TEST DRIVE #3 - Alien Bazaar/Ten Forward

[tenforward_m]

#1

Option 001. Alien planet, marketplace: So you're new to this whole space travel thing. The ship is cool and all, but there are hundreds of alien worlds out there. You want to explore. To see what the universe REALLY looks like.

Well, here's your chance! Your first stop is this lovely indoor marketplace, which looks kind of like a mall. There are stalls one after the other as far as the eye can see, and they sell all kinds of things: food, clothes, trinkets, animals, fabrics, jewelry, perfumes, books, etc etc. Some things look human, easy to recognize; other things look very alien. There are two levels, and constant chatter as people hawk their wares and discuss prices.

Do you want to explore? Poke at the weird shops? Buy a gift for a new friend? Flirt with someone at the food court? Maybe you see a pickpocket, and must run to the aid of the victim. Maybe there's some other villainy afoot. After all, a crowded marketplace is a good place for villains to lurk, causing trouble. Whether you're a hero or just an unassuming traveler, there proves to be some adventure for you on this planet.


2

Option 002. Aboard the Enterprise, Ten Forward: You have no idea what just happened. One minute you were home, and now you're on a spaceship, in the middle of a crowded room. It looks like a bar. There are people eating and drinking, some in uniform, others not. Some are clearly aliens.

You've managed to land in Ten Forward a long bar with barstools and a bartender, tables sprinkled throughout, and the far wall is nothing but windows out to space. It looks like a nice lounge, low conversation making the room hum.

Better ask some questions and find out where you are, or just tap the closest person on the shoulder and try to make friends. The bar is open.

Comments

Tony Stark | MCU

[funnythingsare]

This was among the top five weird things that had ever happened to him. Even so, it wasn't enough to break him, not yet. After all, some of it was familiar. Most of the people there had two legs. There was a bar. So what if the view was reminiscent of what little he remembered from the wormhole? He just wouldn't look that direction.

Tony ordered a drink and tried to look casual. Which basically meant standing out like a movie star.

toooooonyyyy

[spideys]

A 'movie star' who might be about to get bumped into by one lanky superhero teenager.

Peter has been taking a couple of pictures of the place for his own records, and also because he's bored and he hasn't been flexing his photographer-muscle lately. But when he gets into the moment, it's easy to forget anything or anyone else exists.

"Heey! -"

Luckily, he's got those Spidey senses really fast reflexes of his.




"- sorry."

Hopefully he didn't spill Tony's drink.

Re: toooooonyyyy

[funnythingsare]

"Watch it, kid," Tony says, but there's little actual bite to it. He's still trying to read the crowd, figure out where the hell he is. Tony holds his drink gingerly, his own reflexes honed over years at bars trying to minimize jostling. Hey, it's helped him refine servos to an art.

He glances again at the kid, trying not to seem too interested but definitely wanting to get a read on things. "You don't look like you belong here. You even old enough to drink?"

[spideys]

"Sorry."

Peter gives Tony a thin-lipped smile and a shrug, apologetic.

"Uh - I'm seventeen," he says, which is possibly a response to both his statement and his question or maybe neither of them, considering where they are. "But this place is kind of a - a 'come one, come all' kinda thing. Not everyone here is even from the same time or universe, you know?"

[funnythingsare]

"Gathering that," Tony said. He looked at the boy again, now no longer insulted by the shove, but by the lack of recognition.

"You seriously have no idea who I am."

[spideys]

"Nnope." Peter shakes his head, hand moving to rub his neck. "No, no - sorry, I don't.

"Should I?"

[funnythingsare]

"No, not necessarily," Tony said breezily. "I mean, not unless you've been aware of the existence of news. Then again..." He turned to face him. It was a little refreshing, but no less irritated. "Where you from, kid? You never heard of Iron Man?"

[spideys]

"No. No, I've never heard of Iron Man before," Peter admits, shrugging. "Like I said, different time, different universe.

"I'm from New York, the year 2012."

And he has been aware of the news, thank you very much. How else will he get his updates on how the world views Spiderman? (Well, besides YouTube and Twitter.)

[funnythingsare]

Tony shrugged. "Weird. So you missed the whole... alien invasion of New York." He swallowed hard and took a sip of his drink. Shit. This should not affect him like this. "Anyway. Maybe you're lucky. Superheroes are dicks."

[spideys]

"We - uh. We had our own kind of invasion, I guess," Peter says, though he kind of regrets it immediately.

That way lies talk of Spiderman.

Although ...

"What do you mean 'superheroes are dicks'? Aren't - aren't they s'posed to be the good guys?"

oooh lookie here

[electro_kinetic]

Don't look now, but there is some interesting tech walking by, Tony. Sure, it's being worn by a young woman with a small screwdriver holding her hair into a half-improvised twist instead of the more common pencil, but unless he's developed any interest in weird hair colors, the tech will be the attention-getting part.

When Noriko slides into a chair, which she promptly leans onto its back support (she's sitting in it backwards), she glances up at Tony, because she can feel the difference in electric flow around him. And she's seriously never been the most subtle of creatures. Ever.

"What've you got there?" she asks without much preamble, looking directly at him and tapping a finger to the center of her own chest.

[funnythingsare]

Tony blinks at her. "Yours or mine?" he asks with practiced smoothness. "Because I've got a pretty good memory, and I'm pretty sure I'd remember if I'd had what you've got."

[electro_kinetic]

"If you had what I've got I wouldn't have needed to ask," she replies, with a half-amused quasi-grin. But just to be fair, she does pull down the neck of her shirt far enough that the skin exposed shows no sign of being mated to metal or any of the components of an arc reactor. Nothing unusual but a couple scars, really.

"Breasts I'm used to. Oddly glowing circles where one's sternum ought to be that alter the electrical field around you...that's new."

[funnythingsare]

People noticing, Tony is used to. He courts it, or he did, once. After all, he could have worn clothing that hid it better. But this comment, about the electrical field? That's interesting. "It's quite safe," he says. "My cell still works fine."

[electro_kinetic]

She chuckles, she can't help it.

"Yeah, I know it's safe, that I can tell." It's an interruption, but electrical output is not going to hurt her. Of few things can Noriko be entirely that sure, but her limit with lightning (artificial or otherwise) is one of them. Besides, as she holds up a forearm covered in what looks like a slim, articulated metal opera glove, it's becoming obvious that she's not exactly a bog-standard human. "I wanted to know what it is. I've never seen something like it in another person."

[funnythingsare]

"Most people haven't," Tony replies smoothly. "Then again, most people just think it looks funny. They don't tend to comment on the electrical properties. Quid pro quo, Blue--it's a miniaturized arc reactor, keeping my heart free of shrapnel. So what are you?"

[electro_kinetic]

"It's one of those glass-half-full things," she says with a shrug. She's used to people being concerned about the topics she chooses to comment on.

"To answer your question though, I'm electrokinetic; in layman's terms, a mutant. I can absorb, channel, and manipulate electricity. And I do not think that looks funny--it looks brilliant. Did you do it yourself?" She can't imagine there's a huge market for optional electromagnets implanted into one's chest.

[goldencobra]

Henry recognised Tony from his comic books. But unlike with Steve, he didn't hold back. He took a deep breath and approached the man, trying not to look like a fanboy. And failing.

"Hi. I'm Henry. You're Tony Stark." He's grinning because this man is his favourite Avenger.