House
"Its cancer," Tony said,
Pepper paused at the edge of the room. She frowned at the back of Tony's head.
"Its obviously a blood clot," Pepper replied dryly,
Tony tilted his head over the back of his chair to grin at Pepper. Pepper skillfully avoided the attempt to charm her by staring at the large screen in front of them. House was harassing the patient, so they must be close to a diagnosis. House announced that their patient had a blood clot near his brain stem.
"Next time you'll be guessing lupus," Pepper smirked down at Tony.
Rescue
When Pepper found the suit (the suit) he had made for her, she felt a bit like Alicia Silverstone in that Batman movie. Panicky and a bit creeped out.
When exactly had Tony measured her to build it? Had he measured her in her sleep or something? Or worse, while she was awake?
She turned the idea over in her head while sizing up the suit. At least there was no giant Tony Stark face hovering above her. And at least he wasn't her uncle.
Notes: I made 2 Iron Man fics/drabbles whatever they're called...Apparently Pepper doesn't know very much about Batman comics continuity. Also posted to my FF account here.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Armor 3
Matt found out back in M.R.C. that Max had programming experience in a rather round about way. One of the Fates had caught a whiff of a memory. When the Gossips did their weekly mind-tapping of the Fates, they collected that same memory. The memory then got lost in the shuffle of many minds. For a while. When Rebecca went into the Gossips' collective to look for information on Max all hat time ago, she got a hold of that same memory. Since the Gossips were not above gossiping about their own, they gossiped. So Matt heard from one of the wanna-be Gossips about Rebecca's taking of information on Max. Matt tracked down Rebecca and had to convince her that he wasn't spying for Jordan. Luckily, Rebecca was an empath, so that went quickly. Matt picked Rebecca's brain(s) (remotely, of course) and found that brilliant glimpse of java syntax hidden in the memories.
And, being a fan of efficiency, there was one last detour for Matt to make. Matt bought a book on C syntax and code optimization.
Matt stole Max's extra time for the next month. They both learned a new language. Max went too slow for Matt. In return, Matt went to fast for Max. In some ways, this was the equilibrium they always had. Another month and they could effectively pair program in C.
Max resisted counting how many hours they spent programming the heads-up display (Max refused to call it anything but a HUD), then the muscle-to-motor translation, then a basic data management and storage component. There were a few null pointer exceptions. Then came the seg-faults. Both were accompanied by headaches and extra eye strain.
When Matt returned Max to his free time, he realized the suit had no native A.I. He decided he didn't care. Matt strapped in and immediately got cuts in places he would never mention. He got into the store of Jordan's costume material and learned how to sew. Matt avoided cuts this time. Then he jumped through a wall by accident. Luckily, it wasn't a load bearing wall. Unluckily, Lucien was home and Matt thought he was going to be permanently blind as punishment. Matt fixed the wall, then the exo's calibrations. The next time he broke a wall, it was on purpose. He could save installing a compact jet pack for later.
Max went with Matt the first time he took the exo outside of the lab. They left (late) after nightfall. Matt was awkward jumping across gaps between buildings. For once he wished he had practiced parkour with the rest of his class.
Max echolocated some kids beating up a younger kid with a crowbar. Max stayed perched on the roof overlooking the wide alley as Matt crashed down. The kids started at the large, angry looking exo-suit which had suddenly appeared in the alley with them. The young kid had enough sense to take off. The kid with the crowbar threw it at Matt's helmet. Matt giggled a little, but no sound escaped the exo. The kids stared in horror as Matt advanced on them, his motions seeming almost human. At the last second, they scatter. Matt stared after them but can't decide which to pursue. Max dropped down and informed Matt that he needed to be more decisive. Matt decided that the exo still needed work.
Note: Sooo that's the last in the armor series! I have a feeling there's terrible tense shifting in there...
And, being a fan of efficiency, there was one last detour for Matt to make. Matt bought a book on C syntax and code optimization.
Matt stole Max's extra time for the next month. They both learned a new language. Max went too slow for Matt. In return, Matt went to fast for Max. In some ways, this was the equilibrium they always had. Another month and they could effectively pair program in C.
