When I offer you survival

[liverletdie]

WHO: Tony Stark, Power Girl, and Mike Peterson
WHERE: Residence 5
WHEN: Sunday Night
WHAT: #Cybernetic Problems
WARNINGS: Will edit if necessary


[ It was probably lucky for this guy that Tony liked Karen Starr quite a bit. Smart, quick, seemed to have something else going on under the surface, and all around someoine he would be interested in. Actually, he was, but that wasn't why he was here. It was honestly the fact that she'd asked, and she'd made an effort to reach out to him on behalf of this person, who seemed to know who he was. Another person, on top of the other ones.

It wasn't that he wasn't used to that sort of thing, he was, but it was always in a unique context. Normally, when people knew him, they knew him through their own interactions, and they'd been people Tony at least could associate as alternate versions of themselves. These two were different, they weren't versions of anyone he knew, or anyone he'd interacted with. Which left him in an odd position, but it also left him in the place where he could figure them out, and figure out where they were coming from.

When it hit evening, he made his way over, flying instead of driving, landing with a hard 'clunk' of metal boots on pavement before he walked up, the helmet detatching and floating in pieces around his head before refoming for him to pick it up, and hold it under the crook of his arm. He knocked on the door, one, two, three, before he waited. ]

Comments

[brokenteam]

[Mike had arrived back at the apartment before evening and had been waiting in the living room since. He didn't answer the door; he waited for Karen to be the one to do that. He stood once Tony was let in and he was struck by how unfamiliar the man was. The suit was right. The face was perhaps similar but it wasn't the Tony Stark he's seen on the news back home]

Mr. Stark?

[boobwindow]

[ After thanking him for coming over, Karen leads Tony into the house to where Mike is waiting. She doesn't waste any time with any other pleasantries, understanding and empathizing that Mike isn't comfortable enough hanging around people he doesn't know. Living in fear of yourself is one of the worst things imaginable to her. ]

Mike, this is Tony Stark. Stark, this is Mike Peterson.

[liverletdie]

[ Normally, he'd make smalltalk, but as it was, he could understand that anyone would be a little concerned for someone who had a damn killswitch in their head. He followed, before holding out his hand. ]

Thanks, Karen. Mister Peterson, did she tell you why I was coming by? It's a pleasure, of course. [ His handshake would, of course, be cold and metal, and backed by all the strength that Tony Stark's Iron Man suit would provide. Probably not quite the same, but similar enough, but like he could point out, the differences were there. Height, facial hair, eye color, a number of things that made a picture of a man that was very different from the one he'd know. ]

[brokenteam]

She did.

[He has a feeling Tony knew some things about him as well, which is part of why Mike thinks Tony is here in his suit. He wonders if he's maybe told Karen too much for a first encounter but they're here now and it's best he move the conversation on]

Thank you- [he starts as he shakes Tony's hand] for coming. How do you want to begin?

[boobwindow]

[ She sort of wishes now Tony had come "unarmed", just to give Mike some peace of mind, but she's well aware how useful Tony's suit is and like in situations like this.

Karen's hand leans against her hip and she looks between the two men, awaiting Tony's answer. ]

[liverletdie]

[ It's not even him needing the protection. Not really. The undersuit was generally strong enough to uphold most damage, but it was faster to fly under his own power, and Tony Stark often ached to actually fly as he should.

He nodded, and set the helmet aside, on a table, before crossing his arms. ]

Well, we need to start with diagnostics. Why don't you explain to me your cybernetics, and we'll go from there. Do you plug in anywhere, or is this all hardware?

[brokenteam]

[Mike just nods and starts to pull up the right side of his pants, revealing the sleek metal enhancement underneath]

Hardware. I don't need to be plugged in. All the parts are connected to my nerve endings. [he deduces. The pain he's in when they put it on him sure makes it seem that way. Once he has the pants rolled up all the way, he unbuttons his shirt and pulls it off, revealing the front of the armor and the Centipede injector on his back] I don't have the details of all the equipment they put on me. I just followed orders.

There's a camera in my right eye that allows my handler to see what I see and they give me text commands. It comes with a kill switch that will blow a hole in my brain. I don't think there's a way to remove it without removing my eye.

[he's not even getting into the cybernetics that's beneath his skin yet]

[boobwindow]

[ Her eyes grow wider now that she can just how much of Mike's body has been experimented with, her stomach twisting with nausea and restrained anger that anyone would do this to him. She may not know him well at all, but his son was used as blackmail and this is clearly the result of a father's love for his son.

Whoever the hell John Garrett is she's going to break his jaw if she ever meets him. ]

I doubt your handler could do anything to you now that you're here. The benefits of being ripped from your universe.

[ One of the few in this case. ]

[liverletdie]

There's that, yeah, but that doesn't mean the signal isn't unhackable.

[ He eyed the hardware, mouth in a deep frown, considering. He was going to need to access the programming first, the core, before he altered anything. Especially that killswitch.

With enough time, sure, he could probably find it, and kill the signal, but he needed to see the data, lest he accidentally trigger it while he was looking. Signals like that were easy to trigger, and even easier to hit and destroy, and he didn't want to accidentally kill the guy. ]

Karen, do you have a laptop?

[ He turned to her, for just a moment, before looking back at Mike. ]

We might have to jury rig to access your core programming, if you don't have any places to plug in at.

[ Hell, even he had plugs. ] And a pair of pants? I'm going to need to get delicate with this.

