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Summary: Stark visits the medical ward of Barnes Academy to check on how Tabitha is doing after her ordeal with Taskmaster.
Date: March 3, 2012
Log Title: Visiting Medical
Rating: Log Rating.
Barnes Academy - Medical Ward
A typical afternoon at Barnes sees the usual sorts of business going on. Students are learning, SHIELD operatives are doing their thing, and in the Medical Center, a patient is getting frustrated. "I feel fine," comes Tabitha's voice, betraying a distinct level of exasperation. "The same as I felt fine last time you asked me." The rat girl is dressed in one of those embarassing hospital gowns, and is laying on her back under a medical scanner. "Right here," she continues in response to a doctor's question, tapping a spot on her chest. "Exit wound was here, entry wound was… I don't know exactly, somewhere on my back."
Not one to frequently visit the Barnes Academy Stark has arrived clad in a business suit sans briefcase and is making his way through the halls towards the medical center. When he arrives Tabitha is clearly less than thrilled with her enforced bed rest so he takes up a lean against a nearby wall teasing, "I thought you were managing to stay out of trouble."
Tabitha hunhs? She tilts her head, looking up in the direction of the businessly-attired Tony. She sighs heavily, and reaches down to tug at the hospital gown. "So did I," she replies in a weighty tone of voice. "But apparently all I have to do is go for a drive, stop to go to a coffee shop, and the next thing I know I'm being shot at." She pauses. "Well, shot. Close enough."
Tony shakes his head, "A coffee stop in Hells Kitchen? That's begging for trouble Tabitha." Remaining where he's at for now the man passively sweeps the diagnostic devices to get an idea of what condition Tabitha was in and is now currently in before coming closer to sit on the side of a nearby bed. "The details were not spammed out to me so I'm curious to know whatever you can tell me about what happened."
"All I wanted was a hot chocolate," Tabitha protests, albeit half-heartedly. The readouts show that she is, well, completely fine; aside from a tell-tale line of scar tissue through her chest from front to back, straight through her right lung. "Yeah, okay, not the best choice of venue, I'll admit. …Anyway, I got there, and thought I heard my girlfriend, right? So I texted her, and the next thing I know I'm being shot at and stuff. …Not by my girlfriend, just to point out. By someone else. Apparently I'd fought him before when I was under Mindbender's control over the summer, but I didn't recognize him."
The readouts gave enough information to know that Tabitha is recovering from the ordeal though it's nice to bring up the situation in conversation as she might need to talk about it. "I'm glad you clarified that bit about your girlfriend. So who's the guy that took an issue with you about the most recent past?" Tony asks.
Tabitha thinks for a long moment. "I'm not sure what his name is," she says at last. "But I definitely fought him before, just after Mindbender got hold of me, and I was attacking a bank in Hell's Kitchen. …I really need to not go there anymore." She coughs softly. "He had guns then, too. Pistols. He's quite the martial artist, and he had these funny blue force-fieldy things that he could make swords or shields or tarsan-vines out of." She shrugs her shoulders lightly, and reaches up to clasp her hands behind her head. "Apparently my girl has been taking martial arts lessons from him, so like I said, I showed up and he told her that he was gonna kill me, just to see how she'd react." She pauses once more, "She's pissed, by the way. Righteously pissed."
"See? Hells Kitchen isn't the best place for you to be." Settling in where he's perched Stark listens to Tabitha's explanation of the man who shot her while picking at imaginary lint on his trouser leg. "So your girlfriend is training under a man that you've fought before who is out to kill you for whatever past indiscretion that was not your fault? It's very nearly worthy of super hero drama status." This of course won't lighten the mood any though it was meant in that vein. "Did you manage to give a description of what he looked like to anyone?"
Tabitha uhhs softly. "I didnt' see his face. I seem to recall him wearing like some kind of skull-mask or some-such." She pauses, and perks an eyebrow upwards. "Super-hero drama? Well, not all bad, then. Actually, I don't think it was anything to do with me, really, I think it was just the fact that I happen to be Kalindi's girlfriend. …he shot me right through a car, too, I was crouching behind it trying to figure out what I was gonna do, and suddenly there's like this big hole in me and stuff, and I couldn't breath right and it hurt like hell."
A skull mask? Someone is masquerading as Skeletor amongst the masses? Casey Jones and the Ninja Turtles? After the amusement dies out Stark moves over to one of the available computers and brings up an image of an old acquaintance and transfers it to a pad that can be shown to Tabitha. "Look familiar?" If Taskmaster is the guilty party she should confirm it so he and the other Avengers can have a word with the man. It would certainly mean that his attempts to team up with them would be shot down indefinitely. "Armor piercing bullet…."
Tabitha looks up, and studies the picture, staring at it for a long moment. "Pretty sure, yes," she murmurs. "He didn't exactly sit still for me to examine him in detail, but yeah, that looks like him." She pauses, and sighs heavily. "Kalindi was yelling at me to run away, except I didn't, 'cause I didn't know the full deal and I couldn't just leave her behind. …Probably didn't even need to be an armor piercing bullet, by the way," she observes, "The car I was hiding behind was a Ford Fiesta. I think the bullet punched through the hood and the side, but I didn't quite stop to check."
