| 'No Spoilers' | |||||
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| What: Tony interviews 'Booster' Jon Carter for a possible internship. | |||||
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It's been a day since Michael Carter, aka Booster Gold, and his unusual little companion Skeets came by asking to speak with, well, presumably with Tony. Pepper's in her office, as usual hip-deep in conference phone calls, emails, and people coming and going with requests at a pace to make Grand Central Station envious. She hasn’t even had a chance to turn off the TV that's quietly reciting the news from that corner of the room. It was peaceful background noise earlier, but by now it's quickly becoming a true annoyance.
"When I actually focus on all the thingers going on in this place, it makes me kind of itchy," comments Booster Gold, when he enters the Stark Tower lobby. "I kind of wish you hadn't told me. It's like... thinking about those eyelash mite things." He looks thoughtful as he essentially floats along, and then he says to his robot companion, "Ugh. Now I'm thinking about those eyelash mite things. Yuck."
"I think that the security array and surveillance network is impressive, sir," says Skeets, the aforementioned robot companion.
"Excessive?" suggests Booster.
"Impressive, sir," Skeets repeats.
Booster waves him off, landing before the reception desk to see if, indeed, Ms. Potts and Mr. Stark are available.
Tony Stark enjoys interview days. They're fun. He gets to meet cool, intelligent people and then maybe ask them on dates. Many have happened this way, and many more will. He has a cup of coffee in his hand as he barges into Pepper's office. "So, what's on the docket today?" he says, sauntering in and promptly making himself comfortable. He eyes the bar warily. Such a travesty.
"... no, Dr. Nakamura, I didn't hire Mr. Barton to spy on you. ... Yes, I know ... no, ma'am ... n..." Pepper sighs and glances up at Tony as he enters, then offers an apologetic shrug while indicating the phone. "No. He's ... all right, doctor. I need to go, but I'll be sure to speak with out about this again. Yes. Yes, I promise. Thank you." She looks like should love nothing more than to SLAM the phone down with as much force as possible, but instead she settles the phone gently into its cradle. "Sorry, Tony. What did you say?"
The front desk receptionist -- even though it's someone different from yesterday -- was apparently told to expect Booster Gold, so the complete lack of surprise at his and Skeets' entrance might be a bit unusual. A phone call is placed to see who available to speak with the costumed man.
Skeets floats in a little closer to his boss, and quietly says, "I told you, sir; you need to call to confirm meetings like this. The schedules of people in these positions tends to be a little chaotic."
Booster was smiling at the receptionist, but he gives Skeets a sidelong glance and a slight frown. "It's fine. They're calling, aren't they? The worst they can do is like... kick me out." He looks faintly worried, then. "Gosh, I hope they don't kick me out. That would kind of suck."
Tony Stark is already reclined in one of the chairs in front of the desk sipping coffee. "Well, it's interview day, right? How many and who's on the docket and are they single?"
Pepper Potts just looks at Tony for a moment, having not yet had a chance to really calm down from that annoying phone call from R&D, but the term 'saved by the bell' came from somewhere. Though this time it's more 'saved by the phone ringing'. "I think JARVIS cancelled today's interviews, Tony, because you weren't here yesterday. Let me get this, it's the front desk." She answers the phone, listens to the person on the other end for a moment, then says, "Please show him up," before hanging the phone up again. "I take it back. You have two people here who wish to have a chat with you."
Booster goes from fretful to cheerful in less than a picosecond, when he is told he is to be escorted to Ms. Pott's office. He quietly tells Skeets, "I wasn't worried."
"Your vital signs said otherwise, sir," the droid replies. "The readings I was getting via my link with your suit were--"
"Shut up," Booster suggests, cheerfully.
Tony Stark cocks an eyebrow, "A chat?" he asks, skeptical. "People who want to chat with me never work out well. Who wants to chat? Is it Coulson? I bet it's Coulson. He brings chat and armageddon." he says flatly, then sips his coffee. "It's too nice a day for a chat. Make him go 'way."