[ He flexed his fingers, before the gauntlets seemed to dismantle off his hands, reforming in his hands, and he set them aside on the table. ]

yay they fixed the internet early

[brokenteam]

[Mike holds up his left hand, palm up, showing the two USB ports at his wrist]

Would this help?

[it'd be a lie to say he doesn't mind Tony tinkering with his hardware. He knows he's hackable and can be easily used again if the wrong person knows about him]

There should be other ports on me. They hook me up to their devices on my downtime.

[boobwindow]

You're just in luck.

[ She nods and exits the room for twenty or so seconds before she turns with a brand new laptop in her arms. She sets it up on the coffee table, flipping it open and hitting the power button to get it started. ]

Just bought this a few days ago.

[ Talk about money well spent.

She looks back at Mike, eyeing the USB ports. It's no wonder he nonchalantly described himself as a monster, look at what these people have done to him. ]

[liverletdie]

Oh, good, and thank you.

[ First to Mike, then to Karen, before he started to reach out, first with a USB cable, and then a momentary pause. ]

Too bad you're not wireless, right?

[ He started to plug things in, the hands of an expert moving from one thing to another, before he's idly tapping at the laptop, fingers moving slower than the screen starts flashing, while he starts to work his way through the internal systems, and through the connection, to start deciphering the information. ]

They were complicated with this, weren't they? I hate to say it, but we might have to eventually get you to one of my labs to do anything serious.

[brokenteam]

[Mike just holds still for the process. He's used to being hooked up to machines and touched by men and women in lab coats by now.]

My handlers have access to me wirelessly and the line's been hacked before.

[meaning Tony has his work cut out for him if he wants to help make Mike secure]

I'll go to your labs if you can make sure whoever wants access to me is going to have a hard time doing it.

[boobwindow]

[ She straightens her posture, moving toward Mike so she can pat his shoulder reassuringly. She knows he has his doubts and fears, but she hopes with Tony in the picture he might see the sliver of hope that she does. ]

You going to be alright, Mike?

[liverletdie]

Good to know. We'll have to find your wireless connection, and make sure that doesn't happen again.

[ Interfaced with the computer meant he was interfaced with Mike, and running through the programming, it wasn't going to take him long to find the wireless connection. Getting in through that, while slightly tough, wasn't going to take him long.

He started to prod at it, mentally, extremis giving him the ability to seek out machines through their wireless connections. Nanites in the bloodstream. He wasn't as overt a cyborg as Mike, but he was still a cyborg. }

We might need to. Especially if we want to make sure that we take care of that killswitch.

[brokenteam]

[the hand of his shoulder startles him slightly and he turns to regard Karen.]

I'll be fine.

[He's wary but Tony Stark is has a reputation in his world and he can try to trust the one here. He looks back at Tony]

Whatever you need to do.

[The killswitch in his right eye and the robotic eye in his left are the primary wireless connection. Anyone who accesses it can see but not hear what Mike is looking at in real time. It can also allow transfers of text information that'll appear before Mike's eyes. The rest of him is mostly hardware.]

[boobwindow]

Remind me if this Garrett ever shows his face around here to punch it in.

[ Atlee had nearly lost her body to Ultra-Humanite and Satanna. It's one of the most sickening things Karen can think of, violating someone's body like this.

She folds her arm just under her chest, shifting her weight to one foot. ]

Wherever you need to go, go. Mike, you can still come back here to rest, too.

[liverletdie]

That depends on your comfort level, honestly.

I've worked in worse conditions, but since this is your body involved, I'd feel a heck of a lot more comfortable if we worked this with the best I can get us. At least when there may be trouble with the eye.

[ But, even so, he's already starting to bypass, working the wireless connection remotely, his brain running through the routine and subroutines before the visual cortex came into focus, a small sight within his sight, like looking at two -- well, with Tony it was closer to twenty -- things at once. Looking at himself was eerie, however. ]

What do you say, why don't we get out of here and let Karen rest, and we'll get you patched up in no time.

[brokenteam]

[Mike is looking over from Tony to Karen.]

Thank you.

[he's grateful for the kindness she's shown him so far and for arranging this meeting]

I'll follow Mr. Stark to his lab. [a pause. It's still odd to learn that he has a place to come back to in this new city] And return after.

[he turns back to Tony to see if he's agreeable. It seems they're done here at least]

[boobwindow]

You're welcome.

[ She glances over at Tony. They may have their differences, but she's relieved he took the call. This is the Tony Stark she can appreciate, not the one who's engrossed with the politics of registration. ]

We're counting on you.

[liverletdie]

[ He nodded, and gave Power Girl a smile. ]

Good thing I work well under pressure, huh?

[ He didn't even pick up the gauntlets or the helmet, they just snapped into place. ]

She told me your name was Mike? Why don't we get properly introduced, before we head to the lab. [ He held out his own metal-clad hand. ] I'm Tony Stark. Can you fly, by the way?

[brokenteam]

[Mike looks at the hand for a second before he reaches out to take it in a firm shake]

Mike Peterson. I don't fly.

[liverletdie]

Alright then.

[ He shook his hand, before holding out his arms. ]

I hope you don't mind being carried, then. I don't like walking.

[ Honestly, he'd really considered driving, but in the long run, he always went with his suit. It was faster, and these days, he really didn't like to waste time. ]

[brokenteam]

[Mike is very uncertain about that]

I prefer walking.

[it's said simply. He's not comfortable with being carried]

[liverletdie]

Of course you do.

[ He paused. Of course he did. He sighed.

He could just pick him up, but that wasn't going to do any of them any good. ]

Alright, let's go, then. If we're going to walk it, it's going to take forever.

[ This? This was why he flew. ]