enter Sir Grumpus McWhinelord, King of the Pissbabies [audio; filtered from Gene]

[highprofilerichkid]

[It's been a week, and Tony has done everything short of throwing himself on the floor of a Governor's office and literally kicking and screaming. And despite all his arguments and protests and even a few veiled threats, he is still stuck with Gene. They take this 'link' pretty seriously here. Tony thinks it sounds like a bunch of faux-mystical nonsense, but apparently he's not going to get the Governors to budge on it.

That means the only people he has left to turn to are the Fatemarked and his fellow Sentinels. He has absolutely no faith that the Governors are telling him everything. Maybe the other recruits will give him some straight talk.

The post is audio - he's not disguising his identity, but he's not going out of his way to make it obvious, either. He has locked the post from Gene, though. Gene already knows that he is extremely unhappy with the situation, and Tony really doesn't care about offending him, but he wants to minimize Gene's opportunities to needle him with snarky comments.

He makes a cursory attempt to hide the post from the bigwigs, too, but he's aware that it probably won't be effective. Fine. If they see him going behind their backs to get this fixed, maybe they'll start taking him seriously.]

So, these 'links' that some people have - what's the deal? The Governors can't really think we'll believe them when they say they don't know anything about them, right? Somebody's got to know how they work. And how to break them. Who else has one? Are they permanent? Does anyone have any idea why they happen? [...HE'S ASKING FOR A FRIEND.]

Comments

[brewglory]

Thus far, I have found no explanation for how the links work. I am interested in any answers you may find, however.

[highprofilerichkid]

What, did you get stuck with one too?

[traqueur]

So far nothing, but I think we may be one of the first groups to be linked. At least ones who are still here.

I'm Martha by the way, Martha Jones.

[highprofilerichkid]

Wow, lucky us, [Tony says sourly. That's not good news - he was hoping some of the longer-tenured Sentinels or Fatemarked would be able to shed some light on the phenomenon.] How many people has this happened to?

[traqueur]

Ten pairs, I think? Somewhere around there. I didn't actually count.

[aquilawful]

Stuck with someone you don't like? [Assignments were one thing; being somehow intertwined at a cosmic level does sound ridiculous to Jack's ears. But if it's true, just like if the rest of this is all true, well...] You're smart. If anyone does figure it out, you will.

[Both the link and whoever his new partner is.]

[highprofilerichkid]

Yeah, you could say that. [You can hear the glower in his voice: it's amazing it isn't burning a hole in his laptop screen.] I'm smart with engineering, [Tony complains bitterly.] Physics. Science. Not... stupid magic bullshit. Whatever this is.

[aquilawful]

From home? [Given the amount of hatred in Tony's tone, Jack sincerely doubts whoever he was linked with is a new acquaintance. That much enmity takes time or trauma.] Some people would call physics stupid magic bullshit. And exactly how long did it take you to figure that subject out?

[highprofilerichkid]

From home, [Tony agrees.] He only caused, oh, about all of my problems.

[He makes an annoyed huff at the comment about physics.] No it isn't. Physics follows rules. [Okay, so does magic, but they're stupid rules.] I don't even know where to start with this.

[But he seems slightly mollified by the compliment. He's dealt with more than his fair share of weird, baffling, and occasionally supernatural problems. Maybe he can figure this one out, too.]

[highprofilerichkid]

N equals ten. I guess that's not a terrible sample size.

So you think this is a new thing? Or something that hasn't happened in a while? There would be records of that, right?

[traqueur]

I imagine there has to be some somewhere.

[And then, with a tone of admitting something.]

Not that I've found, though.

not here

[wrathfulkhan]

[Oh, cry some more, Stark.]

not here

[highprofilerichkid]

>:V

[brewglory]

I did not. That does not mean one may not develop, however, and that is a situation I would like to avoid. The link apparently has many different manifestations, and none of them are particularly appealing to me, regardless of their perceived usefulness.

private;

[catchingwrenches]

Believe me when I tell you, kiddo, we are goddamned well stumped.

Your encryption's passable at best, but do yourself a favor and don't bother with it next time. Save the energy for something else. You play Minecraft?

Hi.

