Tony Stark Iron Man Earth-8096 Excuse you, he was Hawkeyes' age.
"Promises, promises," Tony muttered, flirting on autopilot as he examined the port. "You can show me all your toys later."
Alec Hardison Hacker Earth-1278122512 And Hardison was still in his mid-twenties!
"Sounds like a good time." Hardison had hunkered down and started trying to untangle the ball of wires. After a few minutes of tugging and cursing, Tony's comment seemed less annoying and more like a necessary warning. "Who the hell lets their wires get like this?" he demanded. "Did these people have no concept of a future where they might wanna use this damn thing ever again? When we finish hacking this reality, I'mma go back in time and smack everybody's dumb ass that thought shoving, like, thirty feet of cable in a one foot drawer was a good idea..."
Peter Parker Spider-Man Earth-16109327 While the rest of the team was causing cave-ins or fighting with wires, Peter was checking his phone.
"Hey, Tony, I have the data we need to upload. Can your suit encode and transfer it while we're fighting with wires?" He asked this while glancing in the drawer. And then he noticed something. He reached in past the wires and pulled out a spider-shaped casing. "There's a dongle for the device. THERE'S A DONGLE!" He grabbed the spider-dongle and leaped back to the computer to set the portal device in it. "We need the cord now!"
Minako Aino Sailor Venus Earth-719975683 "FYI, I have no idea what you're all talking about, but sounds filthy," V offered from where she was standing sentinel. "Some of us are impressionable high school students, you know."
Tony Stark Iron Man Earth-8096 "Some of us are very busy," Tony shot back, going to assist with that damn knot. "JARVIS?"
"Of course, sir. Data uploading," came a dry, British voice from the empty suit.
Sorry not sorry about the casual wireless hacking of your stuff, Peter.
Kitty Pryde Earth-6161111 Kitty, who went over to try and help with the ball of knot, just so happened to find an end, which she could follow along right there, and...
"Miracle of miracles, I think it's coming loose."
Jalian d'Arsennette ken Selvren Huntress Earth-157646637 Jalian pulled out a knife. Because sometimes there was a simpler way to untie a Gordian knot. "How long does it need to be?"
Peter Parker Spider-Man Earth-16109327 "The proper length, so it works!" Peter said, rushing over to pull at another cord to help the ball fall apart. "We've already lost enough time to poor IT maintenance, we don't need to add wire repair to the bill!"
Jalian d'Arsennette ken Selvren Huntress Earth-157646637 Jalian gave him a scornful look. "Cut the middle and splice it; it's still faster than trying to unravel the whole thing."
She rolled her eyes at him, then hooked her fingers around one of the main cords and pulled it free.
Kitty Pryde Earth-6161111 "Would have been a better suggestion before we started unraveling it," Kitty pointed out, finding a couple ends and comparing them before pulling one loose. "Use the knife for bad guys, not here. Hey, I think this might be it. Little spidery symbol thing."
Peter Parker Spider-Man Earth-16109327 Peter took the cord back to the computer and connected the portal device. "Here goes," he said. The data was loaded into the device. All he had to do was hit the button.
Block List: Earth-001
"... I... I kind of thought there would be more to it.
Alec Hardison Hacker Earth-1278122512 "Okay, so I think I speak for all of us when I say, yay, go team, good job," Hardison said, holding out his hand for fistbumps. "I helped save the world once--hacking reality is hella easier."
One had involved a bomb and weaponized Spanish flu, the other untangling wires. No contest.
"But, y'know, since we're all here anyway and the hard part is over with, why don't we stay a little..." He trailed off, head tilted as he tried to listen, hand falling back to his side. "Do y'all hear something?"
Minako Aino Sailor Venus Earth-719975683 "That was fast," Venus sighed, turning away from watching the wire-fight and looking back where they'd come from. "I couldn't collapse the tunnel all the way without catching us in it too, but I didn't think they'd be able to clear their way through the rubble that quickly. We need to get out of here."
Tony Stark Iron Man Earth-8096 "First rule of villains," Tony said, stepping back into the suit. It reassembled around him, locking into place before he continued. "They always find a way to mess up your plans. Let's move."
Kitty Pryde Earth-6161111 Kitty looked around for another way out, and figured there might not be time to go looking. "I can phase us up to the surface and they can't follow."
Peter Parker Spider-Man Earth-16109327 "Just one order of business first," Peter said, rolling his gloves down to expose his webshooters. He popped a couple web cartridges out and replaced them. "I couldn't do this if we needed to get out that way, but now that we have an alternate exit, thanks Kitty... This formula should keep them from getting in here and doing anything to the machines for a few hours."
With a series of thwips, he webbed up the tunnel.
