2014.02.28 - Grounded: Hatching the Plan

When Clark tried to approach Bruce Wayne to talk with him it didn’t go down quite as he planned. The Butler almost turned him away until Clark let him know exactly who his alter ego is – or was. The sheer amount of finagling it would take for a journalist, even one such as Clark Kent, to interview Tony Stark in these particularly trying times were too much to contemplate. So, Clark decides to try a Plan B he learned from … a friend.

Clad in black, not a costume so much as a utilitarian garb, Clark Kent scales Stark Tower. Zip-lining across from the tallest nearby building, he makes the rest of the way up the outside of the edifice that is Tony Stark’s home and business. More than once he glances down and wonders how on Earth Batman manages to do this on a nightly basis. He’d take flying any day of any week.

When at last he reaches the balcony he slings himself over it, breathing heavily. Exertion is a foreign thing to him and it takes some getting used to. Though he’s sure that whatever alarm systems the billionaire has installed have probably picked him up already, he silently hopes the man is home and raps on the window with his knuckles. He’s foregone his usual stoop and slightly unkempt hairstyle that denotes his journalist alter ego, instead he appears simply as Superman without his suit.

It's late. But Tony is up. Tony, sleeps very little by human standards, but not to badly by Kryptonian standards. About 3-4 hours a night. Currently, he's working on two or three projects at once, all related to what's deemed Operation: Screw Darkseid. He's just finished in the armory, spraying suits for Karen and Kara so they can withstand exposure to red sun radiation when JARVIS interrupts him. "Sir, I have detected Superman on the balcony and allowed him access per Avenger-JLA protocols."

Tony blinks, "Wait. Superman..but.."

Tony comes out of the armory, the doors opened still that when closed seamlessly impersonate another wall in his penthouse.

"Superman? Kal?" he calls out, heading towards the balcony.

As Tony heads out to the Balcony, Clark reaches up to remove the woollen seamed cap that he’s put on for warmth. Warmth. There’s another thing he’s not used to having to worry about. He tucks it into his back pocket, affecting his Superman voice even though he’s not wearing the suit nor hovering to back it up.

“I would’ve come in through the foyer but you’re a hard man to reach,” Clark begins, “I’ve got some things I need to talk to you about. I need your help, Tony.”

Tony Stark nods, waving him inside. "It's done. Whatever you need." he says, leading (as far as he knows, anyway) Superman in. "I've already gotten to work on some things. Karen has asked me for a couple of items that should be done soon, Zatanna's got me making her some advanced gear, and I'm working on re-outfitting a couple of my Avengers. I've also done some tactical analysis on Darkseid and I've got JARVIS crunching the numbers of some suit permutations." he pauses, thumb over his shoulder, "Can I get you anything?" he asks.

“Water, please,” Clark answers gratefully, stepping into the penthouse when bidden, “I hadn’t heard you were working with Karen. I appreciate the fact that you’re all stepping up like this.”

As he waits, he gets to speaking, “I’ve been in Gotham with Batman. I think we’ve got a handle on what Darkseid did and what we’ll need to do to get it back. There’s a plan but we’ll need you in the mix on it.”

He takes a deep breath.

“We need to go to Apokolips.”

Tony Stark goes into the kitchen and comes back with two bottles of water, and offers one. "Anytime. Karen was by earlier today, actually..we talked a little about what was going on. What she needed, what the objectives were..and you." he smiles softly, "We discussed that, too. Wanna step into my office?" he asks, and inclines his head towards the armory.

“It’s not going to be easy. We’ll need a force enough to pose a threat but we can’t breach the perimeter defenses. We need to make Darkseid think we’re attacking without getting close enough to risk losing anybody to his influence.”

Clark pops the cap on the bottle of water, looking around appreciatively as they step into the Armory, “There’ll be a much smaller team to infiltrate Apokolips itself to recover the crystal he’s using. They don’t have a yellow sun but Batman put together a stellerater with Kryptonian technology that should give me enough of what I need to get us all out of there once I get my strength back.”

