voidtreckernet | Day 26: Audio

I can be there in ten. I'm just finishing up in the kitchen. See you then?

Mind bringing some coffee? Black.

Freshly brewed and all.

See you soon, Mr Stark.

[It had taken him a day or so but he'd gotten the medical room and his workspace back in order after the incident. It was strange that he didn't remember anything from that day at all, except he'd woken up sick and locked in the sick room. Manabu had been there, but he hadn't exactly been open with details. So, he'd let it go and focused on the clean up.

He didn't have a way to wrap this present, so he had it tucked a bit under the table to try and hide it. It wasn't his best work, but then again he didn't have a lot of material to work with. It would simply have to do.

When she shows up, he's doing some calculations in his notebook and the seat across from him had been cleared off for her.]

[ Gwen shows up with two coffees. One for Mr Stark, black and all. And one for her with maybe a little sugar and milk. Don't worry. Hers is decaf. His is not.

With the toe of her boot, she knocks on the workspace door before peeking her head in and checking to see if it's okay she come in. It is. She knows it is. He said to be there, so there she is. But she's a polite child. She wants to be sure.

Heading over to Mr Stark, she sits across from him and sets his coffee down, watching him with some amused suspicion. ]

Everything okay?

[Tony looks up when he hears her and sets aside his work. With a smile, he starts to get up to help her with the door, but she handles it fine without him.]

Thank you- for that.

[He nods to the coffee, picking up the small gift in a glass for a sip. He'd grown really fond of the train's coffee beans, even if they weren't quite what he was used to back home.]

How've you been feeling since you found yourself in the suitcase? Any memories yet from then?

Uh...Twitchy? Like...nervous energy twitchy? But...

[ Gwen takes a sip of her coffee, delaying for a moment to give herself time to think. Does she remember anything? No. She's shaking her head slowly to answer, a pinched look in her eyes like she wants to frown but refuses to. And she's kind of annoyed that she can't remember. ]

I just woke up there. Ripped my way out. Discovered I actually didn't need to since it wasn't actually locked. And that's basically the end of that adventure in Void Train Asshattery.

Edited 2019-08-24 02:35 (UTC)

[A shame. It would've been very useful if she'd remembered something, but perhaps it was better for her that she didn't. Who knows what had happened, after all.]

Well.. I'm glad that's over with then. I uh.. I remembered you were trying to find something before you vanished.

[Why was he suddenly nervous? This was really stupid. He was Tony Stark (tm)! He didn't get nervous. But he was pausing and sort of stalling like.. well, like Peter might. So with one last hesitation, he just hands over the drum. It was made from the wheelchair wheels without the spokes and stretched orange fabric on either side. It didn't look like it should work, but it remarkably did.]

Yeah. I was looking for stuff to make a ---

[ And then it's there. Right in front of her. Silencing that last word with it's mere presence. Gwen's eyes widen and her hands go over her mouth, looking from the orange drum to Mr Stark and back. She's speechless. Shocked. Alarmed. And so very happy. ]

Holy God, is that a drum? Mr Stark, did you make a drum?!

[ She wants to pick it up and look over it, hands kind of hovering over it like she's afraid it'll just vanish. ]

Whoa. Wow. Uh...oh, my God.

[ Don't worry. She loves it. She's grinning too much for anything else. ]

[Would she just take the thing and leave already? For someone who loved compliments and glory, Tony feels a bit embarrassed by the obviously happy reaction to the gift.]

It's.. yeah. Don't worry it's stronger than it looks.

[He was really relieved that she likes it.]

Just.. welcome back. If, a little late on that.

You're wonderful.

[ Gwen says this and means it with every fiber of her five-foot four being. ]

I mean, you really...really are. You're officially the best Tony Stark in the multiverse.

[ With that, she's hugging him. Screw thinking it through. This deserves a hug. ]

Thank you. So much. You've no idea what this means to me.

[After a moment, she steps back and grins up at Mr Stark. That grin will not be going away any time soon. Not even when she heads to the drum and gives it a few test thumps with her fingers, head tilting as she listens and somehow? That grin gets bigger. ]

Holy Shi---itake mushrooms [ GWEN NO SWEARING IN FRONT OF IRON-DAD-IN-LAW! her face seems to say as she switches words in the middle of saying them. ]

It even sounds awesome. Like...this is incredible. How long did it take you to make?

Well.. naturally..

[He jokes having to force the arrogance into the tone instead of it simply naturally being there. Still, it feels really good to make her happy like this.

And oh! They were hugging. Yep, that was happening. He, of course, hugs back but breaks the contact fairly quickly. Not to be rude, he's just.. he's had issues with hugs lately thanks to Buttercup.

The last bit made him laugh.]