Minako Aino Sailor Venus Earth-719975683 "Is that going to be long enough for these computers to work their mojo?" V asked as she watched the web grow. "Which, that is totally cool, just so you know."
Peter Parker Spider-Man Earth-16109327 "They're already doing it. Nobody from Earth-001 should be able to get onto the island as long as that setup is running," Peter explained. "We just have to hope that we were faster with this than they were getting here."
Jalian d'Arsennette ken Selvren Huntress Earth-157646637 "And if not?" Jalian asked.
Peter Parker Spider-Man Earth-16109327 "If not, then we're going to have a long day ahead of us," Peter said.
Kitty Pryde Earth-6161111 And once again, Kitty was trying to phase so many people at once that she was probably going to need a nap immediately after this. She held out her arms anyway, saying, "Everybody grab on. It might be a little weird, but it's very important that you don't let go until we're up top."
Because then you would end up solidified in whatever you'd been passing through and you'd die.
Minako Aino Sailor Venus Earth-719975683 "Yes, Miss Pryde," Venus replied cheerily, bouncing over to grab hold of Kitty. "Um, like, just your clothes? Or whole arm? Or whatever? Other people's powers are so cool."
Kitty Pryde Earth-6161111 "Arm's fine," Kitty said. "I can phase people along with me as long as there's contact."
Jalian d'Arsennette ken Selvren Huntress Earth-157646637 Jalian eyed her curiously, but reached to take Kitty's hand. "What will this phasing do?"
Peter Parker Spider-Man Earth-16109327 "It'll take us straight through the ground above us faster than anything else we've got," Peter said, putting a hand on Kitty's shoulder. Platonically. This Kitty was younger than the Kitty from his world was. Weird.
Tony Stark Iron Man Earth-8096 "Don't short me out." A beat. "It'd make Hawkeye jealous."
Alec Hardison Hacker Earth-1278122512 "So, pretty much everyone down here's got powers or some kind of kick-ass supersuit or something?" Hardison asked, reaching for Kitty's other shoulder. "Man, I have got to step up my game."
Kitty Pryde Earth-6161111 "Okay. Please remain seated until the ride has come to a full stop," Kitty said, phasing herself and everyone along with her, and then walked them up through the ceiling until they got safely to the surface.
Tony Stark
Iron Man
Earth-8096
Excuse you, he was Hawkeyes' age.
"Promises, promises," Tony muttered, flirting on autopilot as he examined the port. "You can show me all your toys later."
Alec Hardison
Hacker
Earth-1278122512
And Hardison was still in his mid-twenties!
"Sounds like a good time." Hardison had hunkered down and started trying to untangle the ball of wires. After a few minutes of tugging and cursing, Tony's comment seemed less annoying and more like a necessary warning. "Who the hell lets their wires get like this?" he demanded. "Did these people have no concept of a future where they might wanna use this damn thing ever again? When we finish hacking this reality, I'mma go back in time and smack everybody's dumb ass that thought shoving, like, thirty feet of cable in a one foot drawer was a good idea..."
Peter Parker
Spider-Man
Earth-16109327
While the rest of the team was causing cave-ins or fighting with wires, Peter was checking his phone.
"Hey, Tony, I have the data we need to upload. Can your suit encode and transfer it while we're fighting with wires?" He asked this while glancing in the drawer. And then he noticed something. He reached in past the wires and pulled out a spider-shaped casing. "There's a dongle for the device. THERE'S A DONGLE!" He grabbed the spider-dongle and leaped back to the computer to set the portal device in it. "We need the cord now!"
Minako Aino
Sailor Venus
Earth-719975683
"FYI, I have no idea what you're all talking about, but sounds filthy," V offered from where she was standing sentinel. "Some of us are impressionable high school students, you know."
Tony Stark
Iron Man
Earth-8096
"Some of us are very busy," Tony shot back, going to assist with that damn knot. "JARVIS?"
"Of course, sir. Data uploading," came a dry, British voice from the empty suit.
Sorry not sorry about the casual wireless hacking of your stuff, Peter.
Kitty Pryde
Earth-6161111
Kitty, who went over to try and help with the ball of knot, just so happened to find an end, which she could follow along right there, and...
"Miracle of miracles, I think it's coming loose."
Jalian d'Arsennette
ken Selvren Huntress
Earth-157646637
Jalian pulled out a knife. Because sometimes there was a simpler way to untie a Gordian knot. "How long does it need to be?"
Reply
Peter Parker
Spider-Man
Earth-16109327
"The proper length, so it works!" Peter said, rushing over to pull at another cord to help the ball fall apart. "We've already lost enough time to poor IT maintenance, we don't need to add wire repair to the bill!"
