"this ship is taking me far away from the memory of the people who care if i live or die;"

[alloys]

Who: Tony, Jane, Loki, and select invitees.
What: Fun with portals
When: Friday, March 15
Where: House 49
Summary: After months of painstaking work, Tony and Jane are finally ready to test their machine. Things don't exactly go according to plan.
Rating: PG-13 probably???


So here's how things are going to go down: This log will be split into three sub-threads. There will be preshow thread for everyone to tag into before things start to go down. Then, there will be a main thread for Tony, Jane, Loki and Billy for the actual portal testing and immediate results. Finally, there will be a postgame thread for anyone to tag into with their reactions.

A bit about the set-up in Tony’s workshop for you spatially-minded people: the portal itself will be near-center in the room, with all the other tables and equipment (including his armor) moved back against the walls. This will leave plenty of spectator space and clearance room for potential backfiring. But that surely won’t be a problem, because this is going to work, right? Of course right. Ahaha.

That’s it! Refer to this OOC post if you have questions or if you're wondering if your character would be there or not. We’ll be happy to clarify. Enjoy the fallout!

Comments

PREGAME THREAD

[alloys]

Use this thread for threading out interactions BEFORE the portal test happens.

[lorentzian]

Jane can be found trying to keep to herself to one side, though she knows it's a largely futile effort. She's going over her notes one last time, stressed and fidgety and fluttery, nervous beyond belief. Running through mathematics and equations she knows are solid might seem useless at this point, but they are her way of keeping grounded.

She will not say no to well wishers. Man, they sure managed to bring along a decent number of people for what was supposed to be a small affair. But she'll be on the lookout for certain people. Like Thor. Especially Thor. And, somewhat despite herself, Loki as well. Other friends and acquaintances will be welcomed, if with a somewhat frazzled air.

[complicatedliar]

Whatever awkwardness Loki has felt around Jane dissipates with something so important to focus upon. At some point, he does wander over to her, notebook in hand. "Here, check this over."

[wildbluevagner]

Jane looks really busy with those notes. They must be important, but Kurt feels confident that a few minutes of light-hearted interruption could only do her good.

So he makes his way over and greets her with a mock-salute. "Captain. Are all systems go?"

[worldsaway]

Funny, Thor is also trying to busy himself in an attempt not to throw one of his specialised freak outs. Those involve so much yelling, it's the last thing Jane needs. He needs to keep as calm as possible for her sake, though remaining composed is difficult for him.

When he catches sight of her, he wastes no time in approaching. He can't imagine he'll be too helpful to her now, but there's absolutely no way he will allow her to attempt this without having been wished luck by him.

He's surprisingly quiet as he makes his way toward her, which is generally a good indication that something is wrong with him. "I'm glad I found you." He's keeping his voice as relaxed as possible as he addresses her and smiling faintly for her sake.

[alloys]

Jane wasn't the only one feverishly checking over notes and numbers just to temper his mind. Tony came over to see what she was going over, a stack of papers in his own hands. They'd been over this a hundred times already, but that wasn't the point. He wasn't coming over to check her notes, either.

"You ready for this?"

[handing]

Tony isn't the only one who has contributed to the device, and though Pepper's focus is largely on him she also makes sure to catch Jane at some point when she's not completely immersed in her notes. The success of this relies on all three of it's architects, and she wants to help however she can.

"Hey, Jane." She gives the woman a small grin, hopefully managing to look more confident than concerned. "How are you doing? Is there anything you need?"

[touchofrogue]

Rogue didn't like this. She didn't like this for a lot of reasons, but mostly she didn't like it because Tony was going through the damned portal and there wasn't a thing she could do about, not even zap him and go through herself, because it was the wrong world.

So she showed up. Of course she showed up. But the one thing worse than taking a horrible risk yourself was watching the people you cared about take that risk, so she was a little on edge.

But she had a smile for the adventurers when they came by. She was here for them, and she believed in what they were trying to do. She had faith in Tony, and right now all she could do was trust him.

[complicatedliar]

Loki kept an eye on Rogue, but didn't approach her. After what she'd said about Tony in regards to the experiment, and knowing her, he wasn't entirely certain if she'd try to step in.

Really, he would have liked to have someone to be nervous with, but now was not the time or place to start revealing secrets.

[complicatedliar]

Loki for the most part keeps to himself. He's still working through last minute calculations, considering this and that minute calibration that could up the chance of success more. He wants this to work, desperately. He is also well aware that he is the odd man out in this place, surrounded by so-called heroes. And for all he knows, they're just waiting for an excuse to blame any mistake on him.

