[Gathering] Demon in a Bottle
We all have our breaking points, that last straw that breaks the camel's back. True, it's been a rough couple of weeks, returning from a blissful honeymoon only to find the life that I've made here in pieces, but after a year that's found me lying bruised and broken for what felt like an endless eternity, after the unmitigated disaster that was my first attempt at getting married, after a fight that nearly cost me my life and killed an innocent woman, something as deceptively innocent as a party for a dying man is what's finally going to see me snap.
I knew this thing was a bad idea the first time I heard about it, but even I couldn't have anticipated what I'm bearing witness to now. Stark's behavior is completely out of control -- he's obnoxious and reckless, obviously inebriated, and I've had enough of biting my tongue on that last point, let me tell you. I'm not about to watch one of the most brilliant minds I've ever met throw it all away in some drunken flash of glory, not when one false move in that second-rate armor of his could see any one of these guests injured -- or dead.
When Pepper's attempt at talking him down shockingly falls through, it becomes all too clear that this situation requires a more direct approach. That I'm just your average guy these days, completely unarmed save for my experience, doesn't play an important part in my decision making, though it probably should. Then again, maybe he's not the only person on this boat who's got a problem with the cards he's been dealt lately. I'm spoiling for a fight and I know it, but I have to believe my judgment is still clearer than his, that I have the best interests of everyone on board in mind. We're only a stone's throw away from the shore, and even with the weather worsening by the hour, people'll be safer in the water than they are on the yacht if this keeps up, of that much I'm certain.
"Jarvis, mute," I say in a loud, clear voice, jumping on top of a table to make sure I'm visible above the crowd. The music ends abruptly, though the chatter of the party-goers isn't as quick to follow -- one last repulsor blast juices a mango in midair. I frown, hands curling into fists at my sides, though I manage to keep up some measure of calm. "Alright, folks, I'm only gonna say this once, so pay attention: get out."
I knew this thing was a bad idea the first time I heard about it, but even I couldn't have anticipated what I'm bearing witness to now. Stark's behavior is completely out of control -- he's obnoxious and reckless, obviously inebriated, and I've had enough of biting my tongue on that last point, let me tell you. I'm not about to watch one of the most brilliant minds I've ever met throw it all away in some drunken flash of glory, not when one false move in that second-rate armor of his could see any one of these guests injured -- or dead.
When Pepper's attempt at talking him down shockingly falls through, it becomes all too clear that this situation requires a more direct approach. That I'm just your average guy these days, completely unarmed save for my experience, doesn't play an important part in my decision making, though it probably should. Then again, maybe he's not the only person on this boat who's got a problem with the cards he's been dealt lately. I'm spoiling for a fight and I know it, but I have to believe my judgment is still clearer than his, that I have the best interests of everyone on board in mind. We're only a stone's throw away from the shore, and even with the weather worsening by the hour, people'll be safer in the water than they are on the yacht if this keeps up, of that much I'm certain.
"Jarvis, mute," I say in a loud, clear voice, jumping on top of a table to make sure I'm visible above the crowd. The music ends abruptly, though the chatter of the party-goers isn't as quick to follow -- one last repulsor blast juices a mango in midair. I frown, hands curling into fists at my sides, though I manage to keep up some measure of calm. "Alright, folks, I'm only gonna say this once, so pay attention: get out."