2012-07-02 Stark Expo - Pepper and the...

The Games area of the Expo is one of the more popular spots, and thus has been seen more than its fair share of technical glitches. This is one of them. Many of the games have lost their network connection to the servers, and several techs in Expo shirts are scrambling to get the systems back online. Pepper arrives with tablet computer in hand, looking as if she might have been running to get here.

Running? Well, speaking of. *ZWIP* goes the blurred form, blasting past Pepper with only a mild rush of wind and a faint image-trail left in its wake. Abruptly, a costumed teenager appears in front of one of the techs, sitting perched atop one of the server cases with his legs folded up under him, his elbows resting on his knees, and his chin in his hands. "Hey! Is something wrong? Can I help fix it? I bet I could fix it. I know a lot about video games. Does this kind take quarters? Are you sure you plugged it in? Do you need me to go call the Fix-It Squad?" The questions pop out of his mouth without so much as a pause for breath between them.

Pepper Potts blinks and looks at the kid perched on the server case freaking out the tech trying to get the systems working. She hurries over. "Um, excuse me, you might want to climb down off of there. I don't know if it's designed to handle that much weight."

Fortunately, Impulse doesn't look terribly heavy, but he hops off as asked and then zips over to offer his hand to Pepper. "Okay! Hi nice to meet you I think this place is pretty cool do you work here because I'd love to fill out a thank-you card for whoever put it on and not just because my mentor told me that I had to if I was going to come here and annoy everybody with a million billion questions!" As he speaks, he darts back and forth, vanishing for half an eyeblink at a time, but his hand always ends up back in that "waiting to shake" position.

Pepper Potts is rather disconcerted by this hummingbird of a young man, but shakes his hand readily enough when he's not flitting off somewhere and asking questions. "Nice to ... um, meet you. I'm Pepper Potts... Do you always move about so much?"

At the question, Impulse pointedly plants his feet, and once he's enthusiastically shaken hands he tucks both of his behind his back and puts on a very obvious display of Standing Still and Not Touching Anything. "Oh! Um. Only usually when I'm excited. And I think this expo place is really COOL, so I'm excited about it!" He speaks in a nearly normal tone of voice, yet from the expression of mild concentration on his face it seems like he's making an effort to go painstakingly slow.

The Games area of the Expo. It's bustling, lively, and having technical difficulties. Pepper is here to make sure the repairs get done quickly and efficiently, but she's currently being distracted by a hummingbird of a young man.

Pepper Potts smiles, honestly appreciative of the lad putting effort into not being all flit-about. "I am very glad you're enjoying the Expo." She nods to the tech, then gestures for Impulse to follow her, heading to one of the exhibits not affected by the outage. "Have you tried this one yet?"

Impulse walks along beside Pepper with probably exaggerated "normal speed" strides, but he manages not to go zipping all over the place. And he manages to keep his hands clasped behind his back, not even once reaching out to grab at an interesting-looking exhibit. When they reach the functional station, Impulse leans over to examine it with an air of great curiosity. "Oooh. What's this one?" he asks, still managing to speak almost normally.

Pepper Potts describes the game for Impulse, and it sounds like something where being able to move fast would be a distinct advantage. "It was originally developed as a training program for the military, but it's since been approved for release as a commercial product."

Impulse's eyes light up behind those tinted goggles of his, and he edges a bit closer to the device. "So, I'd -- I'd stand on the little circle there and then I'd move on the screen? Is it like a motion capture game controller? Those are kind of neat, but most of them don't work great. I'm usually way too fast for them to keep up."

Pepper Potts says, "Pretty much, but with some of the new technology we've got in development, we've managed to miniaturize the components usually found in a larger high-speed camera. Let's see how well it keeps up with you." She presses the button to start the game's demo mode. "Give it a try."

Impulse seems to teleport into place, so fast does he move onto the platform. He's wearing a big, eager grin and standing with his feet planted wide apart, his hands ready at his sides. "I'm ready," he announces. "I promise I won't go too fast at first until I can tell what it can do!"

Pepper Potts smiles and nods, watching the game's display as it starts the brief tutorial and stepping back so as to not interfere with the game's visual pick-ups.

Impulse seems to have no trouble with the tutorial, though he does seem to be getting almost giddy with excitement for whatever reason. Apparently, the kid really likes video games. When the tutorial ends, he launches into the full game on the maximum speed and difficulty settings, playing it with all the serious, focused determination of a veteran gamer and showing no sign of squirrely inability to keep on task. The score tracker begins to rack up to levels that are very possibly smashing all known records.

Pepper Potts raises her eyebrows as she watches the lad start playing, but then has to turn away to answer a tech's question. When she looks back at the game Impulse is playing, she blinks in surprise, though she really should have known better. This kid may well overtax the system's processors.

But Impulse manages to hold himself somewhat in check. He pushes the system to the limit, but he doesn't try to blast past its limits or do anything to lock it up. Instead, he uses speed to just about the exact degree it would help him, and then eases back when it would be better to go slow. In the "zone" of the game, he seems almost like an entirely different kid. It almost looks like some kind of zen state.

Pepper Potts is suitably impressed. She was expecting this young man to get all frenetic and freak out the game's processors. But he's pushing it right to the edge of its limits and not killing it. She taps a few quick little notes on her tablet before turning to talk to one of the techs again. Apparently, the networking problems have been repaired. Thank goodness.

While Pepper sees to work matters, Impulse finishes the course on the game, and once it ends, flashing his "NEW HIGH SCORE" on the big screens, he hops down and darts over to Pepper, rather breaking most rules of social decorum when he goes to hug her enthusiastically -- not the amorous hug of a hormonal teenager, no, the hug of a little kid who just got to ride his favorite roller coaster. "ThankyouthatwasototallySWEET!" he blurts, the words literally overlapping each other in their eagerness to escape.

Pepper Potts startles at the surprise hug-attack, but then chuckles and hugs the lad back. "You're welcome... if that was a thank you. Now, sorry to say, I've got to get going. I hope you enjoy the rest of the Expo."

"Okay!" Impulse declares, stepping back as if it's just occurred to him that maybe hugging strangers in public isn't totally socially acceptable. Or maybe he just figured he'd glomped Pepper enough. "If you do work here please tell the people you work with that this place is REALLY COOL and they did a REALLY GOOD job!" He gives a big, hyperenthusiastic wave, and then turns to zip off, moving off at a rapid but not dangerously hypersonic clip to explore another attraction. As he goes, he wears an expression of pure, contented bliss. And no way could anyone possibly notice the slight glint of moisture in his eyes that might indicate there's more to this than just youthful exuberance and a love for video games.

Pepper Potts waves after the lad, smiling mostly to herself. This. This is what makes the Expo worth every headache, sleepless night, argument and compromise. She checks her tablet, and sees another alert. Of course, at the FAR end of the Expo. But it's worth it. She walks briskly toward the nearest security checkpoint to get one of the little electric motor carts to bus her across the grounds.