But no. This will work. This must work.

[wildbluevagner]

Kurt had managed to come along too - with his full fuzz on display, too. It didn't seem to matter since, after all, most of the people here were aware of what he looked like for one reason or another. All the tension in the air bothered him. Why was it like everyone was at a funeral?

He goes around and tries to chat people up before the moment hits - trying to keep spirits up. After all, maybe this will work. He's used to all the incredible and impossible devices made in the X-Mansion's basement, so maybe this would work, too. If only Forge was around to give his own input about his own technology. But as it is, Kurt remains confident. He doesn't know Tony or Jane all that well, but he's hopeful that things will end up alright.

Just some concern about the world he'd be returning to - would they even have it for that much longer?

[handing]

Perhaps the hardest part, in an immediate sense, is that Pepper has no idea of what she should be doing. If anyone asks for anything she can provide, she's quick to get it, but this is completely out of her league otherwise. So there's no distraction, no agenda or role, just Pepper's attempt to temper her worries with hope enough to hide the former. Luckily she's practiced at smiling for cameras, and she genuinely wants to believe, has to for Tony's sake and Jane's and everyone's, but--

There's just so much that can go wrong.

She stays approachable though, constantly reminding herself that this can work, and it will. So she'll converse with anyone who comes up, until it's nearly time, at which point she'll excuse herself to steal a few moments with Tony, to wish him luck, although he won't need it. It will work. Everything will be okay.

[deathsdoctor]

The fact that Law has brought along a portable defibillator, freshly purchased with mission points, and is setting out supplies on a small cart (now a makeshift crash cart)... might be a little unnerving to some. Or perhaps comforting to others - it's all in your point of view. He seems prepared for anything.

He doesn't stray far from his supplies (there are a good number of labeled drugs in pre-drawn amounts present, cardiac and otherwise) and keeps his own counsel for the most part. Because. He hasn't forgotten what John said. And he's more than half expecting things not to go as smoothly as hoped.

As they always do in Luceti.

The thought makes him suppress a wince.

[selfhelp]

Billy is trying his best not to look as worried as he feels, but with the way he's curled up against the wall of the work room, hugging his knees to his chest and mumbling to himself, he's probably not all that successful. Truth be told he's just waiting for the signal that it's time to get started, and he's trying to psych himself up for dealing with the result of this, whether it's good or bad. Because if it's bad, then it's bound to be really bad, and people could get seriously hurt unless he's at his most focused. ...Actually people are likely to get hurt even then, which just makes it more nerve-wracking.

And if it's good... well, he gets to go home. Forget this place, go back to prison, wait to be rescued. Lose the friends he's met here and all he's experienced. It's enough to make him heartsick and he can't really figure out which option makes him feel worse.

So he's mumbling quietly, alternating between "Iwantittowork" and "Iwanttoremember", and while neither of them is a spell since he's trying to preserve his magic, it sure feels like he wants them to be.

[snikting]

Logan was there. Every shindig required one token skeptic. This one was Logan, who was making himself useful by leaning against the wall and casually chowing down an apple. Did he expect anything to happen? Not a chance. Was he going to watch anyway? Absolutely. He blew all his mission points on this. Hard work, all that. He wasn't going to settle for hearing the results afterward.

[widows_kiss]

Natasha slips into the room a little on the late side, but not enough that she'd miss any part of the actual test. She's been a little scarce in the weeks since Valentine's, but Pepper's kept her updated on the progress of the project. She's here for silent support for her as much as she is for Tony's actual experiment.

It's a safe assumption that they're all fairly worried about how this might go - there's big risks involved - but Natasha for the most part looks calm and at ease as she finds a quiet spot to settle back and watch the proceedings until - or if - she's needed.

[frost_jewel]

When she wasn't talking quietly to those she knew best among the small crowd, Mia drew as close as she dared to the portal itself. Here it was: the result of weeks of obtaining 'parts' with the score they earned on missions. Parts and science.

It had to work. There were other choices, but none of them would satisfy.

[alloys]

He refused to be nervous. He was too stubborn to be. It wasn’t exactly optimism, but Tony trusted his own work more than anything. After all, he was no stranger to doing the impossible. If anything, he was the ultimate skeptic, and if he believed it would work, that should be enough for anyone else.

