Marvel: 2011-12-10 - Dropping In

Nicoletta stands on the edge of one of the larger skyscrapers in the area. She looks down over the edge at the streets below, searching for a clear area, a smile on her lips. She adjusts the straps to the pack that rests on her back, making sure they're all tight before she checks the gage strapped to her wrist next to a watch. She reaches up and pulls the goggles from her forehead over her eyes. With one last look over her shoulder to see if any guards are onto her, she pushes off the ledge and plummets from the building with a shout of exhilaration.

Unknown to both Nico and Stark, they are on a crash course for collision. Stark is driving his car and holding a phone conversation with Jarvis wirelessly...with his bloody mind! Pete should be proud of the use of bloody. In either case, he also has a StarkPad between the seats that is going through diagrams and all sorts of information which Stark is also reviewing mentally. Talk about multi-tasking! Then again, his brain is a computer right now, and he doesn't have to hide it because...well, no one is there with him while he goes out to enjoy the cold air, and joy ride in his flying car. Furthermore, not just any flying car, but a Chrysler "Prowler" that has been completely and utterly revamped.

Of course, nothing goes according to plan for Stark, when does it ever? So as he's zooming along, his car suddenly jerks and sways, "Whoa!" Phone conversation? "Talk to you later Jarvis," he accidentally says outloud, and mentally hangs up, even has his hands work hard with the steering wheel and other fancy gadgets to keep control over the vechile, which he does quiet quickly...but he the StarkPad also paused in it's review...his mind fully on the task at hand.

Nicoletta silently counts in her mind, keeping track of when she needs to pull her 'cute in order to survive the fall. Her vision is focused on the area below her when the Prowler enters her view from her peripheral vision. "Oh fu--" is all she is able to get out before she lands on the back of the vehicle with an "Oomph!" She instinctively grabs for the back of the car's interior to prevent herself from falling off, the side of her body she landed on ringing in pain from the impact.

Two to three seconds likely seem like hours to poor Nicolette, at her legs slide off the narrow back of the Prowler. But Stark only needed that long to get control over the flying car and turn around to look at, "A jumper!" Not a base jumper, he thinks you are an honest to goodness suicide jumper. He curses, the wind half grabbing at it before he reaches with one hand - one remaining on the steering wheel (that does it, totally installing wireless control on this sucker) - to grab at your nearest wrist...hard. His grip is not kind, but it also speaks of strength, and from Stark's expression, he isn't letting you go as he starts to slow the flying car down toward more hovering. "I'm going to pull, you pull with your other hand! Now!" And he pulls steadily and firmly to get you into the front passanger seat, the only other seat in this tiny flying machine.

Oh, yes. Time definitely slowed down for Nico, her eyes widened in surprise behind the goggles. She looks down at the street until she feels a tight grip on her wrist. She looks up at the hand then to the man holding onto her. She nods her head to signal she understands his words and helps pull herself up fairly easily. If you're going to do stupid stuff, it helps to be strong enough to survive them. She slides into the passenger seat, breathing heavily from the ordeal and rush of adrenaline. Once she's safe and takes a few breaths, she lifts her goggles and chuckles nervously. "That was a hell of a rush." She turns towards the man who saved her, not really thinking about the fact they're still flying. "Sorry for the rough landing..."

The flying car picks up speed, "What the hell were you thinking to jump! Hell, life can't be that bad," Stark says. Though many may assume Stark 'has it all', he has been crippled for a while after being shot in the back by a crazy girlfriend, lost his company before that, and so much more. That isn't even the worse of it, just a piece of it. He grumbles, "Crazy women." A hand moves to the gear shift again and he goes up another gear, the wind whipping past the two of you just outside of the windshield and two upraised side windows. Still, yelling is required to talk properly.

Buildings start to zip by, not too fast, but definately faster than they should be for driving inside city limits.

Nicoletta starts to unbuckle the parachute from her back so that she can review the damage. There's definitely going to be some bruising at the very least. She raises an eyebrow and looks at him as he speaks again, not registering who he is just yet. "Well, how else was I going to get the 'chute open? Run? I'm not that fast. Just two more seconds..." Then it clicks as to who she just dropped in on and her eyes widen slightly. "You... do you know who you are?" She asks with a raised voice to be heard over the wind, pointing at him as the adrenaline masks the pain for the moment. "You're him aren't you? Oh shit. I'm sorry about your car." She says before she looks back where she landed to assess the damage and then the realization of the fact they're flying hits. "We're flying?!" She asks, slightly startled.

