things, like the past few hours.]

[sublimating]

I don't know. Calm, I guess. Zen. [he quirks a smile at her] Considering the last thing I remember was standing in Central Park while Midtown was in shambles... I might just be beyond surprise.

[onehotpepper]

[wincing slightly] It's all fixed up now. Better than before.

[lots of things are better than before. some are worse, but not for long. well, except for whatever is going on right now, but what can you do? maybe at the end of the twenty-four hours, they'll get some answers.]

Want to get something to eat? [a distraction, a way to pass the time. she could go for a cup of tea.]

[sublimating]

Ah-- Sure. [he just came from the kitchen, but he didn't actually eat anything while he was in there. wrapped up in the learning process. his own thoughts. the usual]

[he offers her a smile as he gestures the way] How about you? How were you doing before... [a little gesture at the office] All this.

[onehotpepper]

[oh, god. where to begin? she follows him and laughs a little, obviously because it's not funny that a) they have the specific tea she wants -- vanilla chai; um, thank you? and b) a lot of people nearly died around Christmas]

All right, overall. Alive, which is a start, and in one piece.

[making the tea. thinking he deserves more of an answer than that. he's a good guy, trustworthy. beides, Tony technically already told him, so really. plus, if anyone will understand, it's going to be Bruce]

We kind of had something come up a bit ago, and now... [small hand gesture, as if prompting herself to go on] I don't really know how to put it. I just-- can't really get hurt anymore. And I generate a lot of body heat, sometimes. [to put it lightly. Extremis is... well, itself. Tony could tell it better]

[sublimating]

...the supersoldier virus. I heard. [hesitating a bit, and then, smiling awkwardly] At least there are some perks.

I'm sure that Tony will stabilize the formula. Do you know if there's any trigger that makes you -- heat up? [a little focused. you know a lot of genius goons, Pepper]

[onehotpepper]

[she's not bothered by the question. for one, she's used to it, the way Bruce and Tony zero in on complex problems almost to the exclusion of everything else. for another, Bruce is a lot more polite about it. and as an added bonus, he gets it, probably better than she does.]

Near-death experiences, threats of bodily harm, murderous evil geniuses out to kill your boyfriend-- [shrugs. it's easier to talk about if she makes it sound like a joke] Mostly I just try not to get upset, just in case. Until it gets stabilized, at least.

[sublimating]

Yeah, I -- kind of know how you feel. [some wry amusement there] You should try not to do any of that. [so stop having near-death experiences, etc]

[and then, more sincerely] I can give you some pointers. I've had a lot of experience learning to be calm.

[onehotpepper]

[if she didn't already like you before, Bruce, she really, really likes you now. because she sort of, kind of gets what your life is like, except there's a cure of some sort out there for her, and she's not sure if that's the case for you. and that's... well, it's just upsetting. you can stay, Bruce. you can stay as long as you want.]

I'd like that, actually.

[tea's done steeping! she has not forgotten. out goes the tea bag, so the tea can start to cool.]

[sublimating]

It's harder than you'd think. [heh] Just because you're working to be calm doesn't mean your body's autonomic reflexes aren't still responding to your emotions. [but he leans against the counter] But you seem like a together sort of person, so I'm sure you'll catch on.

[onehotpepper]

Thanks for the vote of confidence. [small grin, part of it wince-like] I kind of figured. I mean, there have been-- accidents. Small ones. Nobody got hurt, and the expenses were de minimis. But-- it isn't fun, losing control.