But even so, he lacked his typical bravado as he made last minute checks, ran through calculations for the millionth time, and touched base with the few people he felt like speaking to. He was still feeling the weight of Howard’s departure, and what they were about to do was not something to be taken lightly. This was everything. It would change the game. He wasn’t there to say goodbye, either - this wasn’t the end. That came later. And as with everything that required more of him emotionally than he let on, he was going to put that off for as long as possible. For now? He would stay focused on the task at hand. As much as he could, anyway.

PREGAME THREAD

[not_a_troll]

Loki has managed to weasle his way in, so to speak. He had spoken to Jane earlier and promised her to give her the mission points he had acquired. But alas, Loki has been too busy for missions, let along gathering points. Thor managed to spill the rest of the beans.

So thats why he comes with a small box of bolts and screws and things used to assemble complicated devices and other contraptions. He is sure Tony Stark or Jane Foster appreciates it.

At least he does not forget to knock first. Second of all he has a bit of hope that this might work, that this would get him home as well.

[asthehawkflies]

Science had never been Clint's forte. He picked up bits and pieces as he went along, and he understood it better than most people would expect. He'd understood the general idea of what they were trying to do with the Tesseract just fine and this was a similar principle.

Just with no Tesseract, no budget, no safeties and with a much smaller group of scientists.

He was perhaps just a little concerned, especially considering how badly the last attempt he'd seen to open a portal to another end of space had gone.

He stuck to the edge of the room, hovering close to Natasha when he could and trying not to think too closely about all the things that could go wrong.

[endgames]

[Shikamaru's had his questions about the wisdom of this for a while. Not enough to think someone should stop the project - oh no, he's been 100% behind that for a long time now, which is probably why Tony invited him here - but to wonder if it's a good idea to have two of the only people who know how to use the thing be the ones to test it.

It wasn't until now that he could feel his gut twist thinking about the whole thing. He's pretty good about going with his instinct, but unfortunately it's more than that that he has supporting it. Brooding, Shikamaru distances himself from the others present for the time being, waiting for an opportunity to talk to Tony.]

SHOWTIME - Locked to Tony, Jane, Loki and Billy

[alloys]

This was it. The moment he’d been waiting for for months. Five months. Five months too many. Their hard work was about to pay off, and they would see - everyone would see – that they had been right all along. That there was a way home, and they had found it. It was too late for second thoughts now; not that he had them, anyway. This was going to work. He knew it, and finally - finally,he’d save everyone here, like he’d promised himself he would almost two years ago.

There were still questions that would need to be answered, but those could wait. Now? There was only the test.

So he stands ready in front of the machine, waiting for Jane so they could give Loki the cue.

[lorentzian]

With one last, stressed sigh, Jane finally leaves the maths and the theories and the notes alone because do or die, Foster, and she joins Tony at his side. Where she was antsy with nerves before, stepping onto the stage, as it were, burns all her jitters away. A deep breath in, and she is the picture of serenity.

She's ready. Almost a year ago now, she sat with Tony at a bar. It was their first meeting ever, and they'd had a great deal to discuss. More than anything, he'd been instrumental in her decision to try and corral her research and see about finding a way out of this place. Months after that - but months still before this moment - she'd committed to actually doing that. Having found her precious journal in the item shop one day, thank all that is holy, she'd set about rebuilding what she knew had been built once before, in Manhattan. She and, of course, the man beside her. Tony Stark. Who, over time, had gone from a colleague to a confidante. A coworker to a friend. He drove her crazy half the time, but he was brilliant and far more compassionate than he liked to really let on.

And here they stood, together, on the brink of a great chasm. Whether they'd find greatness or only darkness within, only the next few moments would tell.

With only some small hesitation, Jane reaches out and takes Tony's hand, grasping it tightly.

"Let's do it."

POSTGAME THREAD

[alloys]

Use this thread for threading out interactions AFTER the portal test happens. Mass hysteria!

Re: POSTGAME THREAD

[alloys]

There had been a brief moment where everything seemed to work. They'd stepped through the portal as time and space pulled and warped around them, and they'd arrived somewhere he was certain had to be their destination. They'd done it. It had worked. The overwhelming sense of victory rushed over him, and he had been about to congratulate Jane - when that moment was over all too soon.

Something was wrong about where they'd ended up. Things weren't right. He blinked, trying to clear his vision, trying to make sense of the way reality seemed to swirl and dip around them. This wasn't -

Then the sensation of something pulling against him brutally - not just his body, but his mind - took over. He couldn't remember what happened next, or when exactly he lost consciousness.

Now he lay on the floor of the workshop, a good fifteen feet from the portal he'd just been ejected from, still unconscious, the telltale light of his arc reactor unlit.

His heart wasn't beating.