2017.01.16 - More Aces on the Case
It's been a while since lunch and its aftermath, and Tony is still tinkering with holograms. Currently, he's working on one that isn't Iron Man...probably to the relief of Clint and anyone else who witnessed his multi-hour-long ordeal earlier. The genius inventor would seem to be quite a perfectionist, especially when it comes to depictions of himself. Semi-secretly. He has a tablet in his hand and occasionally will flick or tap it, which changes the hologram in front of him in slight, almost unnoticeable ways.
Post lunch and Clint Barton is making laps around the room, working off the weird lunch Tony swore would send him to some other, more pleasurable, realm. In reality, it just made him miss shawarma, though he would never admit something so predictable. Eventually, he winds up next to the information desk and leans heavily on it.
"So, busy day?" he asks the young man on the other side of the counter. A smile is offered, too, but it's clear he's only paying half attention. The other half watches Tony work.
It seems almost magical how one moment Batman isn't anywhere to be found, then suddenly he's an almost overwhelming presence in the room. He's standing several feet away from Tony and appears to be watching the hologram in front of Mr. Stark. Whether he's paying attention to Clint chatting up the secretary is uncertain, but knowing Batman, it's just another item being catalogued away in that brilliant mind of his.
Once he hears Clint taking a break from expending nervous energy, Tony turns for probably some witty quip...and just goes silent, closing his mouth before he says anything. "Oh. Batman. Look, I got your hologram right." Another series of taps makes the Batman one...not so much brighter as a sort of dark haze around it. It's more noticeable now, because Tony wants to show it off. Maybe that's part of the improvements he made. "I fixed Superman's cape, Wonder Woman's Amazon bustier, Aquaman's octopus, Thor's hair -- god, *that* was a nightmare -- and Cap's A thing. It looked like an H, now it's an A."
Tony, of course, volunteered to make the holograms perfect. If he had a moment doing anything else, a moment's free time, he'd probably just get up to something else in his lab...or end up partying. One or the other. If he's not doing one of those two, he's probably unconscious or needed food badly.
The secretary swivels over to Clint and starts to yammer. There's really no other word for it. Probably a great skill for someone in his position, but Clint isn't having it. Either that, or the sudden presence of the Batman in the room has completely stolen his attention. "You don't say!" is his completely off-the-mark response, followed by him abruptly leaving the desk for the company of the other two superheroes.
"Ha!" the archer laughs, a little too loud. "Thor. God. Isn't this guy funny?" he asks Batman, jutting a thumb in Tony's direction. "A whiz with the laser art, too."
Batman listens without comment to Tony's list of minor adjustments to the holograms. Once the man runs down, the Dark Knight nods curtly. "Good work," he offers and it seems a sincere compliment from the enigmatic figure. He looks aside at Clint for a moment but no smile finds its way to his face.
"This is the purple one, not the green one," Tony half-teasing explains, jerking a thumb towards Clint. He does throw an arm around him, once he's close enough. "I kid, of course. So, I hear you've had some problems with...demons and a penguin, in Gotham? Like...a demon penguin? Or are the demons working with the penguin? Or is it a demon with penguin underlings? I'm...sure I have the memo here somewhere."
With a thoughtful frown, Tony takes his arm back and starts tapping on the tablet again, reading through messages, flicking between them. "I...should just ask Mrs. Arbogast." He's been out of it the whole day, in hologram-land mentally.
At the very serious look he's given by Batman, Clint's smile falters. When Tony introduces him, though, it goes full scowl. "It's a royal color," he mumbles, nudging Tony in the ribs just a bit. He can kid around with the best of them, but feels a little protective when it comes to his colors.
Thankfully, the topic switches pretty quickly, and Clint let's out a sigh. "Finally, something interesting," he comments, turning to Batman. "What exactly does a demonic penguin look like?"
"I believe they're two separate problems," Batman explains. "I hope the demon running loose in the city was a one time thing. But I'm keeping an eye out in case it happens again. And Oswald Cobblepot, otherwise known as The Penguin, is another issue. At this time, I don't see any connection between the two."
"We can get you two together and add that Golden Arrow guy and have like, the Mardi Gras Arrow Squad." Leave it to Tony to turn it into a ridiculous event. Clint will probably get him later for that, but it's part of a never ending cycle. It's practically obligatory to contribute to it, at this point.
At Batman's explanation and Clint's questions, Tony looks to Batman and takes in the information. Okay, good. Now he won't have to ask Mrs. Arbogast; he can see her pursing her lips at him right now. "Oh. OH. *That* Penguin. Okay, so that's good. Puttery supervillainous crime kingpin doesn't need to get his flippers into demonology, for sure."
Clint rolls his eyes and lets Tony have that one, both because he knows the other man can do better and because the thought of getting together with a bunch of archers actually sounds like a lot of fun. Besides, Batman's brought up something meatier to chew on.
"What's this Penguin up to, exactly?" he asks, taking a couple steps closer to the pair. "Maybe I can help." While not a member of JLA (yet), he clearly wants to get in on something.
The ghost of a smile plays across Batman's lips for a brief moment. Blink, and you might miss it!
"I certainly hope The Penguin hasn't gotten into summoning demons. I consulted a bit with Zachary Zatara. He believes it was purely an accident that caused that particular demon to be summoned into this world," Batman says. He was being positively loquacious tonight.