"That's a chute? I thought it was a backpack...," he leans over to look at it more closely, "It's a parachute," Stark then pays attention to where he is going, moving the steering wheel to jet between two buildings where...there is no road, but that's fine, he's flying! "Yes, we are flying! And yes, I am sober! And no, I'm not going to crash into J. Jonah Jameson's house, no matter how tempting it would be!" Years old reference, you likely wouldn't get it. "Wait a second, where did you jump from? A building? Are you crazy! Wait, your female, of /course/ you are crazy! If Sawyer wasn't afraid of heights, she would likely do something like that. But no, planes are dangerous, but she can rock climb with ropes. I just love that logic....ropes for goodness sake! What if a rock cuts through it?!" It's an age old argument there too. But Stark seems to be calming down after his scare, "So...what's your name kid?" Did he just call you a kid?!

With the adrenaline starting to wear off, Nicoletta starts to feel the pain more, lifting the side of her shirt to see the bruising starting to show. "Yeah. It's a parachute." His rant and then realization of where she jumped from causes her to smirk and chuckle softly, wincing slightly. "Yeah. I jumped from the building back there. It's a lot cheaper than renting a plane to jump off of." The mention of Sawyer triggers a moment of recognition with the recent pictures from New Orleans. "Rock climbing is as dangerous as bungie jumping or skydiving. It's all the same." The fact he calls her kid causes another raise of her eyebrow, but it's dismissed. He is Tony Stark after all and he did just save her. "Nicoletta. People call me Nico though, Mr. Stark."

"Call me Tony then, Nico. So, any place you need dropped off at, on the ground?" He smirks a bit. Well, the woman hasn't tried to kill him or kidnap him yet, likely not a HYDRA agent. J Just most likely this is his typical bad luck, least that is what Stark is thinking. He moves a hand from the steering wheel to go through his hair, which is slightly windblown due to the open roof of the flying vechile.

Nicoletta nods her head slightly at the offer to call him by his first name. It's not every day you get to be on a first name basis with a billionaire. "Sure thing, Mr. Stark... err... Tony." She bites her lower lip as she starts to remove the parachute from her back, setting it in her lap to make her more comfortable. "Yeah. Anywhere on the ground is fine. I don't live too far away from..." She looks out of the car to see where they are now before she points towards SoHo. "...over there." At least she won't have to be running from the cops trying to arrest her for trespassing. "Thank you and, again, sorry for dropping in. I'll pay for any damages to the car... when I can get the money for it."

Stark chuckles at that, "It's fine, it's fine. You distracted me from my bad mood anyway, that's payment enough." The car banks then, a little sharply, but nothing too bad as it turns about toward SoHo. It's perhaps a little strange to be flying over a city at such a low attitude that you are between buildings...certainly a different perspective. "I'm sure Pepper will be delighted so I'll go back to work."

Nicoletta smiles a bit at that, hugging her parachute close to her as the car turns towards SoHo, definitely getting a new perspective on the city. "This is definitely a different way of getting around. Much more efficient than just jumping off a building and praying the winds are with you." She says with a smirk, looking to him as he mentions Pepper. She remembers hearing about Pepper in the news stories about Tony. "My friend, David would kill me for not asking if is Pepper as hot as she is in the paper? He's always going on about her."

A laugh at that, "She's adorable with her freckles, and a body to die for. And if you ever repeat that I said that to her or anyone else, I'll deny it. I got enough drama in my life right now. But good luck ever getting her to go on a date if David ever meets her, she's married to her job." Stark then starts to head downward, causing a shift in the winds as he beings to head for the street level, looking for a good place to land or at least hover without causing any accidents.

Nicoletta laughs softly and nods her head. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone, but David. I won't tell him about his chances with her though. I'd hate to ruin the poor boy's dreams." She chuckles softly as the car starts to descend. "Thanks for the ride, Tony. I'll make sure to look both ways before jumping next time so I don't drop in on you like this again." She says as she looks up towards him.

A snort comes from Tony, "Isn't jumping like that generally illegal in the city? What if you fell into traffic? Try to go to legal places for that Nico. Then again, I guess I don't have a lot of room to talk, I had my wild days where I didn't listen to anyone, let alone anyone with authority." Stark finally finds a place to settle down into a tight place, but considering he can hover - it works out. The flying car sits down with a bit of a bump.

Nicoletta shrugs slightly and smirks. "I guess it is, but I've only been arrested for trespassing. Not for actually jumping." She smirks and grins as the car finally touches down and she starts to gather her things and makes sure she has all her gear. Once satisfied and the car sits down, she offers him a smile. "Thank you again. I really appreciate the ride and good luck with everything. If you're ever at Dalton's Bar, your drinks are on me." She says with a smile before she starts to climb out of the car.

"Ah...Dalton's Bar? Thanks, I know of it. I met the owner some time ago." Not that he drinks anymore, but that isn't publicly known. "Take care of yourself Nico." Stark waits till you are clear of the vechile before he will lift back up into the air to take off.

Nicoletta smiles and nods as she closes the car door behind her. "You too, Tony, and thanks again." She says as she watches him lift off and head away before she looks around for any cops that may have been following them before she stats to job back to her apartment as quickly as she can to brag to David and her sister.