Arthur will lead them on a merry chase. (takingpoint) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2012-11-04 19:58:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, arthur (the point man), tony stark (iron man) |
Who: Tony and Arthur.
What: Arthur has some words for Tony.
Where: The labs of Stark Industries.
When: BACKDATED to Friday afternoon.
Rating: Medium for language.
Status: Complete!
He had risked coming back on a Friday because Pepper was holding a press conference, most employees were screwing around and it would be the easiest time to bypass Jarvis without Ianto or Tali noticing.
He just had to take care of a few things.
The will was in order, but for his peace of mind he was looking it over again. The company was left to Pepper, the tech to Bruce. Most of his money was split between Pepper and his charities, with a healthy amount going to the Avengers Initiative. Wasn't like this place was hurting for supers anyway.
On his way in he had snapped at that girl, the architect. It had been a mistake brought on by the nausea and headache that were his life most days. But she had been watching him too closely, and he didn't want anyone knowing he was in the lab. Oh well. After he died she'd have a story or something.
The suit he was leaving to Steve. Maybe he could find the next Iron Man. As he stood over the workbench, he hooked up the internal reactor installed for the next user.
"Maybe you'll have better luck than me, big guy."
It wasn't often Arthur lost his temper. Yes, he got irritated, even angry, but he was always controlled, always collected. A lot of times people weren't even aware he was angry, and that was the way he liked it. He could talk himself down, or rationalize it away.
People who were angry didn't fade into the background well. They were memorable, and that was the opposite of what he wanted.
But there were limits to even his incredible self-control. And when he did lose his temper, he wasn't like his twin: where John burned hot with flares of temper, Arthur had a cold rage that was often terrifying.
Finding Stark had been surprisingly simple. Once JARVIS had informed him that Mr. Stark 'wasn't in the building', it was only a matter of figuring out where the AI had been disabled that wasn't Tali's lab or his own office.
And when he found the lab, the only correct word to describe his entrance was 'stalking', like a predator did prey.
"What is your problem, Stark?"
At base, Tony was just a guy in a suit. While certainly smarter than the average bear, he wasn't enhanced like Steve, wasn't a trained killer like Clint or Natasha and he certainly wasn't a big green rage monster.
Nope. Tony Stark was pretty normal, particularly when he turned off all his toys in an effort to fly under the grid.
Which is why he actually shouted in surprise when he heard Arthur's voice. Turning around from the suit, he put a hand over his reactor. Since going on the run, he hadn't bothered with the makeup, but the shirt still hid the worst of it.
"You could scare a guy to death, you know that?"
The flippant attitude wasn't helping his case. Arthur was nearly blinded by rage, even if it was under the surface. Stark had been irritating him since the party to begin with; the stupid stunts and the going missing left him scrambling to dispel the underground rumor mill. He didn't think the other man fully understood the bloodthirsty nature of corporate espionage. Those people would take any advantage they could find.
The yelling at Ariadne had been the last straw, and now, it just put Stark further into the doghouse.
"Could I?" He asked dryly, stepping closer to Tony, expression dangerous. His fingers itched to grab the other man by the collar of his shirt, haul him up, and sock him in the jaw, but he refrained. For now. "Wouldn't that be a damn shame."
Almost too late, Tony recognized just how pissed off the other man was.
This was one of those times he was grossly underestimating his opponent, though. All he could think of was the dream with Rhodey, coming to him at his worst and supporting him even if he didn't know what was wrong.
Somehow, he guessed Arthur wasn't likely to do so.
"... doubt you would. Let's face it, covering my murder up would just be a bitch."
Something snapped.
In a split second, Arthur's hands had grabbed the billionaire's shirt by the collar, and he had Tony slammed up against the wall of the workshop.
"You listen to me, you stupid, selfish son of a bitch." His voice was deceptively calm, but there was an undercurrent of absolute venom and disdain. "You want to ruin your life? And run this company, the one good thing you've done in your goddamn existence, into the ground with a fucking PR mess? Fine. I don't give a damn about you or your damn company. But don't you dare take it out on people who have nothing to do with it. Are we clear?"
It wasn't like Tony wasn't used to being threatened, even out of the suit. Being a stupidly vocal drunk tended to do that.
But this didn't make a lot of sense.
"... as mud. What the hell are you talking about?"
"God, you don't even see it, do you?" Arthur's tone held nothing but utter disgust and resentment, and he couldn't help slamming Tony against the wall again with a sneer.
"You don't see the people around you that you hurt and order around, you selfish fucking son of a bitch. The people you shove out of the way, the people you've made feel lower than dirt because you're too drunk off your ass to see it."
Tony's eyes held Arthur's in a clear, steady gaze.
He wasn't drunk.
"You trying an Intervention now, Mr. Bond? Really? Because you give a shit? Pepper send you down here? Kind of doubt that. So what's it to you? Why would you give a shit? Hell, I die, you can just peace out easy, can't you? Nothing holding you here."
Tony slipped up. After all, no one had admitted he was dying.
Arthur just watched his face, the words processing. Even in anger, he was meticulous, and it occurred to him that Tony was sober. There was no way he'd sobered up between the time Ariadne had seen him and now, so...
Hell, I die, you can just peace out easy.
"You're dying."
It wasn't a question.
Tony didn't answer directly.
He shoved the man off him, but it was weak. Like everything else about him. "You say a goddamned word about it to anyone I will kill you."
He scared even himself.
"I'd like to see you try," Arthur shot back coldly, but let Tony go.
He stared at the other man, one he used to respect, for a long moment. "Coward."
And then he turned on his heel and was gone.