（ ００１ ｜ ｖｉｄｅｏ ）

[mannerism]

(un: p. carter )

[ Well, here we have a username that hasn't been seen on the network in a while. The video itself is, alas, distorted at the moment. It seems the device itself is being moved rather quickly from hand to hand. ]

-- bloody well doing alright by myself.

[ And then there's Peggy Carter and a native nurse who has apparently made the mistake of trying to open and hold the device for her. It's enough to get her chased out as the woman struggles to sit up. On her way out, the nurse does take a few bloodied bandages with her. ]

Well, turns out one can get promoted in their absence.

[ She holds up a file of pages, apparently her new job description. ]

Is it too much to hope that my house is still intact?

Comments

[madeupnames]

Oh, right! Sorry.

[He is like lightning to sit down, not wanting to waste a moment of her time now that he's gone and interrupted it. He sits with hands folded properly, like he's in a principal's office. He was gonna shake her hand, but it's a hospital, so maybe that's not good to do. Germs, and all that. Also, goofy little wrist cast that, upon another glance, clearly has a doodle on it of a generic Roswell-type alien, and some stars; he was bored.

A more at ease smile follows.]

I'm Peter Parker. You know Mr. Stark?

[mannerism]

Mr. Parker. You realize that I am not, in fact, a movie actress or a jazz singer, I hope?

[ well he is a fan of her work but he could be confusing her with someone else. Might be that he is also under the influence of the bloody pain killers. Might be why he's rambling. ]

We go a long way back, as it turns out. He has memories of me than I of him but as to your question, yes we do know one another.

[ though the more curious subject is, no doubt: ]

How do you know him? A fan of his work?

[madeupnames]

[Pete certainly goes red in the ears as he stares down at his lap.]

Yes ma'am, sorry. Totally.

[Fanboying about this kind of thing really was weird, wasn't it? Geez. Maybe the over-eagerness is why he's terrible at fitting in places — lest he forget the worst moment of ninth grade, when he went to try and talk to Lindsey Stein and spilled milk all over her expensive jacket on accident. It was just an embarrassment bomb waiting to go off, fact.

On the bright side, he doesn't really just drop stuff anymore. Spider senses. And all that. Haha.

He suddenly feels more confident, when Mr. Stark's brought up.]

Yes! I'm a big fan. I used to go to his conventions all the time — I even got to meet him there when I was younger. For a second, anyways. And then I got an actual internship with Stark Industries. 'Cus of my grades... and all that good... stuff.

[mannerism]

Stark Expos, were they?

[ Same as Howard, perhaps? She has been in exactly one of them - too crowded, too many lights, too Stark. She wonders what Tony Stark presents in his own expos? iron man armors?

god, the man probably chooses terrible music for those events. ]

I didn't the man was holding internships these days. What is it that you do as part of your job, Mr. Parker?

[madeupnames]

[He nods eagerly to the question. Yes, yep, Expos, the coolest things in his childhood, like, ever. He had always been crazy interested in science the tech — and uncle Ben loved that most of all, probably. He always always big on Peter keeping his head straight and focusing on his talents.]

Oh, you know, mostly lab work. Tinkering with machines. Grant... money... stuff. I mean...! I'm fifteen, so college is a little ways away, but still — Mr. Stark just kinda helps me work a little harder and get more knowledgeable about what I need for then?

[He wonders if he should be lying to Agent Peggy Carter about being Spider-Man.

But if he lied to Captain America, he's gotta lie to everyone else.]

[mannerism]

Well, don't take him too seriously.

[ she warns with a wave of a finger. ]

It'll go to the man's head and we can't have that. Mr. Stark, indeed.

[ but she complains with a smile and a moment later - ]

And he was the one who told you about my work?

[madeupnames]

[He practically hangs on that guy's every word, so. Pray for him.

At the question, he seems hesitant — mostly because he already sounded kind of lame earlier. He rubs his hands on his jeans, looking every bit like a new guy with absolutely no experience in a job interview.]

... Actually, more like I heard a little in history class...

But also just stories that got passed around. My Uncle Ben used to listen to the Captain America radio stuff with his dad, so I was always really interested in it... Not so much in the radio stuff, cus' it's kind of... goofy, but the old stories.

[mannerism]

Oh no, not that rubbish again.

[ The amount of long-suffering is beyond description. Indeed, it seems like this one piece of knowledge manages to hurt as much as her current physical condition. ]

Terribly accurate, the thing was. I suppose you reckon you're keeping company to Betty Carver.

[ thin ice, parker. ]

[madeupnames]

[He looks genuinely confused for a moment.]

Betty Carver's supposed to be you?

...

She doesn't match you at all. Is this a old sexism thing?

[It's an old sexism thing isn't it.]

[mannerism]

An old sexism thing? Get a load of you, are you declaring it dead and gone already? Rosie the Riveter, you are.

[ And while she hates to admit it: ]

But as to your questions, yes, she's supposed to be me. I thought that much was also well-known.

[madeupnames]

[Peggy, he's so red, spare him.]

No, I don't mean it's old like...! [There's a familiar old social cue in his head going off in blinding red letters: ABORT, ABORT, ABORT, though it'd probably be the most embarrassing thing he'd ever done in his life, letting old flight habits kick in when he's talking to Peggy Carter. So he stares at his feet instead and curses how badly he's introduced himself already.]

You're right, sorry. I mean, I wasn't super into the, um, the radio shows. That was my grandpa, and I never really met my grandpa, so I don't really know them all that well— [Did I really say "is this an old sexism thing, I really said this is an old sexism thing, i'm gonna think about this every night in a cold sweat until i'm dead"] Iiii've wasted enough of your time, I should leave you to — heal up, from —

[What's she even injured by? Peter? PETER WAIT STOP GETTING UP WHAT HAPPENED TO NOT ABORTING THIS MISSIOn-]

[mannerism]

Mister Parker.

