Tony Stark (in_extremis) wrote in oh_marvelous, @ 2010-05-29 18:48:00 |
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Divert
Characters: Tony, Pepper, some surprise guests
Setting: Wee hours of the morning, shortly after the Bugs start moving into the city. Starting in Stark Tower and eventually taking to the streets.
Content: Aliens, shouting, swearing.
Summary: A daring escape! Stark Tower is forfeit after the attack on S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, and Tony and Pepper have to get out.
Still awake, Tony had seen the ships sweep across the dark sky. With most of the lights in the city still out, the stars had seemed strangely bright, and the moon crisp and close, but with an ominous rusty tint that caught Tony's attention when it flickered. The Tower felt hot and tense, no one quite sleeping, waiting for them since their push passed the borders. Tony watched as the moon was eclipsed again, just for a beat, alien technology silently streaking through still air. He touched his hand to the cold glass of the window, felt the city hold its breath, then sucked his own in sharply when the alarms began to ring.
After the quinjet left the hangar (the other still out of commission from the alien interference), they kept the lights off. The Towers generators kept all of their necessary power on; the refrigerators in the labs, the sealed doors, the security and alarm systems, JARVIS. Tony, disheveled at what should have been the end of a long day but was looking like the start of an even longer one, rushed out of his office to watch the Avengers go to find Pepper doing the same, roused from what he guessed couldn't have been a very deep sleep. He had followed her back to her bedroom, found candles that he only lit one of to leave by the door and flicker, weak and small, but away from the window to keep from attracting any more unwanted attention. It couldn't be long before they came anyway.
"Mrs. Arbogast said she was going to a cousin's upstate yesterday," Tony offered quietly, close to a whisper, after what seemed like hours of stillness. He sat on the end of Pepper's bed, hunched with his elbows on his knees, watching the windows and the strange, bright stars. Occasionally, the silent city would shudder, and a plume of smoke was added to her skyline. "She probably won't even know this is happening." He didn't really expect Pepper to answer, but he didn't sense he was helping much, either, and let his head drop to scratch restlessly at his beard. There was more he should have been doing, Tony knew that. He just didn't know what.