Pepper Potts just smiles at Tony, perhaps a little bit maliciously. But only a little. "Hm, no. I think you might actually want to talk to this guy when you meet him. JARVIS, share the data you collected yesterday, please."
"Of course, Miss Potts. Sir, I refrained from attempting any scans beyond passive ones, as the technology indicated by Mr. Carter's automaton companion is ... unfamiliar to me."
"<This could be awkward>," Booster remarks quietly to Skeets, speaking in Interlac. When in the suit, his hearing is superhuman; what he does not want to do is inadvertently eavesdrop, because it would be rude. He ends up saying, "Excuse me," to the security personnel escorting him, and leans in to actually rap on the door of Pepper's office just to make sure that those inside know he's there. He even calls out, "Uh, hi, Ms. Potts... I mean, Pepper... I hope I haven't caught you at a bad time..."
Tony Stark makes a slightly impressed face and hmms. "Unfamiliar? In what way? I mean, it's an automaton..that's pretty retro, right?" he settles in, smile on his face. Unfamiliar tech..that's one of his favorite flavors.
Pepper Potts stands and walks toward the door to let Mr. Carter and Skeets in while answering Tony's question. "Well, that's the closest term we could come up with." She opens the door wide, nods to the security people, and smiles hello to Booster and Skeets. "Hello, please, come in, Mr. Carter. Tony, this is Michael Jon Carter, also known as Booster Gold and his companion, Skeets BX9."
"Hi!" Booster is standing there with a high-wattage smile, moving his hand in a single-arc wave. "It is totally awesome to see you again, Pepper. Wow, Mr. Stark, it's an honor to meet you." Resting one fist on his hip, he tilts his head and points at Tony as he says, "I wrote an essay on you in junior high."
"Hello again, Ms. Potts. Thank you for meeting with us again. Good evening to you as well, JARVIS, if you're also present," Skeets flies in, turning to face Pepper. He remains hovering, turning so that the little window-like area at the front of his egg-shaped form is facing Tony. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Mr. Stark."
Tony Stark raises his eyebrows when Booster walks in, and he stands and meets the young man and his companion as they enter. "Whoa, hey you really dressed up for this!" he says, not at all meaning to talk down, he really does like the costume. "I like it! It's a good vibe. Pleasure to meet you, please - call me Tony." he gives Skeets a nod, "You too." he says, "I hear you were here yesterday, I hope Pepper and JARVIS weren't too hard on ya." he leads them into the room and motions for them to sit, well Booster anyway. "Have a seat.." he pauses, "So you wrote about me, huh? Hope you got a good grade - what was it about.." and then an slight awkward pause, "I don't want to sound rude, but which name would you prefer? I don't wanna step on toes, here."
Pepper Potts lets the men (and Skeets) choose where they'd rather sit, as there are three different options: the conference table, the chairs in front of Pepper's desk, and the sofas in front of the TV. For her part, she steps toward the wet bar and starts an electric kettle boiling, partly to make herself some calming tea before she loses it (that Nakamura lady is going to drive her to homicide, she just knows it), partly to make some fresh coffee for Tony. And for Booster if he wants. "Would either of you care for something to drink while I'm over here?"
"Oh...yeah, I guess I could've worn regular clothes," Booster looks down at himself, as if he were just reminded of the shiny costume he is wearing. "I don't actually have any powers, it's a suit thing, see..." He perks up then, at Pepper's offer and says, "Coffee, ma'am, please... if it's no trouble."
"I'll just bask in the ambient electricity, but thank you," Skeets adds, politely.
"Uh, and no sir, Pepper and JARVIS are pretty rad," Booster tells Tony, with an earnest sincerity. He sits down, in one of the chairs before Pepper's desk, and Skeets hovers beside him. "You can call me Michael, or Booster, it's kind of interchangeable for me." Falling silent for a moment, as he reflects upon a memory, he then says, "I think I got a B on it. It was about heroes of the early 21st century."
