2013-10-06 - Cutscene: Mission: Intergang - Seeing The Dead

Just as Stark was working on moving on, getting his life back together, and life just has a way of taking a dump on him. It has been more than once he thought he saw HER. If it was not for his artificial heart, he thinks it would have pounded out of his chest each time. Still, he refuses to think he is crazy, Rogers can't be right about the super soldier serum, because he gave it to Pepper.

The urge to drink is overwhelming as Stark feels himself going mad. That is why he grabbed Rogers and decided to go out to the ice skating rink. A place he went with She-Hulk to try and recover from Sawyer's death and remember why life is still worth living. He was bad at it, but it was fun and it was a good memory in its own right.

Even as Stark works on not falling on his ass as he catches the railing at the inner side of the rink with a grunt, he is laughing at Rogers. "Hey, I know it is a weird selection, but why not? It's not bad taking a break once in a while you know Rogers," teasing the guy.

Steve Rogers could skate it was the reflexes the strength, agility, and his natural grace as an athlete. He could probably figure skate without even trying. "If you say so Tony. Though we're not telling Clint, or anyone else about this." He says as he skates by quickly and comes to a stop on a dime, "You sure about this? I mean usually you want to invent something or pout out how out of touch I am with the modern age." He chuckles.

It's been difficult for Sawyer to follow the directives from her benefactors to stay away from her loved ones.. but the possibility of putting their lives in danger was enough to keep her from making contact. It didn't keep her from keeping an eye on them from a distance though, as soon as the majority of her training was over. It was Tony that mattered most to her.

She knew it wouldn't be easy, but thought it might be better to expose herself to the bloody bastard who was taking his place. She'd been scouting his whereabouts for almost a week now, and a few times she'd slipped and he'd managed to spot her briefly. She'd cursed herself afterwards. If only she could find the right time, and way, to put a bullet through the wanker's skull.. but the thought of doing such a thing, even to the image of the man she loved, was difficult.

She discovered he would be at the ice rink today, and she wanted to continue her reconnaissance work, hoping for something to come to her.. some way to deal with them, and get the REAL Tony back and into her arms.

She's chosen something comfortable, and left her hair down as she interweaves herself between the people milling around. When she spots Tony, it takes her breath away, despite having been watching him this past week. It never ceased to amaze her how good the impersonation was. She spies Steve too, but it's the Tony figure that is like a magnet for her gaze. She pauses, nicely hidden behind a gaggle of girls, whispering and tittering to themselves. She had improved her ability to keep herself hidden, after the first shock of seeing him.. but when the girl's decide to move on.. her distraction leaves her briefly exposed. She turns her back to the rink casually, and disappears into the bathroom. If it's watched, Sawyer doesn't emerge, but a few seconds later, an elderly woman with a cane comes hobbling out, apparently looking for her grandchild.

A snort comes from Stark, "Well, you are out of touch! But sometimes a little old-fashioned isn't a bad thing I'm learning. Anyway, I'll be torturing you with all sorts of gadgets and amazing new technology at the Avengers Academy," a slight smirk coming from him. The two Avengers are coming around the rink again, and that is when Stark notices the waving giggling girls. He raises a hand and grins as he waves back to them. They start to move on and...

...if Stark did not know better he would think his artificial heart would have stopped. An ice skated foot slips, and he goes down hard on his knees. He doesn't even grunt at the impact that should have knocked the air out of him. Instead, he picks himself up and skates over to the railing to hold onto it tightly. He looks about to leap over it, but...

...she is gone. Stark fell when his ankle twisted and did not see her go into the bathroom. Even as his dark eyes search, there is only an old woman calling for her grandchild. Bile rises up in the back of his throat, and he suddenly looks like he is going to be sick. The sudden silence from him likely alerting Rogers that something is wrong.

Steve Rogers grumbles, "You've heard of something called Peanuts with Charlie Brown and Snoopy? The little girl that pulls the football away before Charlie Brown kicks the ball. Course you do, when you start talking all that techno babble you sound like one of the adults on the show to me." He chuckles but comes to a dead stop as Tony falls and stops talking, "Stark you okay? You look like you seen a ghost." The soldier already taking over and he's scanning the crowd for something wrong.

The old woman makes her way out of sight, still searching for her grandchild.. but she's inconsequential. .. ..

Once out of sight, Sawyer slips into dark recesses, where she can still keep an eye on Tony. She doesn't let herself get distracted this time, although the look on his face was priceless. She could /almost/ believe.. maybe.. but no. HYDRA took her in, took care of her, and explained it all. That WASN'T Tony.. and the bloody bastard was going to pay.

At first, Stark says nothing at first, as if he didn't hear. His paleness doesn't go away, when he does finally speak, "I...it's...nothing, nothing at all." He starts to ice skate away, "I...have to go, sorry." He is hurrying out of the ring to the nearest exit, and doesn't waste any time to sit at a bench to practically rip off the ice skates and check them in before he heads to get his own shoes from the locker he rented. He doesn't look back to see if Rogers is following him, he is just high tailing it out there like the hound of Hades is nipping at his heels.

In reality, Stark doesn't know what he is doing, he is working on auto-drive. He won't even register where he is at, until he knocks on Aunt Mellie's front door...