Jalian d'Arsennette
ken Selvren Huntress
Earth-157646637
Jalian gave him a scornful look. "Cut the middle and splice it; it's still faster than trying to unravel the whole thing."
She rolled her eyes at him, then hooked her fingers around one of the main cords and pulled it free.
Kitty Pryde
Earth-6161111
"Would have been a better suggestion before we started unraveling it," Kitty pointed out, finding a couple ends and comparing them before pulling one loose. "Use the knife for bad guys, not here. Hey, I think this might be it. Little spidery symbol thing."
Peter Parker
Spider-Man
Earth-16109327
Peter took the cord back to the computer and connected the portal device. "Here goes," he said. The data was loaded into the device. All he had to do was hit the button.
Block List: Earth-001
"... I... I kind of thought there would be more to it.
Alec Hardison
Hacker
Earth-1278122512
"Okay, so I think I speak for all of us when I say, yay, go team, good job," Hardison said, holding out his hand for fistbumps. "I helped save the world once--hacking reality is hella easier."
One had involved a bomb and weaponized Spanish flu, the other untangling wires. No contest.
"But, y'know, since we're all here anyway and the hard part is over with, why don't we stay a little..." He trailed off, head tilted as he tried to listen, hand falling back to his side. "Do y'all hear something?"
Reply
Minako Aino
Sailor Venus
Earth-719975683
"That was fast," Venus sighed, turning away from watching the wire-fight and looking back where they'd come from. "I couldn't collapse the tunnel all the way without catching us in it too, but I didn't think they'd be able to clear their way through the rubble that quickly. We need to get out of here."
Tony Stark
Iron Man
Earth-8096
"First rule of villains," Tony said, stepping back into the suit. It reassembled around him, locking into place before he continued. "They always find a way to mess up your plans. Let's move."
Kitty Pryde
Earth-6161111
Kitty looked around for another way out, and figured there might not be time to go looking. "I can phase us up to the surface and they can't follow."
Peter Parker
Spider-Man
Earth-16109327
"Just one order of business first," Peter said, rolling his gloves down to expose his webshooters. He popped a couple web cartridges out and replaced them. "I couldn't do this if we needed to get out that way, but now that we have an alternate exit, thanks Kitty... This formula should keep them from getting in here and doing anything to the machines for a few hours."
With a series of thwips, he webbed up the tunnel.
Minako Aino
Sailor Venus
Earth-719975683
"Is that going to be long enough for these computers to work their mojo?" V asked as she watched the web grow. "Which, that is totally cool, just so you know."
Peter Parker
Spider-Man
Earth-16109327
"They're already doing it. Nobody from Earth-001 should be able to get onto the island as long as that setup is running," Peter explained. "We just have to hope that we were faster with this than they were getting here."
Jalian d'Arsennette
ken Selvren Huntress
Earth-157646637
"And if not?" Jalian asked.
Peter Parker
Spider-Man
Earth-16109327
"If not, then we're going to have a long day ahead of us," Peter said.
Reply
Kitty Pryde
Earth-6161111
And once again, Kitty was trying to phase so many people at once that she was probably going to need a nap immediately after this. She held out her arms anyway, saying, "Everybody grab on. It might be a little weird, but it's very important that you don't let go until we're up top."
Because then you would end up solidified in whatever you'd been passing through and you'd die.
Minako Aino
Sailor Venus
Earth-719975683
"Yes, Miss Pryde," Venus replied cheerily, bouncing over to grab hold of Kitty. "Um, like, just your clothes? Or whole arm? Or whatever? Other people's powers are so cool."
Kitty Pryde
Earth-6161111
"Arm's fine," Kitty said. "I can phase people along with me as long as there's contact."
Jalian d'Arsennette
ken Selvren Huntress
Earth-157646637
Jalian eyed her curiously, but reached to take Kitty's hand. "What will this phasing do?"
Peter Parker
Spider-Man
Earth-16109327
"It'll take us straight through the ground above us faster than anything else we've got," Peter said, putting a hand on Kitty's shoulder. Platonically. This Kitty was younger than the Kitty from his world was. Weird.
Tony Stark
Iron Man
Earth-8096
"Don't short me out." A beat. "It'd make Hawkeye jealous."
Alec Hardison
Hacker
Earth-1278122512
"So, pretty much everyone down here's got powers or some kind of kick-ass supersuit or something?" Hardison asked, reaching for Kitty's other shoulder. "Man, I have got to step up my game."
Kitty Pryde
Earth-6161111
"Okay. Please remain seated until the ride has come to a full stop," Kitty said, phasing herself and everyone along with her, and then walked them up through the ceiling until they got safely to the surface.
Suck it, bad guys.
Reply
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