Summary:Mari and T'Challa deliver the news about Zemo Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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This is probably going to be one of THOSE meetings. By this point it is not a secret - at least not a secret to those cleared to know - that Baron Zemo escaped with the assistance of a young demigoddess named Jesana. The young woman is not in custody at the moment as WAND has certified that she was compelled to help against her will, though they are keeping an eye on her.
T'Challa of Wakanda, otherwise known to all present as the Black Panther, claims to have some relevant information and as someone like Baron Zemo pulling a disappearing act is rather important SHIELD has cleared a conference room at the Tri for him.
As ever, T'Challa has arrived early to make sure that he can access the display devices properly. With him is Mari McCabe, the heroine otherwise known as Vixen.
As to the rest of it? Well it's a small meeting. High level people only. Or in other words Steve Rogers and whomever Steve Rogers has seen fit to pull into this. T'Challa is expecting an Avenger, though being since retired from that sort of thing he isn't up on the current roster and so doesn't know who it might be.
At the moment he's just in a suit, golden claw like necklace showing between the jacket and shirt. Sipping ice water.
Mari is *not* wearing a itsy bitsy yellow polka dot bikini. And she's most definitely *not* covered in pink Jello - that stuff had taken several showers to get out of her hair and T'Challa would not let her in the hot tub until it was gone.
Instead the dark skinned model is in a tasteful pant suit, one of her own designs of course, and the fox-headed pendant around her neck. She's drinking water and watching T'Challa as he checks the display device. This isn't a meeting she's looking forward to.
Steve is, in fact, bringing along another Avenger. After receiving the call about Zemo rabbiting, he and his fellow Avenger traveled post-haste to the Triskelion.
He's not in his suit, rather an Army-green t-shirt beneath a hastily-snagged windbreaker and jeans with his combat boots, but boy, is he striding down the hall at a brisk pace to be heard. Also heard, his equally brisk thoughts on matters to the man accompanying him: "…to be impossible manage, so how did he do it?" Overtop all of this, a faint well-balanced hum of some technology.
In comes Steve to the meeting room and he immediately orients on T'Challa and Mari. "How did he manage it?" Pausing by the long table centrally in the room, the Captain crosses his arms, his jaw set. There's no blame — there is a good amount of emotional investment, however, unable to be avoided.
Tony's just behind Steve, coming along with a far more relaxed manner, as if he just wandered off of a cruise ship. It gives a stark (ha, ha) difference compared to Steve's urgency. It isn't that Tony Stark doesn't care, it's more that he's rolling with things and staying loose and adaptive.
Tony also has a sandwich, that he's continuing to eat. There a flick of a few fingers in greeting, pleasant. "King T'Challa," Tony says, relaxed but still smoothly charismatic. "And a new face… somewhat new. I feel like I've seen you. Television, maybe? One of my yachts? Well, hello again, anyway," Tony adds, with a flashy smile to Mari. It's one of those Tony Stark smiles that shines out of the television set on any number of events wherein he reacts to beautiful women. The somewhat obnoxious playboy reputation seems warranted, in that moment. It is low pressure, though: he's just not /blind/, and doesn't stare at her.
Behind Tony glides in the humming technology: a small flying drone, just a bit larger than a Volleyball, with fins and self-propulsion. It has a large front eye-socket that causes a chirping noise as it focuses and orients. Tony mostly ignores it while it hovers near one of the other chairs with an animated perkiness. It also beeps at Steve, the same way it has done about every ten minutes or so.
"Tony." T'Challa says, extending a hand and smiling. "Good to see you. It's Prince now, unless you're referring to my divinely bestowed office." In which he is still a king, but of dead people and… er. It's complicated. Bast often makes things complicated.
Though that's neither here nor there. "Decided to do Destiny one better, did you?" He says gesturing to the small floating thing that presumably does not speak in the voice of a well known but rather short actor.
"To answer your question, Steve, he had help. Why don't you take a seat, I'll go over it in brief."
Once everyone is seated, T'Challa pulls up what appears to be a series of still images that include Zemo, a boat anchored on the Hudson and an Native American woman wearing not a whole lot. "The lady is called Jesana and she is… odd. Magical I believe though that's not really my department and only sort of relevant. Somehow, HYDRA found a way to compel her to help get Zemo out and being a rather unusual kind of person she was successful at it. Mari and I happened upon them by chance as they were making the boat." The fact that there was a boat means that this was carefully planned.