Tony Stark chuckles a little, "Well, that's okay. I'm kind of a suit thing too. We'll make a club, it'll be cool." he says with no trace of irony whatsoever. "Wow..Heroes of the early 21st century, huh? That's stretching it, until my Afghan retreat. But thank you, Booster, you flatter me. I like Booster. It has some zing to it, so I'm keeping that. Gotta have some style. "JARVIS, let's get Skeets on an ambient energy feed so he doesn't wear himself out here, okay?" -- the AI replies with a simple, "Of course, sir." -- the air crackles a little as if filled with ozone. "I've got a little thing I'm working on, where we charge the ions in the air and hyperconduct them into a recharging agent." he settles in, "I have my quintuple espresso, so I'm good." he then looks back, "So..why do you want to intern here, Booster? What are you goals?" he asks, getting to the meat of it.
Pepper Potts has a small french coffee press and some of Tony's favorite coffee ready and quickly preps a teacup and filter for herself. While waiting for the water to boil she opens one side cabinet door to reveal a cleverly concealed mini-fridge. She's got a cannoli waiting for her, but only the one, so instead she gets out the container of doughnut holes, 'cause easily handled finger foods are always a win with Tony. Those get put into a dish to lose some of the fridge chill and the now-boiling water is poured for both coffee and tea. While the two beverages are brewing, she starts carrying things over to her desk. The teacup and coffee cup first, then the two brewing beverages, then the snacks. On the last trip back and forth, she stops and shivers at the strange sensation of the added energy feed in the room. Gah. Making the hair on the back of her neck stand up.
"W..whoah." Booster jumps just a little, and a few flickers of energy coruscate over his limbs. A golden glow flickers faintly and briefly around him, and then he says, "Sorry about that," as if he'd just belched or something. Skeets, however, just seems to luxuriate in the charged atmosphere. "Well..." Booster sits forward a little. "Basically, my ultimate goals are to be rich, famous, and of course to be a totally awesome superhero." He counts these off on his fingers. "But it's not like that stuff comes easily. And it's not like I even want to be handed that stuff, I want to work for it. Forging connections and stuff is important, I mean... it's important where I'm from. I'm pretty sure it's important here, too." Booster sits back, as if he were done speaking. And then he blinks and says, "Oh. I'm from the 25th century. If that makes a difference."
Tony Stark blinks, "Okay..25th century..is that a clever name for a place in Idaho or did you pull a quantum leap?" he asks flatly, temporarily ignoring the other reasons. He sips his coffee as if he speaks with time travelers on a daily basis.
Pepper Potts settles back into her chair but then reaches over to pour Booster's coffee for him. She'd been kind of thinking the same thing as Tony just asked, but couldn't come up with a polite way to ask. She flinches when the charge in the air makes the coffee press's chrome handle zap her, but manages to not react beyond that as she fills the coffee cup. "I think Tony means to ask how you ended up here four hundred years in your own past."
"Uh..." Booster looks hesitant to answer, glancing sidelong to Skeets. They have a brief, rapid conversation in what Booster has previously identified as Interlac, although Skeets distinctly says 'quantum' in there. Then, Booster says in English, "I see what you mean, Pepper." He brightens up, smiling again. "I kind of borrowed a time machine. I mean, it wasn't being used for anything, and I thought it'd be cool to come to a time when there were actual superheroes running around. And flying around."
Tony Stark makes an ahh face. "I see. So we're pretty much extinct where you come from. Well, I hope my legacy still is there in some small form, but for now please -- no spoilers." he holds up a hand, but looks confused, "So if you're from there..why would you want to intern for me here?"
Pepper Potts blinks at Booster and actually stares for a solid five seconds. "You ... borrowed a time machine?" It would just be fitting if it turned out the time machine resembled a blue police box. "You don't still have it, do you?" Please say no. PLEASE say no.