You're welcome, kiddo. And I'm not sure I can really answer that too well. I have about four projects I'm working on so.. [He shrugs. Longer than he'd intended it to take him to finish the drum unfortunately.]

Keep your eyes peeled for anything that could be turned into a big glass jar. Like.. real big.

[He motions with his hands something that was at least 2-3 feet.]

[ She's kind of surprised to find herself being mentioned, but-- ]

O--Of course..! I'll be right over!

[After he'd mentioned the brownies the first time to Madoka and joking about her stealing some of Peter's candy, Tony had been aware that this overly polite girl wasn't going to allow herself to indulge as easily as most of the rest of the train on the goodies he made. Normally he wouldn't really care but.. alas, he'd gotten a bit attached to her. Sigh.

His workspace was finally looking more like the ordered chaos he preferred it to be instead of the full on chaos the train had put it in without having gravity. He had some tools and parts of a gun on the table in the quiet room and the door open instead of closed with the sign 'stay out' like it usually did.

When he notices Madoka, he gives her a smile and pushes the tools to the side. He lifts the safety glasses he was wearing up to perch on the top of his head and gestures to the seat across from him.]

Good afternoon, Madoka. How are you?

Mister Stark! Good afternoon! [ The greeting is quickly followed up with a small bow. Obviously it's not the first time they've spoken, but Madoka will be damned if she isn't polite at all times. Especially to the adult figures on the train.

Still, she seems relatively cheerful as she makes her way over to the seat, curiously glancing at all the tools and other things he's got lying around while she's on her way before sitting down and looking back at him. ]

I'm alright, thank you. [ She laughs quietly with just a hint of something awkward in it. ] Honestly, I never thought I'd be this grateful to be able to have my feet on the ground...

[ Please no more zero gravity episodes, thanks. ]

How about you?

[He smiles at the bow, but doesn't give one back except perhaps a nod of his head. It wasn't his culture. Even if it was, he'd likely be the freak who refused to do it. The idea of bowing to anyone just ran counter to his own philosophy in life.

Still, that wasn't to say he didn't respect the young girl in front of him. The warmth in his smile and his genuine interest in her answer of how she was was his proof.

His smile falters a bit being reminded of the anti-gravity incident.]

Yes.. so I've heard. People all over the train had issues with that. I'm glad you're alright. I'm sorry I wasn't.. uh, helpful during that episode.

[He was having his own episode.]

Ah..

[ She has no idea what exactly happened to him. Sure, Madoka can guess, but she's not guessing the right thing at all - she just thinks he might have had trouble getting around under those conditions. She and many others sure did. Maybe he's just kind of embarrassed about that, and that why his smile falters a bit..?

Madoka doesn't want to overthink it though, so she quickly shakes her head. ]

No, it's okay! I'm sure these things are really surprising to everyone.. [ How many people are used to space's lack of gravity, after all? ] It would be hard for anyone to be helpful all the time with those things happening. Anyone would understand.

[He would be embarrassed for that, so she isn't too far off. Although, he finds it sweet that she's now trying to reassure him it was fine that he didn't help people more. She was too sweet for her own good.]

You know you're too nice for your own good. Were your parents strict?

[He should probably give her her present soon, but he was getting distracted by simply wanting to know her better.]

[ A blush rises up on her cheeks at the compliment - she's not so good at dealing with them. Especially since Madoka thinks she isn't anything all that special. But before she can even try to deny a small part of it, there's the question instead. ]

My parents? [ She doesn't even have to seem to think at all about the answer. Her parents have been near the forefront of her mind since she arrived here.. it's been weird to be without them for this long. ] No, not at all! Papa is always very kind and gentle, and mama is..

[ That's a little less easy to put into words. She laughs softly. ]

Well, mama is very strong and cool? [ And sometimes a little odd. But in a good way. ]

[He listens, wondering how Morgan will turn out. Neither he nor Pepper were strict, he didn't believe. Would they end up having such a friendly girl too? Also, would he want her to turn out quite this nice?]

Well, don't confuse being polite with letting people take advantage of you kiddo. You're too good for that.

[He takes a small package of wrapped tin foil and hands it over to her.]

There are some of those in the kitchen, but these are specifically for you.

Ehehe, I'll try...

[ Her laugh is slightly awkward, mostly since she doesn't know how much good her trying will do. She's well aware she's kind of a doormat, and she also just really likes helping people, so it feels unavoidable..

Thankfully her attention instead turns at what he's giving her. She first gives him a surprised glance, and then the package itself. ]

What, just for me? [ Carefully she starts unwrapping it at the edges to see what's in there. ]

Of course, for you. You're a sweet kid.

[Did he need any other reason? He didn't think so. It was possible all these treats were apologies for not being helpful during the power outage.}

Heard anything interesting around the train since you got here?