"Of all the cars to hide behind you hid behind a Ford Fiesta." What is the world coming to? Setting the pad down on a nearby table Tony heads back to where he had been seated before and unbuttons his jacket before seating himself in view of the prone teen. "If it was Taskmaster you wouldn't have run for very long. He's …interesting. If your girlfriend is mixed up with him she should severe her ties before either someone else gets harmed or he decides to turn on her."
Tabitha enhs, "I was hiding behind a truck, but when I heard one of his pistols hit the ground, I dove out to grab it and then ran for the nearest cover," she explains. "It just… I didn't figure anyone would bring a Fiesta into Hell's Kitchen. Silly me." She shrugs her shoulders lightly, and props herself up on her arms. "I didn't run very long. I made it a ways down, then ran into an alley, where I shot a car in the gas tank to get a bunch'a smoke going… and then I basically just passed out there. I woke up in Kalindi's house a while later."
"They don't make cars like they used to, kid." As Tabitha speaks of her harrowing escape from Taskmaster Tony sends a message out to the Avengers about what has happened between the teen and Tasky over in Hells Kitchen. It's not meant as something to jump on right away but it does mean that if anyone should come across him that they are not meant to be overly friendly with the man. Keep an eye out to see what the man is up to and keep further gun fights from happening. "I'm glad your still amongst the living, Tabitha. I am however very serious about your girlfriend needing to get away from the man. If you can't convince her give me a call and we'll set up a meeting where I can speak with her."
Tabitha nods her head slowly, and breathes a sigh of relief when a doctor comes in, and tells her she can get dressed as soon as she's ready, with a clean bill of health. "Thank gawd for that," she drawls, as she sits up and clambers down off the examination table. She snatches up her clothes, gives the gown one last tug, and retreats behind one of those flimsy green curtains that hospital type environments always seem to have. "I'll mention it to Kali," she calls back, "And, yeah, I'm pretty keen not to be dead. Though this does mark the fourth time I've been fatally wounded and woken up a while later with no boo-boos." She falls silent for another minute or so, while the soudns of getting dressed continue. "Hey," she says at last, "uhm, if you like… manage to pin this guy down for a talk, and it's safe, I… I'd like to talk to him."
"Let's not keep a tally on something like that. I particularly am not fond of getting messages on a private line that you've wound up in the medical ward again in serious or post-serious condition. Despite your healing factor at whatever level it may be at you can still end up deader than a doornail and how am I going to glare at you then?" Tony turns his back to the screen as Tabitha is changing into her street clothing to give her a bit more privacy. As he's seated there he busies himself with going over information from the last few weeks worth of local news reports. "What?" He gasps for her request. "No, I don't think so. The guy has several screws loose and putting the two of you in the same room isn't the best idea. Maybe a phone call but more than that's pushing it."
Tabitha soon emerges, clad in a full length denim skirt and a belly shirt that says 'BARNES' across the bust. "I'm sure I'll stop keeping tally when it gets high enough that I run out of fingers to count it on," she comments, brushing said fingers through her hair. "Actually, I'm not too keen on it either, I might survive it but it still hurts… and yeah, I don't know my limits. But I am variously assured that I wouldn't survive stuff like… well… okay, nevermind, let's not get into that." She has a quick scratch at the back of her head, before dropping her hands and picking a seat to deposit herself into. "I just have some questions I want to ask him. Like, how he could figure that killing his student's girlfriend was a good training exercise, and how he could try to shoot a seventeen year old chick in the back of the head." She pauses, and her ears flatten against the back of her head. "Well, eighteen. Best birthday ever."
"No, let's not get into any specifics." The inventor would rather the teen keep out of trouble though he has to come up with something to reverse her trouble magnetism. Repel instead of attract! "This is Taskmaster. If you're hoping for a logical answer you're going to be sadly disappointed. The man uses anything and everything at his disposal to either get what he wants or to produce desired results. In this case? He probably wanted your girlfriend to put up more of a fight to keep him from turning you into swiss cheese but against someone of his skill she'd have been outmatched considerably. No offense meant to Kalindi of course. It is what it is." Then a birthday is mentioned causing his eyes to narrow inward. "It was your birthday…." Tony's not very good at keeping track of things like that.
Tabitha shakes her head, "Well, not really, the day after was. Except I spent it in bed in a coma while my flesh and bones knit back together. I was planning on just spending it with Kali." She shrugs lightly. "Not a big deal, I guess still being alive is a perfectly good way to celebrate, particularly given that some psychotic mercenary with badass tech tried to remove my head from my shoulders. …How do I always get into these things? Honestly, I can't go anywhere. It's not like I went out wearing a rainbow headband and shouting down a megaphone about gay and mutant rights, I was just there." She pauses, and chews over her thoughts. "Think I could go incognito, if I wore an overcoat and a really big hat?"
