nexus_crossings | Trash or Treasure?

Trash or Treasure?

Someone's made a bit of a mess in a little out of the way corner of the main drag of the plaza. An entire picnic table has been taken up with electronic bits and bobs that sit in stacks that don't seem to make much sense to a passer by, but definitely seem as though they were organized in some manner by whoever gathered all of this junk. In front of the table a cardboard box is stuffed to the brim with wires and cords of every kind.

HDMI? USB? A weird curly cord with a plug shaped like an octopus? It's all here and then some. It's hard to know if someone's organizing a donation to a local recycling center or setting up the multiverse's strangest tech themed garage sale.

Eventually Peter shows up (don't ask where he showed up from, the kid has a habit of dropping in when you least expect it) dragging a beat up toolbox over to the table so he can start poking around at his findings. He'd thought there'd been one back at the clubhouse and was very pleased it hadn't grown legs and walked off since the last time he'd checked.

Anyone who wanders close enough to inspect or greet him gets met with the same dirt streaked grinning face.

"Hey, can you hand me that screwdriver just over there?"

[OOC: First of all, https://tinyurl.com/zz5bdme enjoy your soundtrack. Please limit tagging in to one character per person (if you'd like to do more please just ask me OOC!) so I can try to actually do a thread all the way through.]

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It amazed Astro how many possible worlds let alone versions of Earth there were. From what he had read in the library the possibilities were endless.

"This might sound weird, but what year are you from?" He asked curiously. "I've only been here a couple days so I've been spending a lot of time in the library reading up on things about the place. It does seem pretty wild though." He placed aside a couple of power cells as he continued to rummage through the 'junk'. "I read that things can change pretty quickly. Even geological locations. Also this whole multiverse thing blows my mind wide open."

Edited 2020-07-30 00:44 (UTC)

"Peter Parker, sir."

Peter takes the screwdriver and turns to go dig through one of the piles of junk he's collected to find something he can take apart and poke around with to keep from having to look Tony in the eye too much. He's not sure he can handle this without breaking down into relieved tears or a complete sobbing mess otherwise.

"I uh. I'm from Queens. I've seen you around a couple of times. Like, I mean in the suit and all. Working. Definitely not anything other than that."

Here's a power supply he can tinker with. That'll work nicely.

"Never thought I'd get the chance to meet you is all."

Something about Rocket's fangy grin does not inspire reassurance in Peter at all but the raccoon does in fact have a point. It's better to test out here away from others before he goes and tries using something like this on a mugger with a gun or something. He doesn't want to hurt folks more than he absolutely has to.

There's enough of that out in the world as is.

"R..right. Stand back..." Mask on and standing a good ways back with Rocket, Peter triggers it. It's like standing far too close to a firework with the resounding BANG! that belts across the air.

"Earth circa 2019. By our calendar at least."

It's a pretty arbitrary unit of time when one thinks of the grand scheme of the Earth's history, let alone one of the system or even the galaxy. To say nothing of the possibilities of a multiverse. But some other people here use the same calendar so it's gotta count for something, right?

"Yeah things sometimes get really weird around here. I was here for a real bad ordeal during the winter, but plenty of kooky weird funny stuff happens too."

"So anyway, did you wanna help?"

Peter gestures around to the piles of junk he's got laying around. That screwdriver is no more sticking out of Peter's body than it was half a minute ago but the unliving computer towers over there may not have the same kind of protections as this child does.

"I kinda like taking stuff apart and seeing if I can use it in different ways. Maybe fix it up and put it back together. It's fun most of the time!"

A machete through a CRT won't kill anyone but it might be better than standing around helpless.

"Peter Parker."

Tony held out a hand to shake if the kid wanted to do so, since it was obviously just a friendly gesture on his part. There was something that he couldn't pin down regarding his young friend. The evasion seemed real and intent. It was as if Peter was actively trying to avoid eye contact with him and that just throw the older man right off.

"Queens, huh? Nice place. I went to visit a couple of Bodegas there once just for the donuts they sold. Now, they were good."

He offered the younger man a smile. As for his apt interest? That got Tony's attention and it felt good to be appreciated for his work.

Rocket's cackling is probably what Peter will hear first, once the ringing fades from the blast. The raccoon's fur is standing on end a little, but he's rubbing his hands together in satisfaction, scampering forward to pick up the bulk of what's left to make sure there's nothing more volatile lurking in the wings. "Not bad, not bad. That'd give most folks one hell of a spook."

