stark

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

I used to have trouble remembering that Palm Springs was in California and not Florida. Why I needed to know where Palm Springs was located, I can't remember.

@Byrd Man

When I think of palm trees I always think of Florida. I think it's because I've never been to the west coast, so Florida is my only experience with them.

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

@stark Not trying to be a dick, but just informing you in regards to your last post that Malibu is in California, not Florida. The L.A. area.

@Retired

Whoops! My brain must have crossed wires between Malibu and Miami.
Fix’d.
/fail

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

<Snipped quote by stark>

I plan to have it revealed that the Iron Man suit is actually a demonic creation with the sole purpose of corrupting the richest man on Earth. Thus providing Asmodus the funds to finally refurbish Hell in outlandishly tacky and expensive decor.

I'm so glad you're okay with this.

@Retired

XD

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

BTW -- just throwing this out there -- anyone can feel free to tie in Tony or Iron Man or Stark Industries, etc.) to stuff they've got planned out now or in future, if it works. I'm usually pretty happy to adapt whatever I'm doing on the fly to accommodate and I enjoy collaborations/crossing paths with other characters.

Also, now that he's considering adding some color to future suit version, I may switch Tony's font to red. There are an awful lot of people using various shades of blue for dialogue, but red hasn't been popping up much. Just be advised.

EDIT: Went ahead and switched everything to red. Finding a shade that shows up well on the grey is tricky -- let me know if anyone has trouble reading it and I'll try to choose another shade.

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

---

Location: Stark Tower, midtown Manhattan
Date: July 6th, 3:37am

"The perimeter of your Malibu property is now secure again, Sir. If I might make a suggestion, this might be an excellent time to install the new tempered glass that your company recently put into place here in Stark Tower."

"Yes, good call, JARVIS. Get on the phone with DeFranco from 'product development' and make the arrangements. I'm going to send Pepper down later today to oversee the fitting."

How? HOW had his second home been broken into? Who had the balls to try and do such a thing knowing that the security would have been absolutely top-notch? Hell, he probably had better security than even the White House had. No, he was sure he did because he had designed the system himself. Whoever it was had tried to hack the alarm and failed, JARVIS then alerting Tony (woken up from a sound sleep), as well as the authorities, seconds after the attempt was made to bypass the system. Honestly, he was surprised the culprit hadn't aborted the attempt right there. Instead, whoever it was had resorted to shooting out the glass in the front windows to make their entrance.

Not terribly original. Minus points for lack of creativity, definitely.

Still, brute force (inelegant as it was) had ultimately worked, despite the glass being reinforced. The intruder managed to get down to his main garage/workshop before the secondary alert system kicked in and incapacitated him -- the audio debilitator was a real bitch and the person would have one hell of a headache for a few days.

Served them right.

From what Tony could see from the camera system, the intruder had been attempting to get into his workspace computer. More specifically, his private server. They could have gone after his expensive art collection, his many classic and very valuable cars, or even just the massive TV in his living room. No, they had bypassed all that usual stuff and gone for something only valuable to certain people... Information.

And made a damn mess in the process. Glass was everywhere.

"Have 'Dummy' start sweeping up the debris in the workshop. Might as well do something useful, since he's clearly not built for thwarting espionage."

"Of course, Sir."

His phone vibrated a moment later, Pepper on the other end sounding as if she had also been pulled out of a dead sleep by all the ruckus.

"Hey," she said. "I assume you're already on top of the situation over in California?"

"Yeah," he said grumpily, pausing a moment before adding. "They went after the server, Pepper. My private server."

"I assume the person is currently incapacitated by the secondary system, then?"

"The police have already put the cuffs on, not that they need them -- the asshole won't even be able to move pinky for at least twenty minutes or so."

"Of course," she said, stifling a small yawn through the phone. "I didn't get a notification that an invalid login attempt had been made. Did the guy actually manage to get into the server?"

"No," Tony replied. "Looks like he had just clicked for a logon attempt when the secondary alarm went off."

"Broke the glass divider to get into the space?"

"Bingo."