At Clint's question and offer of help, the Dark Knight pauses then nods faintly. "Maybe you can help," he allows. "There was a series of jewelry thefts in the city. Robin and I obtained information that lead back to The Penguin. He moved a little bit of in through a disreputable pawn shop. But the rest he held back. More investigation lead us to believe there is an outside partner. We also found evidence that he was clearing space to potentially store some large animals. There was an attempted robbery at the Gotham City Zoo fund raiser event, but the criminals were stopped without getting anything. They were all Greek nationals here on vacation visas."
"Huh." Tony drums his fingers on the tablet, then slides it back into his pocket. Idly, and perhaps amusingly, he ends up rubbing his fuzzy chin and then does the same sort of drumming there after a few seconds. "Clint and I could cover that angle. I just missed the event, but I know plenty of people who went. I'm pretty sure Pepper can drum up the deep deets about anything under the table...us Richie Rich types are always doing agreements and arrangements that aren't on the paper." He smiles at that, not proudly but sort of like he feels like it's specifically and specially suited to his area of life.
Clint takes a moment to digest this information. It sounds so much like the start of a rejected Bond flick that he almost laughs, but in present company he manages to hold his tongue. "Sounds like you have an excuse to throw another big bash," he tells Tony. That's one way to get everyone together and loosen some lips.
Turning back to Batman, Clint makes a suggestion. "If you know the pawn shop, maybe I can swing by and see what the guys running the place knows." This may be ground Batman and Robin already tread, but a fresh set of eyes and ears can't hurt.
Batman nods. "Anything you can find out would be helpful. So far Robin and I haven't been able to pin down the outside partner. Nor have we found where the rest of the jewelry is being held. We've been just about all over the Iceberg Lounge. The pawn shop is by the hospital. Only one on that block."
When Clint makes his suggestion, Tony slowly nods his head. "That's a good idea. Big bash, loosen some tongues...Pepper can do that. They always underestimate a pretty girl. And they *love* to brag to a pretty girl, lemme tell ya. Right! Gonna get on that." He takes out the tablet again, it seems barely seconds after putting it away, and starts to tap out some messages. "Okay, so we've got this coordinated. Can I count on you two sending an emissary to the big event?" Glancing to Clint, Tony grins a little wider. "You'll have to send yourself as an emissary. We'll get you a tux." And not, repeat *not*, a powder blue leisure suit like last time.
Clint nods firmly to Batman. He's on the case. Anything to get him out of the apartment, really, though this one actually piques his interest. He can stop by the pawn shop later, check out the jewelry, maybe even fake an engagement.
To Tony, he offers a toothy smile. "Of course. If you didn't invite me, I would crash anyway." He shrugs at the idea of a tux, though, very unsure of why they would have to buy him one since, as far as he's concerned, that leisure suit was a huge hit.
"If we're lucky, maybe a new troupe of thieves will try to hit your event and we can round them up for more questions. If nothing happens, then I suppose it will be a night out for all involved. I'll see that someone I can trust attends," Batman assures Tony.
"Be careful at the pawn shop," the Dark Knight cautions Clint. "They have... enthusiastic... security. Plus, the usual video surveillance."
"Good, good." Tony keeps tapping, not even looking up. Though he does grin a little more at Clint's threat of crashing the party. They'll have to get him something nice. Subtle. If it's purple, it'll be a deep purple that can only really be noticed directly under the light. So he doesn't look like Prince on one of his less subtle days. Maybe it'll be black, but with the occasional purple accent, like a pocket square or something. He'll have to take him shopping. Those muscly arms are always a challenge. But then, that's what tailors are for.
"I think if he knows about it in advance, Clint can take care of the surveillance. I've never known him to back down from a fight with security, either." Tapping the screen, Tony finally looks up with a smile. "There. It's all in motion."
Clint makes a note of what Batman tells him about the pawn shop. He can definitely handle the video surveillance, but the possible security he'll encounter sounds like it will be a surprise. Well, it won't be the first time. "No problem," he announces confidently. "I'll watch my back."
"When's it gonna be, Tony?" he asks about the party. "Should we start looking for outfits now?"
"Are you trying to be subtle, or planning to break down the front door?" Batman asks, looking between the two men. It's hard to say which answer he's hoping for. Batman is known for both his own subtlety and his ability to kick in doors and knock heads together depending on what the situation calls for.
"Depends on what it needs. Right, muchacho?" Tony looks to Clint, grinning to him with a fairly boyish gleam in his eyes, a certain lively energy in his face. "Oh. Oh yeah, definitely." Reaching over to the archer's shoulder, he pats it and then squeezes his hand around the top of it, turning his gaze to Batman. "We are gonna get Clint fitted with a tux. Did you wanna tag along?" Because tailors love it when intimidating scary men in bat costumes just hang around. He can imagine Batman just lingering while he tailor takes Clint's measurements.
Clint grins as well to the question posed by Batman. Looking over to Tony, but speaking to Bruce, he says, "I think we'll start out subtle, then if they don't play along - and let's face it, they never do - well, then I have a special arrow will their names on it." He winks without going into too much detail, but it's safe to say he's talking about the explosive one. "Yeah, I need all the support I can get," he adds about visiting a tailor.
"I'll pass," Batman answers regarding the tuxedo shopping. Could anyone really picture him in a haberdashery? The staff would probably faint.
"Do what you think works best," the Dark Knight says to Clint. "But if Gotham PD grab you for intimidation or disturbing the peace, I don't think I can bail you out."