Dammit. "Happy belated birthday, Tabitha." Tony will send her a bouquet of flowers, a giftcard to that store she shops at often for clothing, and another card for a coffee place that is nowhere near Hells Kitchen. "It didn't have anything to do about your sexual preference or that you're a mutant. You happened to be Kalindi's significant other and he could use that against the girl."
"I know, I just mean, I wasn't out looking for trouble." Tabitha shrugs lightly. "I wasn't waving around a neon sign that said 'please come make my live miserable and/or short'. Well… I guess I'll admit that I was speeding, when I was on my bike, but nobody has ever been put to death for ten over the posted limit that I'm aware of." She scowls momentarily, and taps her fingers on her legs. "I hope it didn't worry you too badly when the security alert went out," she weakly mumbles. "Sometimes I miss being a regular girl, you know. Not worrying about anything more odious than pop-quizzes at school. …Except then I realize I'd probably be bored to tears if I went back to it."
"Trouble magnet," Tony reiterates. It seems as if they've had this conversation numerous times over the past year or so. "What's happened was by no fault of your own though you shouldn't be speeding inner city. Crazy things happen and pedestrians walk into traffic regardless of signals." For the rest Tony waves a hand in front of himself, "You are normal. Even if you were human and a perfect student in a perfectly picturesque middle class town something like that could still happen to you. Embrace what you have and try not to come up with a million and one ways of looking down upon yourself."
"Speed lmits are based on human reaction times, and I react way faster," she protests, albeit half-heartedly. "But, yeah, anyway. When I broke into your warehouse, that was the result of a severe lack of self-worth, and when you were decent to me about it, it marked the first time anyone'd been nice to me in a long time. …Things have come a long way since then, I don't… y'know… think of myself as a bad person anymore or anything." She pauses, and coughs softly. "I'm still rather embarassed about that, actually. You're welcome to glare at me if you wish."
There's no glare for the teen this day unless she manages to reveal or say something before they part that brings up a less than pleasant reaction. Tony slips off where he's seated rebuttoning his suit jacket then tucking his hands into trouser pockets. "I'm glad you're starting to believe in yourself and push past your history. What happened back then between us has been water under the bridge for awhile now. Even when you attempted under influence to blast me off a bridge. I'm hoping that your eighteenth year will be a hell of a lot quieter than your previous seventeen."
Tabitha blushes heatedly, visible on the insides of her ears, "Uhh, yeah, I haven't entirely been an overly good friend in all situations," she replies, "But at least I was mind-controlled at the time. …And yeah, I'm hoping year eighteen is quieter than year seventeen. …I'll give you a verdict in a year." She shrugs her shoulders lightly, and clasps her hands behind her head. "Uhm, any advice if I should happen to see Taskmaster again? Other than run like a scared little girl?" She purses her lips briefly. "Well, unless I happen to be copying someone who's invincible, then it might be different."
Advice about what to do when coming across Taskmaster. "Call Barnes, Call me, etc. He's one of those individuals that should be left to groups of people or considerably powerful beings given all of his training and level of insanity. Keep your head down and hopefully you'll manage not to catch his attention. If he comes after you? Do the best you can to evade him while others hopefully come to help you." Tony chuckles, "If you can happen upon someone with stealth or invisibility powers more power to you in the moment. Too bad you're not a ninja or you could vanish in a puff of smoke."
"Well, I did have wings once," Tabitha replies earnestly. "Hurt like hell when I got them, and it hurt like hell again when I lost them, but it was pretty awesome for the part in between. …I kinda miss that, actually, flying was fun." She ehs softly, "If I meet Taskmaster again and he's got murder in his eye, I'll jump on my motorcyle and ride like hell. …Which is probably what I should've done then. I just… couldn't leave someone I loved behind. Just couldn't do it."
"I remember the wings. I wouldn't want to spontaneously pop out a pair but I do love flying." Of course Stark prefers speeds in excess of Mach 1. Mach 8 can get a little harrowing at times. "It was an awful position to be put in, Tabitha. If I had been in your shoes I would have attempted to help the person I cared for so don't feel too terribly awful about it. Live and learn right?"
Tabitha chuckles, "Well, maybe not even so much on the learning part," she admits, "if it happens again, I think I'd probably react the same way. Stay and fight to protect the person I love." She grins, "And let's be fair, you might not want to pop out a pair of wings, but you also have rocket boots. I don't have rocket boots… but I could get a pair of wings if I needed 'em, I'd just have to find that Aiden fellow again."
Tony chuckles, "The things you do for function and fashion." He offers her a loose hug mindful of her injuries if she's willing to accept it. "Try to stay out of trouble for at least a week ok, kid?"
Tabitha puts her arms around Tony, and squeezes affectionately. "I make no promises beyond four days," she replies, before releasing the hug. "Anything past that, no guarantees. But I'll try to stay off people's lawns and stuff." She grins, and hooks her thumbs around the top of her skirt. "Besides, I've got studying to catch up on."
"Four days is at least something." After the hug parts Tony heads for the door turning around when he's about to leave. "Good luck with your studying and take it easy for awhile. Healed or not you've still been through a lot." A wave is offered and unless stopped the man slips away to meander his way out of the Academy.