"Well, this guy obviously doesn't know what he's doing if he didn't manage to disable the alarm systems. A smart thief would have had the codes in advance to get into everything and not alert anyone of his presence."

"Oh, he's definitely regretting his lack of planning now," Tony quietly chuckled. "Though he did seem to know enough about the house to make his way down to my work area without much trouble."

"Maybe they pulled the blueprints from city records?"

"Probably," he replied. "Anyway, I want you to fly down later today and make sure cleanup goes smoothly. I'm going to have the glass replaced with the stuff we just put in here. Seems like the smart thing to do."

"I'll start packing," Pepper said slowly, still trying to process the whole situation in her half-asleep fog. "I guess I'll call you when I'm on the plane?"

"Perfect. If any press happens to shows up, just brush them off by saying everything is under control and nothing was taken. If they want an official quote, they're out of luck."

"Will do."

Hanging up the call, Tony laid back in his bed, wearily rubbing his eyes.

This was not good. Not good at all. Granted, the thief had been stopped before he obtained anything worth-while, but the question was really who was the person working for? A run-of-the-mill burglar didn't trade in data. But whoever was behind this had sent a veritable imbecile to do the job and clearly not a professional. Why waste the time and money? Was this backwards attempt supposed to be some kind of message? He figured that the idiot thief had made the attempt on his west coast home because Stark Tower was far too busy a place to slip in unnoticed -- without clearance the guy never would have even made it past the lobby, never mind up to his penthouse.

He hadn't even been to his Malibu property in at least six months. Maybe that known fact was the reason for the attempted breech?

"Sonofabitch," Tony muttered, his mind racing with the various possibilities. None of them seemed to make sense.

Whatever the reason for the events of the night were, he probably wouldn't know much more until Pepper went down and had a closer look at things. It didn't do any good to worry about things now.

TV. Flip on the TV and zone out. NEWS. Perfect.

4:00am. America This Morning on good ol' ABC. He rarely watched it, unless he was jetlagged from travel and unable to sleep. It did have that brunette anchor that he thought was attractive, though. Diane something. He'd never had the good fortune to run into her in person, but she was certainly a welcome sight in his bedroom, even if only on the TV at ungodly hours.

The two anchors on the screen chatted for a few minutes, exchanging pleasantries and other banter before shifting into the stories for the morning.

"More details regarding the incident in Metropolis were released by officials today," the pretty brunette segued, looking back into the camera. "Onlookers were stunned yesterday as giant mechanical attackers literally dropped into Centennial Square, without any warning. Luckily for the citizens of Metropolis, however, the hero that everyone is calling 'Superman' was there to intervene. Here's Kendis with the story. Kendis?"

Footage rolled of the hero swooping through the air and landing several blows on the mechanized giants. His strength was certainly impressive, even if his attire looked a bit amateurish.

"Nice cape, buddy," Tony mumbled to himself, smirking slightly. The red was a nice touch... A good, eye-catching color. He liked it, though he thought the cape was maybe a bit much design-wise. Did the guy think it just looked cool or did he need it to help him fly? Because otherwise it seemed like a liability to Tony -- one good yank and goodnight, Superman.

Though, from the beating the guy appeared to be withstanding on the news clip, it certainly looked like a single blow was not anywhere near enough to incapacitate the super being. Was he a mutant of some kind? He certainly didn't look like he had any rockets that helped him soar through the air or even any visible stabilizers. No tech of any kind it seemed. How did someone that muscular-looking even gain enough thrust to get airborne? The physics literally made no sense.

"... and reports that maybe Superman and the recently dubbed 'Wonder Woman' that has surfaced in California perhaps are somehow linked..."

Wonder Woman. There was another one who was an interesting news development as of late.

It seemed more and more of these super strong metahumans were popping up on the radar.

At least Wonder Woman was easy on the eyes.

It all did make Tony wonder, though, how many other places these sorts of incidents were likely to happen. Crazy metal monsters smashing things up, crashing airplanes caught at the last second... New York was usually a hub of activity -- was it only a matter of time before shit started hitting the fan here, too? And who else was silently preparing to surface in the event of such a happening? How many more 'heroes' were there laying in wait?