[ it's stern, it's sharp, it's unhappy. The boy is talking and talking and talking still and Peggy has been home not an hour ago, Peggy has had a madwoman pushing her down onto a bloody rebar, there's a mysterious substance at work that she still doesn't understand, these people have forced pain killers on her and she is apparently done. ]

Sit back down, right now.

[madeupnames]

[He sits sharply down.

"I can't believe I'm gonna be murdered by an injured Peggy Carter," he thinks, only half-joking. Fidgeting with his cast seems like the best course of action, other than turning into a cherry tomato. Which is already achieved, thanks.]

[mannerism]

Use your good hand to pour us both a drink, would you.

[ she points to the left side of her, to the bedside table next to him. When she says a drink, she clearly means the jar of orange juice sitting there. She sits up, muttering to herself all the while. To think that she'd need strangers for a job that simple but they put the blasted bedside table too far from the bed. ]

Start from the beginning. Your name is Mr. Parker, you go to school and you study -- whatever it is Tony Stark is teaching you; physics, I wager. Where do you come from?

[madeupnames]

[Oh, oh, okay. This he can do, while he lets that mortification settle into something more tolerable. And bless his soul, he doesn't remotely assume 'liquor' regardless of the wording. He's not old enough to drink, y'know. He hands her the cup with one hand, not remotely worried about dropping it; sticky hands, and whatnot.]

I'm from Queens. And I don't study anything too specific yet, but I'm pretty good at chemistry and physics, yeah. With a side of robotic design. Still kinda' green on that compared to other people at Midtech, though. [He's not as good as Ned at computers, neither.] Mr. Stark just... gives me a place to work, with things I can't usually afford.

[Status: de-reddening.]

[mannerism]

New Yorker, are you?

[ it does make her smile, only a bit. ]

I used to live in New York, not too long ago. Thank you.

[ she's about to take a sip before - ]

It's only orange juice, Mr. Parker, I do not plan to keep you in spirits. Do help yourself.

[madeupnames]

Oh! Thanks.

[He gets himself a cup, rather expertly despite his wrist cast, and sits with it in hand — he'll drink it, he swears, but he wants to be attentive and polite (especially after goofing it up so bad already).]

New York's really great... I guess It's all I've ever known up 'til about a year ago, but I like the people and how busy it is, and there are always funny characters running around that make your day totally awesome — or totally lame, so you can complain about it later in some big tale.

... Did you like living there?

[mannerism]

[ a curious one, this boy. she has questions, of course she does, but there's time for those. At least he calmed down a notch. ]

It wasn't bad, though I doubt it's the same New York you remember. I liked the weather.

[ it's so much harder at California, no matter what everybody says about the heat. ]

And what have you been doing here, I wonder? Do they still have a school? They did when I was here last time.

[madeupnames]

Oh, yeah...! It's a little like this place, but... less aliens and wizards and stuff. No, actually, there's still some of that. [He smiles, humored. Operation De-Escalate Panic, a success. And apparently once the kid's comfortable enough to talk, he's pretty social.] I've been going to school here, but I'm a little behind on the lesson plans — so I've been catching up a lot. It's pretty cool though.

Other than that? Been trying to not get into too much trouble.

My aunt'd kill me if I took advantage of not having her eagle eyes on me.

[mannerism]

You live with your aunt?

[ the aliens and the wizards can wait until her mind is clearer, for now she sticks to the safe questions, those who apparently reduce the babbling to a minimum. She takes another sip of juice and rolls her eyes. ]

I'd say she could count on my nephew to keep you out of trouble but the man seems to attract those wherever he goes. Iron Man, indeed.

[ tony stark apparently has an aunt, too. ]

[madeupnames]

Oh, yeah! Me and my aunt. Yup. She's really cool — I lucked out, having her in the family.

[Honestly, when it comes to orphan kids who blame the death of their uncle on themselves, the wizards and aliens are probably safer. Go figure. But he seems pleasant enough, and he likes complimenting May, because she's one of the most badass people he knows.]

But...! I also lucked out meeting Mr. Stark! Because it's pretty cool, too. It's crazy to me that I even get to work with him, because, like... I used to run around my apartment with his mask on. You know? It's wild.

[mannerism]

[ well, he's all kinds of sweet, is he not? Lord help her, he does make her smile. Still, she steels her tone, points at his chest. ]

It's going to get to his head, you know that. If the man's head gets any bigger, it might explode. I'm trying to teach him some humility, you understand.

[madeupnames]

Yeaaaah, I dunno how humble Mr. Stark can be. But he's saved me, like, twice now... So I guess he can have a few more pumps of helium into that dome.

[Peter did you just imply Tony's got a balloon head?

(Of course he did.)

... And yes, he's lying about the amount of times Tony Stark has saved his ass. But it's half-honest, because he's mainly referring to Peter Parker. Also, he finally takes a sip of the juice. Finally. Slow ass.]

Sorry if I sabotage your mission, though. I probably don't help.

[mannerism]

Careful, Mr. Parker, careful.

[ she says, calm and smiling and not at all terrifying, surely ]

Lest you'll become my new mission.

[ Because you really want this woman in your life, right? ]

[madeupnames]

[He holds up his wrapped wrist.]

Hey, hey, you're beating me in some areas. Like concerning hospital visits; I just came in to get this taken off.

I should be the one keeping an eye on you!