Fix Fic: Iron Man 2, The Office Scene.
May. 28th, 2013 06:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jeriendhalLast Friday, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
moonshadowed and I went to see Iron Man 3, which thankfully was a vast improvement over Iron Man 2 which suffered mightily from the classic Five Minute Conversation, which would derailed most of the plot, consisting of Tony being a total idiot not confiding his problems to Pepper.
In a very familiar flash of I should have seen this one coming Tony tried to engage in one of his least favorite activities (mostly because he was very bad it) damage control.
“Okay, I’m sorry about the strawberries, seriously, I am,” he said to Pepper, while making a mental note to find out what company had built that damned oversized desk toy, so he could buy it and put it out of business.
Assuming that he was still alive then.
“Tony, this is not about the strawberries. Strawberries are the very least of what we’re talking about here,” she said. “This about you selling all of your artwork, making me your CEO, going insane at your birthday party...”
“I was not insane,” he said defensively. “I was drunk. You’ve seen me drunk before.” Lots of times before. Why the hell hadn’t it bothered him before now? Right, apology terminally failing, time to change the subject. “Anyway, I need to talk to JARVIS and find the security breach that let Rhodey steal the Mark II. Which, I might add, the government totally confiscated without a court order.”
“I gave Rhodey the security codes,” she said flatly. “And permission as the CEO of Stark Industries to take the suit.”
“What? Why would you give Rhodey the security codes for my armor? It’s my stuff.”
Pepper took a deep breath. “Because you were drunk, in your armor, and acting crazy. Because you were totally out of control. Because you were scaring me, and Rhodey in your other suit was the only thing I could think of that could stop you before you hurt someone.”
He flapped his hands at her, an old habit he’d thought he’d broken himself of when he was ten. “I didn’t mean to… I wouldn’t have… Please, Pepper...”
“Get out,” she said coolly.
“No, because I’m trying to apologize to you.” Tony rubbed his face in his hands, not looking at her. “Pepper, give me a break, I’m dying here.”
“You’re definitely dying. This is like, the worst apology in your very long history of really, really terrible apologies to me. And that’s including the second time you forgot my birthday.”
He looked up at her. “No, I mean I’m dying.”
Pepper paused. “What do you mean ‘dying?’”
“Dying,” he repeated slowly. “As in ‘not going to living much longer.’”
Her eyes grew wide. “But… but… you’ve got that thing in your chest.”
Tony nodded rapidly. “Yes, I’ve got that thing in my chest which is keeping me alive. It’s also killing me. I need to use palladium as a power source, but I can’t stop it from leaching out of the arc reactor as it’s being consumed. It’s poisoning my bloodstream.”
Pepper’s mouth opened, closed, then opened again, as she asked softly. “Can’t you fix it?”
He sighed. “I’ve been beating my head against this problem for months, ever since I got back from Afganistan. I’ve explored every alternative I can think of, and I’ve come up empty each time. Director Fury from SHIELD provided a stopgap, but it isn’t going to last. It’s just keeping me stable… for a little while.”
“How… how long do you think you have?
He kicked his foot against the carpeting, spinning in his chair, still not looking at her. “Couple of weeks, maybe. I’m sorry, Pepper. I’m sorry I’ve been keeping this from you. Because I thought I could fix it like you said, make it go away, make it not a problem. Instead I’ve just been spinning in circles.”
Tony jammed his foot down, stopping the chair, staring at the old diorama stacked to one side in the corner of the office.
Sonofabitch.
“I need that,” he said, hopping out of the chair, pointing right at the Unisphere.
“What, the diorama?” Pepper asked in confusion. “Why?”
“Ask my old man.”
* * *
In my defense, I also put in 500 words on IFtC before wasting time with this.
moonshadowed and I went to see Iron Man 3, which thankfully was a vast improvement over Iron Man 2 which suffered mightily from the classic Five Minute Conversation, which would derailed most of the plot, consisting of Tony being a total idiot not confiding his problems to Pepper.In a very familiar flash of I should have seen this one coming Tony tried to engage in one of his least favorite activities (mostly because he was very bad it) damage control.
“Okay, I’m sorry about the strawberries, seriously, I am,” he said to Pepper, while making a mental note to find out what company had built that damned oversized desk toy, so he could buy it and put it out of business.
Assuming that he was still alive then.
“Tony, this is not about the strawberries. Strawberries are the very least of what we’re talking about here,” she said. “This about you selling all of your artwork, making me your CEO, going insane at your birthday party...”
“I was not insane,” he said defensively. “I was drunk. You’ve seen me drunk before.” Lots of times before. Why the hell hadn’t it bothered him before now? Right, apology terminally failing, time to change the subject. “Anyway, I need to talk to JARVIS and find the security breach that let Rhodey steal the Mark II. Which, I might add, the government totally confiscated without a court order.”
“I gave Rhodey the security codes,” she said flatly. “And permission as the CEO of Stark Industries to take the suit.”
“What? Why would you give Rhodey the security codes for my armor? It’s my stuff.”
Pepper took a deep breath. “Because you were drunk, in your armor, and acting crazy. Because you were totally out of control. Because you were scaring me, and Rhodey in your other suit was the only thing I could think of that could stop you before you hurt someone.”
He flapped his hands at her, an old habit he’d thought he’d broken himself of when he was ten. “I didn’t mean to… I wouldn’t have… Please, Pepper...”
“Get out,” she said coolly.
“No, because I’m trying to apologize to you.” Tony rubbed his face in his hands, not looking at her. “Pepper, give me a break, I’m dying here.”
“You’re definitely dying. This is like, the worst apology in your very long history of really, really terrible apologies to me. And that’s including the second time you forgot my birthday.”
He looked up at her. “No, I mean I’m dying.”
Pepper paused. “What do you mean ‘dying?’”
“Dying,” he repeated slowly. “As in ‘not going to living much longer.’”
Her eyes grew wide. “But… but… you’ve got that thing in your chest.”
Tony nodded rapidly. “Yes, I’ve got that thing in my chest which is keeping me alive. It’s also killing me. I need to use palladium as a power source, but I can’t stop it from leaching out of the arc reactor as it’s being consumed. It’s poisoning my bloodstream.”
Pepper’s mouth opened, closed, then opened again, as she asked softly. “Can’t you fix it?”
He sighed. “I’ve been beating my head against this problem for months, ever since I got back from Afganistan. I’ve explored every alternative I can think of, and I’ve come up empty each time. Director Fury from SHIELD provided a stopgap, but it isn’t going to last. It’s just keeping me stable… for a little while.”
“How… how long do you think you have?
He kicked his foot against the carpeting, spinning in his chair, still not looking at her. “Couple of weeks, maybe. I’m sorry, Pepper. I’m sorry I’ve been keeping this from you. Because I thought I could fix it like you said, make it go away, make it not a problem. Instead I’ve just been spinning in circles.”
Tony jammed his foot down, stopping the chair, staring at the old diorama stacked to one side in the corner of the office.
Sonofabitch.
“I need that,” he said, hopping out of the chair, pointing right at the Unisphere.
“What, the diorama?” Pepper asked in confusion. “Why?”
“Ask my old man.”
* * *
In my defense, I also put in 500 words on IFtC before wasting time with this.