It was certainly a relevant question these days. Tony had his own reasons for wondering, of course, but he was sure he wasn't the only person laying awake and watching this broadcast to ask themselves the question.

Red... Hm.

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

I have now gotten @Blue Demon to read this thread and possibly join our little ragtag reunion. She is sassing me in PMs. Send help.

@Inkarnate

The only help I can send is a ban. If applicable, please notify. (Someone else because I’m busy trying to get my next post set. Ha.)

Holy hell this RP is truckin’. Every time I pop back for a sec there are new posts! I love it!

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

<Snipped quote by Lord Wraith>
I mean its only been a few months for most of these places so that makes sense. I imagine tech cities like Metropolis and Gateway are nearing some kind of breakthrough if they don't already have generation 1 prototypes. People like Trask are probably making bank with all of the lucrative contracts and funding.

Some kind of superpowered arms race.

@Inkarnate

Hm. Kind of makes me wonder how/if I want to address things like this with Stark Industries.

Honestly, I think I kind of see it as being a pro-choice type decision where Tony wouldn't feel it was right designing things that would clamp down on other people's rights to their own powers. Their body, their choice kind of thing.

But maybe he's just too wrapped up in his own business to care about designing tech that would be competitive in this field anyhow?

Not sure.

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

<Snipped quote by Inkarnate>
Will it also have blackjacks and hookers?

@Star Lord

Their party won’t, but Tony’s party will.



#EastCoastRules

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

<Snipped quote by Lord Wraith>

He just appreciates those big, bug booties.

@Retired

Don’t we all.

I mean... what?

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

---

Location: Stark Tower, midtown Manhattan
Date: July 5th, 10:15am

"Ok, listen, buddy... Wait -- What's your first name again? Right, Tom. Well, Tom," a frustrated Tony Stark said, leaning forward and propping his elbows upon his knees, the very expensive leather couch he was sitting on suddenly becoming not so comfortable. "You know I have special clearance to test in the city's airspace, so I don't see what the problem is. No one probably even noticed."

"Are you kidding me?" 'Tom' scoffed back, the incredulity in his voice nearly matching Stark's level of irateness. "What did you think? That they would think you were some kind of firework? A festivity of the evening?"

"...Maybe."

"Don't bust my balls, Tony," Major Thomas Shaw barked. "I know you've had this conversation with Howser already. Twice."

"Ok." Tony said, leaving beat before continuing. "But, tell me honestly, this is really about Macy's having an issue with me stealing some of their thunder, isn't it? Because I can pay you double whatever they've offered you to be their personal bulldog."

"..."

Tony tried to stifle a wiseass smirk as he locked eyes with the blueish image of the man on the ‘screen’ of the holographic smartphone in his hand, settling back against the pillows of the couch in an effort to look more casual. He was not going to let the military throttle him, not when he had agreements that allowed him to test certain 'non-lethal' products in the city airspace. Now, just because his father had fought for those 'agreements' to be put in place nearly forty years ago, before present times, that didn't mean they weren't still perfectly legal. For now. Honestly, Tony was surprised they hadn't been revoked entirely after 9/11, much like some of his other standing 'privileges' had been, but his family had a long history of contribution in New York City to various charities, as well as political candidates (ahem) that had allowed certain... loopholes... to stand...

The military man on his phone looked distinctly ruffled, his nostrils flaring with effort as he tried to regain his cool and not escalate to a shouting match. "Mr. Stark," he said in a very choked sounding voice. "I know you think that you're immune to the way we do things here, but this is a different administration and a whole new ball game. Don't mistake patience for tolerance. If you do," he growled, narrowing his eyes some. "You're going to be very sorry and I'm going to have fun watching my superiors do what should have been done a long time ago."

"Is that a threat, Major?"

"Only if you choose to take it as one, Stark."

The call ended abruptly, hung up in a rather dramatic fashion from the other end.