"I'm... not sure extinct is the right word, but I should admit that I only learned TwenCen English pretty recently." Booster reaches up to pull off his goggles and cowl, because it is a little like wearing sunglasses while trying to have a conversation. "It's illegal for sure. I'm never going back to my native era. To make it in this one, I need connections. I'd sure as heck get some if I worked with you." He is gesturing vaguely with both hands, and Skeets finally hovers closer, a tiny and nigh invisible door sliding open in his golden hull, so he can extend a little arm with a pincer end. He deftly plucks the cowl and goggles from his boss' hand, in order to hold the garment. Looking a little sheepish, Booster glances to Pepper and says, "I don't have the time machine anymore, no."
Tony Stark whews, in relief. "I can't say I wouldn't be hounding you for field trips I have to say. Okay, so basically you're stranded here, and an outlaw from your own time and looking to build yourself up here and figured working with me would be a good start?" he asks, sipping his coffee, "I just wanna make sure I got this right."
Oh thank god. Pepper doesn't need to say the words aloud, her expression is more than clear enough. She claims a doughnut hole then takes a sip of her tea... ow, still too hot. She glances from Tony to Booster and back, then dusts off her fingers and quietly starts tapping at the virtual keyboard in the surface of her desk. If Skeets can keep up with her typing and read English, he probably can tell she's accessing her computer for employment documentation.
Holding the cup of coffee prepared for him by Pepper, Booster looks upwards as if he were mulling things over. "Y...eah. That's about right, Mr. Stark. I mean, Tony. Like, I'm a reservist for the Legion of Super-Heroes, which is awesome... although nearly everyone in the Legion is a time traveler, too. Only, they didn't travel here on purpose." He moves his free hand in a vague, shrugging gesture. "It's nice, because we all speak Interlac, which is one of the languages I grew up with. But I also need to work with people who are native to this era."
Tony Stark nods quietly, "So we do have heroes in the future, good to know." he pauses, "Interlac -- Don't suppose you can teach me that as part of our little man WAY out of time exchange, hmmm?" he asks, rises and specifically grabs a donut hole. He snags one or two for Booster as well. "Well, I guess it's a given I'd be stupid not to have you on my intern squad, the question is, where in the company would you want to be. There's a definitely a bunch of different places for you to be, and you can pretty much go wherever strikes your fancy."
Pepper Potts says, "Not accounting or administration, please. Security might not work out so well either. I don't think." A bit more typing and Pepper's pulling a stylus from a drawer to one side of her desk to set on the glass surface in front of Booster. "Oh, and Tony, are you hiring Skeets as well?" She's mostly just curious, but she also wants to see Tony's reaction to the question."
"Oh yeah, though they're mostly from the 31st century. It's..." there is a long pause as Booster tries to sum up all of the aberrant chronal eventualities at play, and eventually just says, "It's complicated." He leaves it at that. "But yeah, sure, teaching you Interlac wouldn't be a problem. I was kind of surprised that it's not spoken on Earth, although I guess there hasn't been much in the way of exo-planet trading yet. Uh, I mean to say that it's a current language in this era, but not on this planet." Booster glances downwards now, thoughtful and quiet. "Well, I'm really not a scientist. I mean, I did my requisite science classes in High School... but it was just stuff like Terran practical genetics, and basic nano engineering. I'm not completely sure I'm using the correct terms there, but I hope you know what I mean." Reaching out, he picks up the stylus and gives it a curious look.
Tony Stark nods to Pepper, "Well, I figure they're just as much as a package as JARVIS and I." he shrugs as if it's a given. "Hmmm..yeah, let's stick you in R&D. I figure you'll get along well with Da..Howard, as well as Peter. I can put the three of you on special projects and watch the fun." he looks to Booster, "I offer a modest stipend. One grand a month, plus health package in addition to limited use of corporate facilities. Sound good?" he asks, giving the other man a once aver again.
Pepper Potts looks at the young man from the future, waiting to see what his response will be before she starts dumping paper work on him. Heck, he already mentioned that twentieth century English is not his native language.. does he know how to read and write in English?
"Well, I mean, it's up to him," Booster gestures at Skeets. "We met when we were both working as security guards at a museum. He's basically my assistant, now."