Max resisted counting how many hours they spent programming the heads-up display (Max refused to call it anything but a HUD), then the muscle-to-motor translation, then a basic data management and storage component. There were a few null pointer exceptions. Then came the seg-faults. Both were accompanied by headaches and extra eye strain.
When Matt returned Max to his free time, he realized the suit had no native A.I. He decided he didn't care. Matt strapped in and immediately got cuts in places he would never mention. He got into the store of Jordan's costume material and learned how to sew. Matt avoided cuts this time. Then he jumped through a wall by accident. Luckily, it wasn't a load bearing wall. Unluckily, Lucien was home and Matt thought he was going to be permanently blind as punishment. Matt fixed the wall, then the exo's calibrations. The next time he broke a wall, it was on purpose. He could save installing a compact jet pack for later.
Max went with Matt the first time he took the exo outside of the lab. They left (late) after nightfall. Matt was awkward jumping across gaps between buildings. For once he wished he had practiced parkour with the rest of his class.
Max echolocated some kids beating up a younger kid with a crowbar. Max stayed perched on the roof overlooking the wide alley as Matt crashed down. The kids started at the large, angry looking exo-suit which had suddenly appeared in the alley with them. The young kid had enough sense to take off. The kid with the crowbar threw it at Matt's helmet. Matt giggled a little, but no sound escaped the exo. The kids stared in horror as Matt advanced on them, his motions seeming almost human. At the last second, they scatter. Matt stared after them but can't decide which to pursue. Max dropped down and informed Matt that he needed to be more decisive. Matt decided that the exo still needed work.
Note: Sooo that's the last in the armor series! I have a feeling there's terrible tense shifting in there...
Friday, April 30, 2010
2/3 of the Armor Trilogy
Part 1:
Jordan took about a second to dismiss the idea. The dull metal exo now stayed in storage with with Matt's other failed inventions.
“Its been done before,” she had said,
Matt frowned at the exo suit like it had betrayed him. At least he hadn't bothered to try and program it yet.
“And if I did want armor, it wouldn't have boobs,” Jordan had added as she left.
Part 2:
Jordan frowned at Matt. Then the armor. He had modified the chestpiece to remove the extra “room”. It was painted a matte black now, except where the plates overlapped. The greased metal there shone silver.
“Didn't you fail combat?” Jordan asked,
“No, I got a D. I bribed King with a simulation room..deck...”
Jordan hummed. She was seriously considering it this time, Matt realized,
“There are no guns,” Matt offerend,
It wasn't for lack of wanting them. Matt couldn't find a power source that could fuel the suit and support any sort of energy weapon. And he would be damned if he was going to use conventional weapons. Matt scoffed mentally.
It also just so happened that Jordan hated guns.
Jordan hummed again in a slightly different tone. Deeper, this time. Matt was almost there,
“There are no nano-bots this time,” he smiled,
Jordan chuckled darkly at that memory,
“Whatever you want, then,” Jordan added as she left.
Note: Part 3 probably going up tomorrow. Its actually longer than part 1 and 2 combined! Surprising, I know. Remember: Evil plans in the comments.
Jordan took about a second to dismiss the idea. The dull metal exo now stayed in storage with with Matt's other failed inventions.
“Its been done before,” she had said,
Matt frowned at the exo suit like it had betrayed him. At least he hadn't bothered to try and program it yet.
“And if I did want armor, it wouldn't have boobs,” Jordan had added as she left.
Part 2:
Jordan frowned at Matt. Then the armor. He had modified the chestpiece to remove the extra “room”. It was painted a matte black now, except where the plates overlapped. The greased metal there shone silver.
“Didn't you fail combat?” Jordan asked,
“No, I got a D. I bribed King with a simulation room..deck...”
Jordan hummed. She was seriously considering it this time, Matt realized,
“There are no guns,” Matt offerend,
It wasn't for lack of wanting them. Matt couldn't find a power source that could fuel the suit and support any sort of energy weapon. And he would be damned if he was going to use conventional weapons. Matt scoffed mentally.