Overly dramatic, or so Tony thought. Typical self-important, blowhard, military asshole. Really, Tony was just upset that he didn't get the last word in. He always liked to get the last word.

So, ok, maaaaybe taking the suit out for a test flight during the annual New York City Fourth of July firework display that Macy's put on every year was a misstep in hindsight. He could see how that may have stepped on some toes from a security standpoint -- rogue object in the skies, rocketing around and looking like an out of control explosive to the average person... According to the call(s) from the previous evening, the only reason he hadn't been shot down was because the air traffic controllers were able to verify that the strange 'craft' was indeed registered with the FAA. Well, technically. He had maybe not been totally honest with the specs of the 'aircraft', but Stark had taken enough legal steps to ensure that he couldn't immediately get into trouble. Between his general understandings with the city and the red tape his registration brought up, he was sure it would have taken longer before the government started making angry calls.

If Rhodey were still alive, Tony thought bitterly, then this wouldn't even be an issue.

Colonel James Rupert Rhodes, or 'Rhodey' as Tony had called him, had been one of his best friends and his general go-to guy for relations between Stark Industries and the military. Rhodey had always known how to smooth over the technical wrinkles that Tony usually managed to kick up with the nature of his work -- the man was a PR genius in a military suit, honestly. Or, he had been. Rhodey had been gone almost a year now, killed in a rescue mission to Afghanistan. For him.

That was the kicker.

Tony still lived with the guilt of losing his friend daily. It had been a hard pill to swallow.

If only the rescue hadn't come at all. If only they could have known that he'd been provided by the terrorist themselves with the means of escaping and didn't need their help.

No one could have known that, though. It was really nobody's fault, which was what hurt the most in Tony's mind. No one to squarely place the blame on. He would have loved to point the finger at the military for some measure of incompetence, but with Rhodey having headed up the rescue mission, Tony knew that his friend would have left nothing to chance. It was just an unfortunate turn of fate. That was all.

Everyone's life spun on the space of a dime.

Snapping shut the ends of the high tech smartphone, Tony tossed it onto his coffee table with a huff.

"Rough morning, I see?," came a voice from the other side of the room.

"You've gotta love the military," he replied, his tone forced into lightness. He even offered the woman across from him a humorless smile.

"This wouldn't happen if you just agreed to share the design with them, you know."

Pepper's heels clicked across the polished black floor and she set down a large to-go coffee cup next to the discarded smartphone.

"I'm not obligated to share all my moments of inspiration with the military, as you know," Tony grumbled. "And since when do you buy the paper?"

"Oh, this?" Pepper Pots, his assistant, feigned ignorance, untucking the folded newspaper from under her arm. "Oh, I don't know... Maybe since you started showing up on the front page?" She handed her boss the paper with an arched brow and a tight frown. He knew that look -- she was anticipating a PR nightmare or some other problem that would likely drop into her lap as a result of his shenanigans.

She knew him well.

He neglected to take the paper and watched as she dropped it on the table next to the coffee she had gotten for him. He could see enough from the blurry photo and the caption in large block font "PATRIOTIC UFO SPOTTED OVER EAST RIVER?". The Daily News had clearly done an exceptional job with their reporting.

"I fail to see what the problem is."

"Tony, seriously?"

He blinked at her and opened his mouth, spreading his hands in a gesture that was clearly stalling for time as he thought how best to respond.

Pepper wasn't having it.

"You know how tense everything is right now with these... superhumans... popping up all over the place. I mean, sure Superman is great and all, but you know that the city is on high alert because of all this other stuff happening. Should you really be pushing the government's buttons just at the moment? I mean," Pepper shrugged, somewhat at a loss, "I know you like to bend the rules, but maybe you should consider the potential problems that what you're doing can cause."

Tony paused and met her eyes. He could see the genuine concern there. He appreciated that. He truly did. But then he deadpanned, "...So, you like Superman, huh? Want me to see if I can get his number for you? Because I probably could."

Pepper pressed the palm of her left hand to her forehead in exasperation at the man across from her.

This was just a stellar morning so far.