Tony Stark leads Clark in. It's a hive of activity at the moment. There's a few iterations of Iron Man suits in a workable, virtal environment, and there are two full body suits and cowls hanging and currently being blown dry by a couple of robotic drones. There's a score of transparent LCD monitors playing back Darkseid video footage from different angles. "Welcome to the Armory." he says, and nods at Superman's words. "That's what Karen was saying. I suggested a few dummy suits controlled by JARvIS when we get there, to give a false impression of numbers and keep Darkseid distracted while the sealth team gets in and gets what we came for." he looks over, "I'm anticipating them following us back, or surprise attacking us in retallation shortly after the attack. When he comes back through to Earth, we're gonna knock him on his ass."

Clark nods his head slowly, listening as he walks slowly around the armory to take in the myriad of different tasks being undertaken at once. He takes another sip from his bottle, turning back to Stark.

“I know he will,” he answers simply, “Darkseid made me a deal. My life as Superman for my father’s. I took it but I realize now that it wasn’t my deal to make. If I take my powers back he’s going to come after me. Either to take my father back again or to punish me for defying him.”

Tony Stark shakes his head, "Kal..guys like Darkseid don't make deals. They offer sugar coated lies or deal from the bottom of the deck. I've been dealing with people like him my entire life. When he comes back here, and you're right - he will, you aren't going to be the only one to face him. There's a planetful of heroes mobilizing. We aren't letting you face him alone. Not again. Not anymore."

Clark nods solemnly, finishing off the rest of his water and smiling slightly as Tony makes his declaration.

“I’m grateful. Really. I want you on this infiltration team for Apokolips. You and Batman are the only ones I think I can trust to resist Darkseid’s domination of things go bad. Or to turn it back on him if we get backed into a corner. Bruce already has a device that we can use to mask our energy signatures long enough to sneak by Darkseid.”

He reaches into the pocket on his belt, pulling out a non-descript flashdrive which he offers to Tony.

Tony Stark nods, "I'll get hold of him. A little birdy at the JLA told me he's got his hands on some radion, and I want some. For uh, science." he motions to the suits being dried, "I can have one these ready for you, too, if you want. They're being reworked to block red sun radiation, and I have matching contacts to go with 'em." he looks around, "I saw what happened, and after talking to Karen, I've decided that no matter what - the burden is not on you anymore. It's on all of us. We need to shoulder it with you."

“If you’re going to do that,” Clark answers, “Then I feel I ought to be completely honest with you.”

He reaches into his pocket, producing a pair of glasses which he holds in his hands.

“There’s more to me than Superman and Kal-El. I’ve actually got a life here on Earth that I don’t share with anybody. I’m not really expecting you to recognize me and that’s kind of the way I like it. But I don’t have much else to give to show you just how much I’m trusting you on this.”

He puts the glasses on, affecting the slight stoop and tilt of his chin that he uses to appear mild-mannered.

“My name’s Clark. Clark Kent.”

Tony Stark smiles and takes a step forward and offers his hand, "Nice to meetcha, Clark. Name's Tony." - no judgement, no jokes, just like that.

“Well, Tony,” Clark replies, reaching to shake the offered hand, “I’m glad to be on your side in this. Darkseid doesn’t stand a chance.”

That said, he starts to walk back towards the entrance to the Armory, “I’ve got to get back to Gotham. I’ve got a bit to learn without my powers if I’m going to be anything more than a lead weight on Apokolips.”

Tony Stark blinks for a second, "I could..um..I could build you a suit if you wanted? It could help." then says, "And if you want to get back to Gotham, I could give you a lift. It's a bit of a hike from here."

“Well, I won’t say no,” Clark answers, smiling a small enigmatic smile, “But if you do, make sure there’s no helmet. People need to see who I am. See that I’m standing up to him.”

The offer of a ride makes him chuckle, “To tell you the truth, I hadn’t ridden in a plane or taken a cab for years before all this happened. I’m kind of enjoying it. I’ll find my own way.”

Tony Stark grins, "Well, at least take the elvator. Zip lining around like Batman is exhausting." and then grins even wider, "Trust me, Clark. Everyone will know which one's you. You have my word on that."

Continued in Grounded: Man of Steel.