[ There's another moment of surprise, but then her eyes light up with joy. She quickly wraps it back up, holding the small package close to her with a smile. ]

Thank you..! I'll treasure it! [ Madoka, it's.. meant for eating... not safekeeping..

(She'll definitely eat it, but she's still first going to treasure the thought that he thought of her enough to make these for her. It's important!) ]

Around the train though.. [ She grows quiet, thinking. Then she slowly shakes her head. Nothing new compared to the last time they spoke, anyway. But the whole gravity thing did make her think about something, and maybe he's the right guy to ask about it. ]

Um.. do you maybe know where the train is going, mister Stark?

[ It has to be going somewhere, right? ]

[Well.. that was a little excessive. It was just cookies! Still, he manages to keep his smile in place.]

You're welcome.

[And now for something he might be able to use.. and there's nothing. Sigh.]</small. That, I'm not sure of. From the last world we were sent to, we found out there are other void trains and that they're known for assisting worlds like we were instructed to do. I don't know how much you heard about that.

I did hear about all of you helping out in the place the train stopped at last.. [ Not counting the platform she and the others boarded the train at, of course. Also, she has literally no idea what the place they last were at was like, which is what makes all of this only more of a total surprise to her. ]

But.. it's like the train went to space, right..? Are we going to help out aliens?

[Tony was getting ready to give her a fairly standard response to the fact they had no idea why they were taken here to do these missions. But that was before she said that. It wasn't that the question was stupid or even poorly worded, but there was something so preciously innocent in it's phrasing. He tries and fails to keep the humor off his face as he replies.]

Yes, essentially. We're as much aliens to others as they are to us, but that's the basic idea I've been able to gather. The last stop we were to help with population control of some destructive animals that had been terrorizing local farmers. That world looked quite similar to my world, which I think is quite similar to yours.

Is that so..? It'd be kind of nice to see something familiar.. [ Her voice trails off, like she's already imagining it. It's not like she dislikes life here on the train - especially since everyone is so nice to her and all - but at the same time.. she's still just a young girl. Of course she's going to feel a little homesick. ]

Although I'm not sure how much I could've done if I had been there. [ You don't look at Madoka and think "population control champion", right. She's aware. ] I hope that next time something like that happens, it's something I can help out with too.

You might surprise yourself. Plus, you can't give me that helpless look and expect me to buy it. You've already told me you're fighting a powerful witch. You must have remarkable skills to be able to do that.

[God, he'd like some familiar too.]

Besides, that was the short version of what we did. There were plenty of other things we were helping with besides just killing aggressive beasts. You would've been fine and in the future you will be too.

[ She really wants to believe that it'll be fine and she will be able to do her part too, but it's really, really hard to believe that when you have such a low self-image. She knows he wouldn't lie to her, and that he seems really smart so he must be right, but still.. ]

Okay.. [ Yeah, definitely not sounding convinced, despite trying to. ]

But-- Um, about those remarkable skills.. I.. actually don't have anything.. I was about to get magical powers to fight that witch, but I showed up here before I could get it. I'm just a normal girl..

[ With magical potential off the charts, granted, but not like that helps much when you can't use it. ]

I wonder if they made some sort of mistake in bringing me here the moment they did.. I can't compare to how impressive everyone else here is like this.

[It bothers him that she doesn't see her own value. It was even more difficult though since he genuinely didn't know why she was brought here. There had to be a reason for all of these people. It just hurt more when he saw a young girl who could just as easily have been his Morgan thinking she wasn't on par with the rest of the passengers.]

I think you're still underestimating yourself, Madoka. I don't know why you're here, but I don't really know why any of us are. If you're interested, I can help teach you some of the basics about fighting or we can assume there's something special and uniquely your gift that you hold right now. I am looking forward to getting to know you better so we can find out.

Uniquely my gift..?

[ She repeats the words as she seems to think about them, staring at him with slightly wider eyes. She can't think of what could possibly be special about her, but.. it's true that she can't just keep moping. Especially not when they could be having to deal with something new anytime now - and not when he's being so nice and patient with her. ]

I see.. I-In that case, I'm willing to learn anything you can teach me that might make me able to help out in the future..! I promise to try my best so I won't be a burden on everyone. Thank you, mister Stark.

[If the bad guys send an innocent looking girl at him, he was so doomed.]

It'd be my pleasure, kid. Now go on. Enjoy your cookies. We'll talk about specifics later, okay?

Okay..! Thank you again for the cookies too!

[ Because she sure is going to enjoy those. In fact, after quickly bowing and giving him a smile (it still seems slightly worried, but at least she does look genuinely happier than just now) she hugs the package to her chest and takes off. ]

Day 26: Audio

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audio; feel free to action it up!

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