It also just so happened that Jordan hated guns.
Jordan hummed again in a slightly different tone. Deeper, this time. Matt was almost there,
“There are no nano-bots this time,” he smiled,
Jordan chuckled darkly at that memory,
“Whatever you want, then,” Jordan added as she left.
Note: Part 3 probably going up tomorrow. Its actually longer than part 1 and 2 combined! Surprising, I know. Remember: Evil plans in the comments.
Sweet Dreams Are Made of These
I crouch over a puddle of black water. The puddle is slightly wider than my shoulders and surrounded by gray dirt. I see my reflection staring back at me and lean in. Slowly (suddenly) my face submerges in dark water. It pulls me down and I float (sink) towards the bottom. Everything is perfectly clear in the black water. My consciousness evaporates (floods) away.
Note: I probably have to pay loyalties or something for that...Today, only evil plans in comments.
Note: I probably have to pay loyalties or something for that...Today, only evil plans in comments.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
I still haven't titled this...
Jordan milled through the small house and strange faces. She was stuck here. At an engagement party. Not so much of an innovative idea as an obligation in the wedding process. As Jordan shouldered through the crowd, she couldn't help but feel like she was in some sort of surreal dream. Everyone was smiling. They were disarmingly happy and laughing. She caught sight of Inherent perched on top of the stairs, obviously avoiding the joyous horror below. Jordan was jostled into an adjacent room. Rebecca (as she preferred to be called now) and her fiancé were enjoying being showered with attention. Jordan paused to observe them. They were so deliriously happy (and probably not drugged), that she couldn’t help to think cynically.
It was never that easy for her and Max. She wasn’t usually so insecure as to compare her relationship to someone else’s, but in this case, there was no helping it. Jordan loved Max. Simple enough. But it was anything but easy. The core of their relationship, somehow, was fighting. Not against each other, usually. But fights where they're surrounded by enemies, standing back to back, are always the best for their relationship. And that wasn’t healthy. Or so everyone told her. But it worked.
A lanky pair of arms wrapped around her waist as Jordan was suddenly made aware of her surroundings.
“No need to worry,” Max whispered, “When is anything we do normal?”
Jordan leaned back against her long-term boyfriend’s chest and grinned comfortably.
A/N: Questions/comments/evil plans in the comments. My sister is majoring in military dictatorship, so it runs in the family.
It was never that easy for her and Max. She wasn’t usually so insecure as to compare her relationship to someone else’s, but in this case, there was no helping it. Jordan loved Max. Simple enough. But it was anything but easy. The core of their relationship, somehow, was fighting. Not against each other, usually. But fights where they're surrounded by enemies, standing back to back, are always the best for their relationship. And that wasn’t healthy. Or so everyone told her. But it worked.
A lanky pair of arms wrapped around her waist as Jordan was suddenly made aware of her surroundings.
“No need to worry,” Max whispered, “When is anything we do normal?”
Jordan leaned back against her long-term boyfriend’s chest and grinned comfortably.
A/N: Questions/comments/evil plans in the comments. My sister is majoring in military dictatorship, so it runs in the family.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Proper work attire
Max yawned as he palmed open the door to Jordan and Chase's P.I. office. Jordan gave him a once over before deciding which glare to give him.
What the hell are you doing? was what she decided on,
Chase snickered,
Max was wearing his usual early morning attire of sweatpants, an old college T-shirt and no shoes.
“Why do you look like a skank ho?” Jordan asked through her hologram screen,
She was not pleased. Max swept over to the edge of Jordan's desk. He kissed her on the top of her head before bending his stomach out of the way of her punch.
“But I like it when you come to work dressed like a skank ho,” he whispered to her,
Chase snickered,
Max sprinted to the safety of the back room before Jordan could throw anything damaging at him. Jordan groaned,
“That was only once!” she yelled after him.