Another still comes up, this one of Mari and Jesana wearing even less and wrestling in what looks like a wall of red Jell-O. "We attempted to stop them but it did not go entirely according to plan. Zemo was able to board his ship and escape and Jesana was compelled to cover him until he was safely away. The ONE consolation - other than that picture which I can email to you if you like - is the fact that I managed to get a tracer on the ship as it sailed away, and Mari and I spent much of the last night tracking it."
By the way he says that, the news of where it went is not good ,so it's probably a good thing Steve brought Tony in on this.
"Mari McCabe, Mister Stark." Mari smiles "Also known as Vixen. I've worked with the Avengers a time or two before." She's also the CEO and Owner of McCabe Industries. "You may have seen me leaving Miss Potts office. We've been talking about business opportunities for a while."
Whatever else Mari was going to add dies when that image comes up. The look she shoots T'Challa gets darker when he offers to mail it. "When I asked if there were reporters, I was hoping there wouldn't be photos." There's no embarrassment though.
Seating himself with more composure now that he knows a thorough explanation is forthcoming, the Captain pulls up a chair at the table. He leans his forearms upon it, his entire posture keen as the stills come up on the large monitor mounted to the room's wall.
As the photos progress, one can see Steve's eyes narrow more and more. Granted, his brows quirk at the sight of Jesana, not knowing of her or about her before T'Challa explains.
But boy do his brows jump and attention sliiiides to Mari at the sight of the next still to come up. "Eidetic memory's gonna be sufficient, so no need to email it," he replies to the Panther evenly after Mari gives T'Challa that gimlet look. He does glance briefly over at Tony before asking, "Where'd the ship get traced to?"
There's already a resigned readiness in his expression, as if he had half a guess to start with.
"Oh, did I accidentally promote you? It happens," Tony chuckles to T'Challa. It does happen. King, Prince. Royal stuff. Better to overshoot than under.
"I'll accept the image if /she/ sends it," Tony says, with a gesture of fingers towards Mari, amusement mercurial: but there's a clear message there. If Mari wants the pictures spread around, that's one thing. His appreciation of women in skimpy outfits and jello does include their consent. It does ALSO include a brief sideways smile to Mari, which is pleasant and warm, until he ruins it: there's a flippant wink. Tony can be great, and then terrible, in the same breath. "'Tony', please, Mari." Not Mr. Stark.
Tony then notices he had mayo on his fingers and removes that with a quiet suck sound, attention back onto the serious problem of the missing villain. "Why do I feel like we'll recognized the destination he's decided to rabbit off to…?" Tony asks as follow-up to Steve's question, before finishing his sandwich quiets him from many more snappy comments for the time being. The wrapper from the sandwich is tossed into the trash nearby, basketball style, but there's no fanfare about making the shot. Everybody saw, no doubt.
Tony's drone drifts to Steve, looking at him with that big ocular lens, and then adds, "Beep." Sort of comfortingly?
"Fair enough." T'Challa laughs. "And don't worry about the 'promotion'. I still am. Sort of. A lot has happened since we last seriously talked." Oh boy has it. But, back to the task at hand. He'll just e-mail the picture to Mari, later.
Oh speaking of that… "The suit records things, Mari. You know. Standard archival measures so that missions can be analyzed later." Which is probably true but still.
"Well… location. Yes, you probably will recognize it. The boat went out to see and then there was an altitude change here, about a hundred miles out." There was. It went down by about a mile.
"Mari and I at first thought the ship had sank but then it kept moving so… the boat got… swallowed by a submarine somehow. Or at least that is the only way that data makes sense to me. This is the present location here, rounding the Cape of Good Hope but at its course and speed by the time we manage to do anything about it…" He shakes his head.
"Why don't you show them what you plotted, Mari?"
"Tony then." Mari smiles and chuckles at the wink. The woman is used to that type of thing, after all. "I think you could say that T'Challa had a sideways promotion, Tony. You three should catch up at some time." There's a look to Steve for the gimlet one he gives her. "And you knew he was Black Panther, all this time, didn't you?"
Uh Oh.
"I will get your assessment on that mission later, I'm sure, T'Challa." She answers lightly before moving the stills on to bring up a map.
"I've looked at all the data and overlaid the course the boat was on. The only *logical* destination is …" An old image of an island city comes up. "… Genosha."
That is bad news all round.
The drone gets a long-suffering sideways glance from Steve as if to imply: indeed, drone — beep.
An altitude change brings the Captain back to glowering. He leans back in his chair, resting knuckle against his mouth with a subtle tip of chin. To hear of a large seafaring vehicle has him glancing to Tony again, given it's a surprising twist of technology. His attention shifts to Mari and her comment.
