Check Characters: OTA, multi-threads, go hog-wild Setting: ~An alternate dimension~ I'm calling Earth-919 Content: Acts of pure evil Summary: Tony steps through a portal and should have known better than to expect it to go well. At least everyone looks familiar this time.
There was, in hindsight, scientific precedent for the engine's fickle behaviour. It had stranded Tony and Wanda in the extra-dimensional desert, and the moment he was solidly on the other side of it, Tony couldn't really say he was surprised to feel that static tug lose its energy and the hum to cut out, leaving the room eerily quiet. Not surprised, but definitely not content. The cold fear clenched in his stomach the moment he turned and didn't immediately recognize the engine as it was, but knew where the portal should have been and not when it would choose to appear again. He had lost control of this situation with a singular swiftness.
The Tony this reality knew, with a certain determined focus, knew a lot about control. In this quiet room in the depths of S.H.I.E.L.D. New York headquarters, the temporary Tony couldn't see it yet, but outside was all about his control. Iron Man ruled the streets with an Iron Army that drifted like luminous fish along an unfamiliar skyline and didn't have the moral awareness to show mercy to those seen in opposition to a carefully defined justice. He kept people safe. He always knew where his team and allies were. He had no enemies worth speaking about.
The Tony that didn't know any of this, that didn't know how to turn back and make sure his friends and family were safe, rolled his shoulders back and took a good look at all of the familiar faces in the room. He cleared his throat and wished he had kept the tie and jacket-- foolishly, he realized, because this wasn't really a first impression, he'd never have the chance, but it would belay some of the vulnerability. Still, his voice was clear and casual when he assured a queer mirror image of faces he didn't quite know, "Worse things have happened."