Memories, memories
(If you're confused, see the note at the end)
Jordan's earliest memory is of her parents. It is also the only memory of her parents. They're in a kitchen, the three of them. Jordan, her arms still toddler-sized, sits on the kitchen floor, next to the large fridge. Her mother and father are at the L-shaped kitchen counter mixing pancake batter. Her father, who is undeniably Asian (Jordan thinks Chinese), is smiling at her like she just told a ridiculous joke. Her mother is blonde-haired and fair-skinned. She is holding a large green mixing bowl in her arms and wearing a white shirt with thin black stripes on it. Jordan can't remember for the life of her what her father was wearing, though.
Matt's earliest memory is of Chris and Legos. They had spent the whole day together working on one of the motorized Lego projects Chris had gotten for his birthday.
Matt ended up taking the lead where the mechanized components were considered. At the moment where his memory really starts, Matt is towered over by the ferris wheel contraption pictured on the box. Chris is standing over Matt and the ferris wheel looking like a king surveying his land. Matt feels giddy because his brother is proud.
“Little brother, you might have something going for you, here,” Chris says.
Max remembers, oddly enough, nuts. Specifically, a bowl of mixed nuts and perhaps berries. His father, sitting with his arm around him, has a matching bowl of matching nuts and perhaps berries. His father has a heavy mustache, wavy brown hair and a comic in one hand. The comic is held open and upright by his father's large hands so Max can look at the pictures while his father reads it to him. Max knows the pictures are of Spider-Man, but he can no longer remember the story written there. Now, he only remembers the shape Peter Parker's body makes as he swings from building to building, grappling Green Goblin mid-air.
A/N: I figured I should put this at the end instead of the beginning. Anyways, this was written for the prompt of "earliest memories" (in case you couldn't tell). The confusing part is that these characters are a part of one of my stories and you have no context as to who they are. Any questions/comments/evil plans can be posted in the comments :>
Jordan's earliest memory is of her parents. It is also the only memory of her parents. They're in a kitchen, the three of them. Jordan, her arms still toddler-sized, sits on the kitchen floor, next to the large fridge. Her mother and father are at the L-shaped kitchen counter mixing pancake batter. Her father, who is undeniably Asian (Jordan thinks Chinese), is smiling at her like she just told a ridiculous joke. Her mother is blonde-haired and fair-skinned. She is holding a large green mixing bowl in her arms and wearing a white shirt with thin black stripes on it. Jordan can't remember for the life of her what her father was wearing, though.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lucien remembers his younger sister. He is in the hospital with his father, also Chinese, stocky and a bit overweight. His mother is on the hospital bed with a spotted blue hospital gown. Her brown hair is stringy with sweat and her face is flushed, but smiling. His sister is in his mother's arms. Her eyes are still shut, and a tuft of black covers the crown of her head. Lucien can tell (from across the hospital room) that she looks a hell of a lot like him. He feels a spike of fondness for her before sibling rivalry kicks in.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Matt's earliest memory is of Chris and Legos. They had spent the whole day together working on one of the motorized Lego projects Chris had gotten for his birthday.
Matt ended up taking the lead where the mechanized components were considered. At the moment where his memory really starts, Matt is towered over by the ferris wheel contraption pictured on the box. Chris is standing over Matt and the ferris wheel looking like a king surveying his land. Matt feels giddy because his brother is proud.
“Little brother, you might have something going for you, here,” Chris says.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Max remembers, oddly enough, nuts. Specifically, a bowl of mixed nuts and perhaps berries. His father, sitting with his arm around him, has a matching bowl of matching nuts and perhaps berries. His father has a heavy mustache, wavy brown hair and a comic in one hand. The comic is held open and upright by his father's large hands so Max can look at the pictures while his father reads it to him. Max knows the pictures are of Spider-Man, but he can no longer remember the story written there. Now, he only remembers the shape Peter Parker's body makes as he swings from building to building, grappling Green Goblin mid-air.
A/N: I figured I should put this at the end instead of the beginning. Anyways, this was written for the prompt of "earliest memories" (in case you couldn't tell). The confusing part is that these characters are a part of one of my stories and you have no context as to who they are. Any questions/comments/evil plans can be posted in the comments :>
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