[for Chase and Pepper] The Troll's Speech

[daretodo]

Mary Jane's the one who nominated me for council last May. Seems like a lifetime's passed since then. I remember thinking she was crazy. That there was no way I'd ever possibly win. With great power might come great responsibility, but my powers weren't something I actively sought out. Fate tapped me on the shoulder all those years ago, and I've

Comments

[wildlyconflictd]

Watching from the edge of the crowd, Pepper can't help but feel a sense of deja vu. Peter's speech is like the angry version of the press conference Tony had given upon his return from Afghanistan, but on balance she thinks she likes Tony's better. Tony, to whom she now shoots an irritated look before she takes off in a sprint after Peter, trying to catch him on the other side of the sea of murmuring people.

"Peter!" she calls, wondering if he'll even consider stopping and not knowing what she'll do if he does. Just now, she hasn't decided whether she wants to slap him or hug him.

[daretodo]

I don't have any destination in mind other than not at the stage -- though, really, not on this island is properly more accurate, given the show I just treated everyone to -- but I had no intention of stopping, either, until a voice startles me out of my stride, and I turn to look behind me, even as my feet keep carrying me forward. I can't say Pepper Potts is really the person I want to talk to right now; this is the best I've felt all month, the giddy thrill of getting even a little of my anger off my chest feeling far too good to risk squandering it with misplaced guilt.

Even so, I flash her a breathless grin, holding my arms out to my sides, and say on a laugh, "Didn'tcha hear? Tony's fielding the questions."

[wildlyconflictd]

There have been times in her life when Pepper has felt she was legitimately losing her mind, and they've all had to do with the idea of losing Tony Stark. Back when he'd been in Afghanistan for those three months, there had been days when she'd barely held it together, days when she'd have completely gone off the deep end had it not been for Rhodey. She understands this madness better than Peter probably thinks she does, and the cavalier way he laughs her off breaks her heart as much as it grates.

"Peter," she repeats, refusing to simply let him go. "Stop and talk to me." She thinks that she might have preferred him angry. This is so much more worrying.

[daretodo]

I don't even make so much as the pretense of stopping until we've hit the treeline, and even then, I just change direction, going up instead of forwards. There's relief to be found in something simple as climbing, the sheer physicality of throwing my body around a release in and of itself; with no one watching save Pepper, I don't have to worry about hiding my skill, even as it occurs to me I've never really shown off around her before. Not that anything I can still do here holds a candle to what I was once able to do back home, but the muscle memory hasn't gone anywhere, and I've worked hard this past year to keep my limited abilities sharp, fighting through pain and exhaustion to make sure the next time someone like Osborn rolls into town, I haven't gone soft

[apoorupbringing]

"That was kinda batshit, man," Chase said, falling into step with Peter as he headed so brusquely away from the scene. He'd been standing in the back, so it was easy once Peter had cleared the crowd.

"You got my vote."

[daretodo]

I'm not sure why it surprises me, that I'm being followed. Given the challenge I just issued -- as much to myself as any of the lemmings in the crowd -- it makes sense that someone, anyone, would want to have a word. Somehow, though, I don't expect it to be Chase, even if it makes a certain amount of sense that he'd agree. We've got a few things in common, after all, we established that much after he nearly got us all killed by not checking his math just last week.

"Ooh, my inevitable defeat won't be quite as crushing, then," I say, biting back a snort. I hold no hopes of winning, but then, that wasn't really the point of all that, anyway. I clap my hands together. "Great."

[apoorupbringing]

"I think you're counting out a lot of people who agree with you. Although the cancer stuff and the general air of going off the deep end might scare some people off. Uh, you okay, man?" Chase added, quirking an eyebrow but managing to keep up.

[daretodo]

"The people who agree with me are probably not the voting type," I point out, brows shooting upwards. "And I'm just peachy, thanks."