Oh god he's not ready for this Peter forces a laugh and holds up his hands to show how dirty and greasy they are.

"I shouldn't. I'm filthy right now and all." Not that Tony was ever put off by a bit of dirt when tinkering was being done but Peter doesn't think he can handle shaking hands and being so close just yet. Not when he's still reeling.

"H...uhm. H..how's things these days? What with the whole saving the world thing now. Being Iron Man must be a full time gig." This man isn't quite the mentor Peter remembers and he has to wonder how much before when he'd actually met Peter Parker this man is. Contemplating the nuances of multiple timelines is really hard when he's just barely fighting off a breakdown.

Peter jumps a good several inches when the flashbang goes off and he's not going to be the only one. It was loud enough to startle people a ways off and while no one's going to be hurt soon enough Peter's going to have to start apologizing in a voice far louder than it needs to be as he tries to talk over his own ringing ears.

He handles calming down The Masses while Rocket busies himself with digging through the remains of the bomb Peter's made.

"It gave me a spook, are you kidding me?!" Peter looks over his shoulder toward Rocket, his mask once more stuffed into his back pocket to hide it from general view as yet another Adult comes over to lecture him on his horsing around in the Plaza.

Oh no oh jeez.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare anyone I'll clean this up right away--"

"Hey, I spend half my life getting filthy. Grease, oil, you name it, I've done it."

If the kid didn't want to shake his hand then he would be cool with it and not force anything onto him. Why was he so nervous around him though? Tony was finding it more than a little off-putting and odd. They hadn't met before yet Peter acted like they had and something had gone on. It had to.

"Oh, you know. Being a hero and saving the day. That kind of thing. Also, you don't need to call me sir. Way too formal. Just Tony is fine."

Tony, of course, had no idea that Peter was Spider-Man, so things could get interesting in the future once they got to know one another better. For now though, ignorance is bliss as they say. He was more interested in what the kid was building.

"What are you building?"

"Relax, you knew it was comin'." Rocket waves vaguely without turning around or looking up, grinning in satisfaction as he finishes his inspection. No more volatiles, excellent.

Sounds of someone else that isn't just the kid gets his attention though, and Rocket turns around. "It's fine, no harm done. He's with me." Not that most folks tend to view Rocket as a responsible adult - either one of the two - but confidence is key, right?

Would that be easier? Separating this man from the Mister Stark whose funeral he'd barely been able to stomach? It might quell some of the sick feeling clawing at his insides. This isn't the same man. This isn't Mister Stark. He's just...

"T..T-tony. Yeah, I can--I can totally handle that, um sure. Just Tony it is then." Nevermind he's just a kid and this is THE Tony Stark. It's. It's cool, he's cool. The question of his collection of junk is a much needed distraction.

Peter steps back closer to the older man to gesture at the pile he's gathered up.

"Well, nothing quite yet. But I found these discarded power supplies and most of them are still good. S-so I thought maybe if I took apart some of this other stuff that wasn't working anymore I might be able to fix it up and see what it does."

Rocket turning around means he's going to see the disbelieving look being leveled his way before the man turns it back on Peter as though he'd best explain himself and well right now. But all Peter does is swallow and give a tiny shrug.

"Y...Yeah. He's right, I'm with him. Studying." It's not a lie! He's learning!

"It's practical science," Rocket all but shouts, following Peter's lead. And honestly, what does this dude expect them to do, the bomb's already exploded. They can't unexplode it. ~~Or can they?~~

Ignoring the stranger who has so rudely butted into their very important experiment, Rocket looks back to Peter as if the other guy isn't even there. "You did good. That's exactly how it shoulda gone."

"It's ok, kid. Chill. I'm no one special, just a guy who wants to try and make the world a better place."

He did now anyway. Being Iron-Man had opened up so many doors to Tony regarding saving people and being one of the Avengers. Atoning for his past sins? Perhaps.

"Good call. I like to tinker whenever I can so I encourage this. Tinkering I mean. Always good to keep your hands busy so they can't do things you don't want them to."

Was this supposed to be good advice? Tony thought so. He got the whole student/teacher vibe right now and for no reason since he'd just met the kid. It just felt right?

"Woah really? Where I'm from it's 2108." Astro said, looking over. "Metro City had been pretty isolated as its own city state, floating above the earth for 100 years. It's only recently that the populace is re-integrating with the surface."

He picked up a piece of hinged metal, eyeing it. "Huh. This looks almost like some kind of servo for a robotic joint." He'd seen enough of them to recognize one at least. "I also found a couple of what looks like archaic power cells and what looks like an energy converter."

