001

[housepartyprotocol]

Who: Tony Stark and anyone!
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Still on The Marsiva
When: Now

[ The video feed crackles to life, and on the screen is a man looking equal parts composed and annoyed. He settles into the frame and smiles wryly.]

I'm not going to waste time here asking where we are, since I'd like to think we can all recognize space, but fair warning: you've got about [ he looks at his watch ] 2 minutes before I start taking this place apart. Not a threat, just making you aware that without a pretty impressive explanation, I will cannibalize your lovely and expensive ship and fly myself home.

[ He smiles briefly and with no humor before sitting back in his chair and tapping his watch. ]

Comments

[housepartyprotocol]

[ Tony scoffs. ]

Well, I'll either be very rich, or very poor.

[unbearablynaive]

[That gets a smile - because heaven forbid Tony should change his behavior for the whims of the audience.]

I suspect you're right.

I've been assigned to the Windrose as engineer; Agent Romanoff is our captain. There are several other friendly faces around as well.

[housepartyprotocol]

Wait, she's here too? Are we all here? You know, the whole gang?

[unbearablynaive]

Not quite. Even Atroma seems to have second thoughts about Dr. Banner.

[Shame, really.]

The current count is myself, Natasha, Wanda Maximoff, and I believe two versions of Captain America, though I've only spoken with Captain Jim Barnes from an alternate timeline.

[housepartyprotocol]

[ That gets a look. ]

Two versions?

[unbearablynaive]

[He nods, completely serious.]

Surely you're familiar with the multiverse theory?

[housepartyprotocol]

Sure, as a theory.

[unbearablynaive]

If you take that as a starting point and then add to it the capricious whims of a reality show production company, you'll have a good enough idea. There are some here from different versions of the same world, and yet others who have been to similar situations as this where individuals are pulled from their own timelines into a group living scenario under differing circumstances.

[housepartyprotocol]

[ Tony looks both interested and frustrated. ]

All fascinating things I would love to study if we weren't currently stuck floating around in space.

[ Looking around the ship though, as if considering his options. ]

[unbearablynaive]

[The Vision grins and decides not to point out that Tony could, in fact, do both.]

That does seem to be the case, I'm afraid, until we come across another point of habitation. We've been to a planet, a moon, several stations, a derelict ship, and an asteroid cloud so far.

[housepartyprotocol]

[ Still looking around the ship, realizing that he probably can make some kind of lab set up here, using himself as the baseline for studies. Depending what's available on whatever ship he's sent to next, anyway. He looks back at the screen finally. ]

How long did you say you've been here?

[unbearablynaive]

I haven't said, yet, but it's been about five months. Longer than I've been on Earth, really.

[At least, if he counts his time as himself and not the shadowy memories he has of JARVIS.]

[housepartyprotocol]

Come again?

I know I've seen you more recently than that. Unless I've been knocked out here a lot longer than I thought.

[unbearablynaive]

Consider that Agent Romanoff has been here longer than I have, yet had not known me when I arrived; she came from an earlier point in time.

[housepartyprotocol]

But you're sure she's from our universe? Not some alternate one?

[unbearablynaive]

So it would seem. Everything else appears to match up, except for the time.

[housepartyprotocol]

What's her timeline look like?

[unbearablynaive]

She's from slightly before Loki's staff is recovered, but after SHIELD headquarters was destroyed.

[housepartyprotocol]

[ Takes a breath, consider what all that means she hasn't seen. ]

As far as you know, is anyone ahead of us?

[unbearablynaive]

Not that I'm aware of, no--or if they are, they're not saying so.

[He's still not entirely sure what time Rogue is from, for example - she knew of the Avengers on arriving here, but then she may have known them from her time in Luceti. So she might be from some other world altogether.]