"Can't give away secrets if nobody else knows 'em all," he very blandly replies to her realization that yes, he's known for a long time whose face it was behind the Panther's cowl. Still, when the location is revealed?
His fist held against his chin splays into fingers that swipe back over half of his face, across cheekbone and temple as he then sighs shortly. "Just figures," he says tersely. "Another tie-in along with Klaue."
"Yes, we can catch up over drinks," Tony confirms, as if it were as good as scheduled. In reality, scheduling anything with Tony is a beast of a matter, unless one enjoys being rescheduled eight times. Tony's easiest to get to in sudden meetings where he's not necessarily expected: like this one. When the mood suits. Fortunately he is often in the mood to do superhero work, so that's less of a bear to arrange. He does 'assemble'.
"Some kind of submersible that took in the smaller vehicle? Hmm, okay," Tony says, with a brief nod to Steve. "I'd like to look at the data, I can probably tell you more from that." He settles back in his chair some; he's thinking, though his casual manner sometimes masks that: the gears ARE moving.
"How many tie-ins does this make with Klaue?" Tony asks Steve.
"I'll be happy to send it over." T'Challa nods to Tony. "And you might be able to access hydrophone data that the government is understandably reluctant to turn over to a former foreign monarch like myself." He gets it. Fortunately he has friends like Tony and Steve who can get these kinds of things done.
"Too many for my comfort. We know that both HYDRA and he have been involved somehow in a synthetic plant extract derived from my homeland. What Genosha has to do with it I am not sure but it is an excellent place to hide if one wishes to avoid things such as extradition treaties."
Which is not to say that someone isn't going to need to go over there and clean this up. Someone is. It just makes it more complicated.
"There is one other piece of data that I have - in this case - been asked to share with you."
One more image comes up. It's an aerial photo of some kind showing a coastline, several large buildings and some docks at which are large submarines. Two of the buildings have a prominent skulls-and-snakes icon on the top.
"Wakandan intelligence acquired these. They're from an area near Hammer Bay in Genosha. We haven't been able to get better images but it clearly shows that HYDRA has a major presence in Genosha. Perhaps, Tony, you might have more luck getting something more solid."
The Wakandan Prince glances at Mari and then back. "We do still have that diplomatic appointment the Kingdom wrangled for us. I don't imagine getting you added to it, Tony, would be difficult. And that would let us go there."
Too many roads are leading there now.
Clearly Mari is on that little secret now. Things seem ok between her and T'Challa so it can't have been that bad.
"Three or four at least. Klaue has his sticky fingers, all five of them, on things in the Disaster Zone - we've been slowly dismantling that, which is how we found the found the flower." Mari adds to Steves answer.
"Something that took the boat, or the boat itself. There's a lot we don't know about Genosha and its tech." She's thinking though. That HYDRA has such a presence on the island and Klaue seems to be in … ahem … bed with them is a worry. "There is that little appointment and I think now is the best time for us to take it up. You did make us wrestle a bull for that privilege, T'Challa. When can we go?"
"Enough ties to give me heartburn," quips the super-soldier to Tony with that set to his expression known so well to his fellow Avenger. Steve's well and truly ticked now. He nods towards T'Challa explanation and adds with another glance towards the genius-inventor nearby, "Klaue's got a transport company with ties to Genosha's military. SHIELD squad and I interrupted his supply line through the Disaster Zone back in February."
His attention slides to T'Challa once more. "Best we go sooner'n later at this point, what with Zemo having slipped his cage. Half-expecting our cover to be blown as it stands."
"Well, let me see if I can't procure access on my own: more roads in the better, hm? Fewer doors that might get closed in our faces should something go awry?" Tony grins quickly. "If it's too slow, though, we'll go with your appointment, your highness," Tony suggests. His tone is cheeky but not snide at all. Tony's a sort that does like to approach things from a bunch of different angles, and spreading out their arrival might be useful, in his opinion.
"As for images? Yep. I'm possibly not king of satellite stalking and surveillance images, but prince? Maybe." Tony chuckles softly, drawing out one of his Stark-tech devices that roughly passes for a mobile - in the same way a 7 tier cake passes for a cupcake, and fiddles around with the interface in a flutter of fingers in along the UI of the hovering display on it. He also beckons the little flying bot, which comes over. "Drop your skirt, PAULA," Tony teases the bot, who does release some different cords and leads out the bottom, and he hooks one up to his device. Some secure data transfer, or the like…
"I'll just see if I can be nosy about a few things," Tony says innocently. Transport companies, things to look for? Tony will lend a lot of investigative weight.