Peter's words had gotten him all curious. Apparently the Nexus had seasons. "Something bad happened in the winter?" He wondered. Then in the next moment he felt a little bad for asking. "If it's too hard to talk about, you don't have to..."

"No-one spec--okay now you're just teasing me." And it's still not easy, partly because Peter Parker is at a nervous, awkward age in general and partly because this man was someone very important to him. Someone Peter still hasn't quite coped with losing. But in the moment, when he stops overthinking it, it's almost natural again.

"A random kid from Queens who likes to dumpster dive and some bajillionaire philanthropist are two very different worlds. Even without the whole Iron-Man thing."

Peter picks up a rather heavy battery pack off the table like it's nothing (it's nothing) and tosses it in the air a few times to quell his jitters while he walks around the table pointing at some of the stuff he's been playing with. One of the things here is obviously some kind of monitor though to what he's not sure. None of the plug ins are familiar. The other one looks kinda like a weird microwave, which could be neat to play with. Then there's a whole pile of stuff he's got no idea what it does.

"I mean, it's a good cheap way to have things. Recycling what other people throw away. Making it work again."

"It's engineering work, for demolitions." Peter nods along, and while the man giving Peter the no-nonsense look doesn't seem overly impressed by the talking raccoon he does seem to realize that he's not going to get anywhere with a lecture.

He throws his hands up with a sigh before wandering off when Rocket completely ignores him. Sure, let's not question people setting off explosives in the Nexus. What's the worst that could happen?

Peter though? He's got a cautious grin growing on his face.

"Yeah? I mean, once I get the hang of it I think it could be a pretty useful thing to have." He's going to have to draw himself out a diagram with everything Rocket showed him before he forgets the instructions.

"I don't think we've got anything like that in my world, but to be honest? We've had so much weird stuff happening lately that we might and I just might not have heard about it yet." He kind of missed a huge chunk of the last year for....reasons. It's been a rough time lately.

"Oh, uh. Not last winter, I don't think? It was the year before. There was a storm that froze up a lot of the doors and people ended up stuck out of or in the Nexus for a while. Things got real shaky for a bit. I got sick....actually..so I don't remember a whole bunch of it after a while."

Astro smiled. "Hey, I get that. I'm still learning about what's happening on the Surface. It's like a whole new world out there. There could be advanced cities like Metro City out there and I just don't even know!" Frankly, he would love to get some exploring in, but because of his status as a robot and one packed with weaponry and defensive systems - he wasn't allowed to just travel wherever he wanted.

"Woah, people got stuck in the Nexus? That storm sounded like it was terrible." Astro leaned against the table as they conversed, watching what Peter was doing. "Being sick sucks too. Sorry to hear you had to deal with that." Toby didn't get sick that often, but Astro had enough memories from him of such times to know it wasn't pleasant.

This is perfect. Rocket's been dying to teach a new generation how to be troublemakers, and since up until now Groot has shown a disinterest in the finer details of explosives, he's been left bereft of a good apprentice. Peter, though... that look on his face says it all. Oh yeah, this is gonna be a good partnership.

"Damn right it will. Hell, once you get used to what you're doin', you might even come up with some new and exciting way to blow stuff up," the raccoon chuckles. "Just run 'em by old Rocket first, huh? I don't want you gettin' hurt." And also so he can mooch off the kid's designs, if he comes up with something spicy.

Jason liked taking things apart as well.

People though and once they were dismembered they were pretty useless unless a rogue limb made a handy bludgeon.

Giving up on stabbing the boy Jason walks to the CRT, picks it up and examines it for a moment. He did not care what it was, only that he could crush it in his hands, which he promptly did.

Peter doesn't know about actual honest to god demolitions grade explosives being incorporated into his work, but flashbangs and other kinds of disorienting things that don't hurt folks permanently or much at all are most definitely going to be something he looks into further.

"Well, I don't have a lot to work with, so I've had to get creative with what I can find lying around." A humie after Rocket's own tiny heart. Kid's a scavenger too. "I'll be sure to let you know."

"Creativity's the most important tool you can have," Rocket assures him with a grin. "You talk to some of them military types, they know how to make somethin' to spec but they're missing one piece, they can't finish. If you know how things work, and what crap you can cobble together to make a big boom, you'll never be unarmed."

That's the most important lesson to take from this, he feels. Whatever else Peter learns from this is a bonus. And Rocket can't wait to see what he does with it down the line.

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Trash or Treasure?

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