"It is true that I was originally employed as a docent and security bot, but I've found my change of career to be quite satisfying," supplies Skeets, sounding cheerful.
"Anyway, that sounds totally great," Booster tells Tony, sounding as cheerful and enthusiastic as his robot pal. "I mean I have a paying job but it's kind of... it's not a daily thing. The money is pretty good when it comes up, but I have a lot of leftover time."
Tony Stark nods, "Well, we'll take care of that. I won't work you like a taskmaster but I do want to see a lot of you here." he gives a knowing grin, "Besides, I like to keep the place stocked with enough toys to make people want to be here, even in their off time. I know I'm here quite a bit, and I'm accessible so you won't have fifty layers of security to get through to talk to me about a project."
A few more taps at the virtual keyboard, and the section of the glass tabletop in front of Booster Gold lights up with the employment documentation she'd been accessing. "I'll just need you fill out the highlighted sections of these two pages, and sign your name on the signature lines, and I'll get the actual processing started." Now comes the test of Booster's literacy.
"Well... in my off time, I'm probably going to be like... beating up bad guys and saving people," Booster admits, as if this might be a shortcoming. "But of course you'd understand that," he gestures to Tony, with a meaningful look. Now, however, he has to figure out how this stylus interfaces with these forms. Initially he points at a highlighted area and looks as if he is concentrating; when nothing happens, he makes cautious, experimental contact between the stylus and the tabletop. Once he figures this out, he seems quite fluent with reading and writing in 21st Century English; in fact, when he signs his name it is a quite legible 'Michael Jon Carter', bold and with a flourish that ends with a five-pointed star.
Tony Stark nods, "Yeah, I can relate to that. Unfortunately I can't slot you right into the Avengers or I'd just do that, but I can say that I can get you acquainted with them and see how you do. If you can hang, and the others are with it, it's a possibility. But I personally would want to see what you're made of first. If you can, then we're playing on an entirely different set of rules."
Pepper Potts ohs faintly to herself at Booster's admission that he might be doing the heroing thing on the weekends, and a tiny glowing rectangle in the corner of the space he's using indicates another sheet of documentation has been added to the 'stack'. For her own part, Pepper's got the terms of payment noted as well as the fact that Carter may well want weekends off, and in another window she's got an email mostly composed that will allow Skeets equal access to the same areas that his human will be allowed. Hm. Can the little floating egg-bot handle his own version of an employee's badge?
"I totally get it. I mean, I'm pretty capable, but it'd be more than a little weird if you were like..." Booster stops filling out and signing forms to hold up a hand. "'Hey, you say you're a cool dude? Okay, that's good enough for me, join up!'" He resumes his form filling. "Although if you want my power stuff, I could send the information along. It's pretty basic. You know... fly, lift and throw busses, blaster fire, withstand missiles."
Tony Stark ponders this, "Well, maybe we can test it out. Perhaps even with a little sparring session sometime? See how you do against my antiquated technology - sound good?"
Pepper Potts glances between the two men as they plan to test their powered suits against each other, and she mentally hopes Tony doesn't try to drag her in on that. She wants to get the hang of the whole walking and running and flying parts before someone ELSE takes a potshot at her. And in the meantime, the email's been sent off to Security about Skeets and JARVIS is hopefully polling the little egg-dude for a network link, as if he's gonna be in the building regularly, it would be like not offering someone wifi access for their tablet... not that she's equating Skeets to a tablet. Really. Or, um, something.
"I'd hardly call it antiquated, Mr. Stark. You've got some of the most advanced tech I've seen in this era." Booster's eyebrows are arched high as he glances to Tony. "I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if some of the stuff in my suit is descended from your innovations. But yeah, a test, that'd be awesome." He looks to Pepper then, questioningly, with the stylus poised. "Is there more to sign?"
Pepper Potts smiles at Booster. "Not for now. If anything else crops up that we need," like a W-2, "I'll have that ready for you to sign on your first day. Sound good?"