"That seems sensible to me." T'Challa nods to Tony once more. "And I do suspect, Steve, that our cover will be blown virtually the moment we get there. The real question is will the Genoshans be willing to risk a diplomatic incident by trying to get rid of us." He suspects no as Genosha while isolationist in the extreme cannot do without SOME international contacts and Wakanda is one of the few they have on anything approaching speaking terms.
But Tony's concerns are valid all the same and in the event that something does go awry having him there on other authority gives them an out to stay in. If that makes sense.
"I agree sooner rather than later but I'd like to allow some time for a little bit of additional research. Anything we can get on those submarines, this HYDRA base or Klaue's transportation company will be invaluable. It will also give time for me to work with Mari and come up with a few more clever wearable tricks."
There's a short pause. "We should possibly talk to Pepper about some of those. And since Tony is here, perhaps just ask her to be involved in this in general?" Pepper knows Steve after all. She must have SOME idea what he does. And of course Pepper knows Tony.
Oh does Pepper know Tony.
"One more thing? That freeze ray that we picked up in Canada. Someone tried to break into a Canadian military base with one yesterday. They got caught by… Captain Canada. And… Angus McFife."
No video of that thankfully. Mari and Steve… already know what he's talking about. And Tony might soon, though he might wish he didn't when it happens.
"I vote you deal with Captain Canada and Lord McFife, Steve. I'm likely to punch Sir Angus in the face if I see those white pants again." Mari chuckles. At least Captain Canada hadn't tried to 'save' her.
"Paula? Why was she beeping at Steve and T'Challa - are you scanning them? Is it for the hottest Avenger of 2020 or something?" Oh Mari. No.
"You do that and I'll work with T'Challa on some accessories for us all."
Steve's broad shoulders shrug in what must be agreemeent about the potential risk verses reward for continuing on their track to visit Genosha.
"I'll get the nice suit out. Maybe even iron it." He smiles to himself. That smile melts off his face to hear of just WHO managed to stop another attempt with one of those dangerous freeze-ray guns. Again, a wipe of his hand across his face before he gives Mari one of those patent Rogersian flat looks.
"I'll deal with the Captain and McFife, sure. I doubt PAULA's doing any scanning in regards to that nature. Reassuring to know that particular program isn't in her registry."
Tony gets a wry glance.
"I originally came to get the data and a look at your freeze ray," Tony admits. "But I know there's always a lot more to a SHIELD visit. I'll end up debugging a helicarrier," Tony snorts. And well paid for consultation if that DOES happen, no doubt.
"PAULA's here to do a lot of repetitive computations, because I don't feel like doing them." Probably no shock there. "If she's got an opinion on the sexiness of either of these guys, she's kept it to herself," Tony smirks, and gives Steve an innocent look in return. It isn't particularly innocent: that isn't one of Tony's convincing looks at /all/. "Anyway, let's get this show on the road," he suggests. "Loose me onto the weapon you've got in custody — assuming it also didn't escape— and I'll multitask on that other Genosha access thing," Tony says, picking off the items as if he were doing grocery shopping.
Not that /Tony/ does grocery shopping. He doesn't tend to even order his own takeout.
"I'll let you get to that and start arranging some diplomatic travel. Hopefully the next time we talk it won't be because a HYDRA bigwig has gotten loose." T'Challa stands. "Shall we Mari?"
That is all he has to offer at the moment. Steve can set Tony loose on the freeze ray. He looks forward to hearing about it later. In the mean time, it's time to get down to work for him.
Well, such as it is for someone with his job description.
Mari stands and offers her hand to Tony and Steve. "It was nice to meet you, Tony. I'm sure we'll be seeing each other again. Please say hello to Pepper for me." The ex-model has some work to do to get them ready as well.
"We shall, T'Challa. Please make sure that image doesn't get out, my board will have a FIT." It's time to go.
Tony gets a squint. By the way Steve inhales, he's set to faux-lecture the genius-inventor on proper uses of technology, but Tony is saved by the Panther and Mari both: one with words, the other with an offer of hand. Rising from his chair, the Captain does gently shake the model's hand with a polite amount of pressure.
"Good to see you as always, Mari. T'Challa, we'll be in the loop," confirms the Captain to the other man. Those expressive blond brows lift as he then tilts his head from Tony and towards the door.
"C'mon, there's a fun new toy in R&D with your name on it."
A beat.
"Well, not with your name on it, it belongs to SHIELD, but you get my gist."