[aquilawful]

Kidnappings from airplanes kinds of problems? [If so, that's a genuinely miserable setup he's got going.

Jack's tone and expression are sympathetic, but there's a hard edge to it - Tony strikes him as the kind of kid who needs direction. If he sits on his hands he'll end up going crazy.]

Well, start at the beginning. How do they figure out who the Fatemarked are in the first place? Figure out those rules, and some of them are bound to hint at the rest of the ones that don't make sense.

private;

[highprofilerichkid]

Just checking if you're paying attention. [There's a little bit of bite in his tone, like he said that with a not-very-pleasant smirk.]

And I think learning your computer system from the ground up is a pretty good use of my energy. [This is, after all, an entirely unfamiliar computer architecture. The encryption isn't his best work, but it's proof that he's been doing some serious code crunching in his downtime.]

private;

[highprofilerichkid]

No, I hate him because he stole my prom date. [And that withering sarcasm means... ding ding ding! We have a winner! Yes, Jack, exactly those kinds of problems.

Interestingly, Tony's switched the conversation to private: he doesn't mind everybody knowing that he doesn't like Gene, but apparently he's keeping the why a little quieter. Maybe the environment isn't putting him in a trusting mood. Maybe he's just embarrassed that he's stuck with Gene and can't do anything about it. Maybe it's a little of both.

He's quiet for a few seconds as he considers Jack's suggestion.] I think the first question is what the Fatemarked are. Why does anybody think they're important? What does the Trust want them for? Why are the Governors protecting them?

private;

[catchingwrenches]

Hmm...Anthony Edward Stark, isn't it? [She knows you go by Tony, she's just being difficult. Congrats, Tony, she's like an older you.] In case you haven't noticed, there's a lot going on. But yes, we are paying attention. And no, we can't do anything about your link. Not even LoTUS can, and they're the smartest person I know.

[Her tone immediately turns chipper at the mention of the computer system.] Oh really? What do you think of the architecture? I took it over when I came on board so I'm patching holes all over the place. I'd love to overhaul it entirely, but that's just not in the budget right now, financially or temporally. Governoring is harder than it looks. Big time commitment.

private;

[aquilawful]

That's rough. [Right off the bat, Jack wants to know how and why but now is not the time.] Have you hit him yet?

[Because most people would. Jack might; Daniel definitely would have by now.]

I'd like to know the answers to those questions myself. I might be able to help, if you want.

[By which he means help with his linked Fatemarked as well as his research.]

private;

[highprofilerichkid]

Yeah. The first time I saw him. Right after he kicked me in the nuts. [Gene Khan: all-around stand-up guy!

There's a thoughtful pause.] I should probably go punch him a few more times.

private;

[highprofilerichkid]

So your whole organization exists because of these super special "fatemarked," but you don't know why or how they sometimes spontaneously form a mysterious mystical bond with one of your Sentinels? That seems like it might be important. No offense, [yes, definitely offense,] but that's not really filling me with loads of confidence.

[Even if her chirpy segue into shop talk is supposed to be some kind of passive-aggressive insult, Tony feels some grudging camaraderie for a fellow nerd.] Your system's alright, [he concedes.] Nothing special. [But it's not totally terrible either. You're welcome.

And then, because it's not classy to complain about how busy your schedule is to someone you've just kidnapped, he adds:] A whole year is a big time commitment too.

[highprofilerichkid]

Well. It sucks, [Tony helpfully informs him.]

And I don't see how it's useful, either. [There is literally nothing useful about empathic nightmares. What the fuck.]

private; video

[catchingwrenches]

Hate to break it to you, but the mysteries of the fucking multiverse are beyond my ken. If you were expecting someone to come down from on high with all the answers and present them to you on a stone tablet like Moses, uh, you may have been aiming a little high there. But I do know this - if you're here, especially if you're linked, you are important. I have enough experience to know that much.

[Kami's voice turns wry, and the video function is enabled on her end.]

A year? Yeah, you don't say, [she says, holding her left hand up to the camera. Her fatemark is clearly visible.] That sounds like it sucks.

[The sarcasm gone, she says:] Want to see something special? Come by my lab sometime. I figure I've got a few things to show a cynical soul such as yourself.

[brewglory]

How exactly did it manifest for you?