Mobile - The Raft - Office (January 2018)

[Hollywood Heidi]

Office inside The Raft

An office inside the Raft, usually occupied by Secretary Ross when in residence. The Raft has the ability to float on the water or become completely submerged.

---

Exterior and other interior Raft areas

[Kristi Lynne]

Secretary Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross

- tempplay by Kristi Lynne -

*** Ross, Hope, Peter and Loki (and Rocket and Drax) enter from Mobile - The Raft - Surrounding Airspace and Waters ***

"And here I was hoping for a quiet start to the new year," Ross remarked as he paused to stand behond his desk. He wouldn't sit until everyone was in the room, so he allowed time for the three others to enter and find their places. Well, there were two chairs -- Loki could stand. The two officers then stood at ease on either side of the door, ready and alert. 

"Officer Macklin, I do appreciate your adherence to a treaty that does not exist. The costume shows that you're willing to go above and beyond for this charade," Ross stated. "But the apprehension of Loki and the return of the Quinjet gets you in the door for an audience with me." He finally sat and rested his hands with interlaced fingers on the desk. "So who wants to start?"

[Anduin]

They followed the man and his armed guards to the inside of the secret underwater prison.
Just as before their opponent didn't waste any useless word.
Until they had arrived at his office.
"And here I was hoping for a quiet start to the new year,"
But then he got back serious again without a break.
"Officer Macklin, I do appreciate your adherence to a treaty that does not exist. The costume shows that you're willing to go above and beyond for this charade,"
So much about Peter Quill's plan!
"But the apprehension of Loki and the return of the Quinjet gets you in the door for an audience with me."
The white haired man sat down.
There were just two seats left for the rest of them.
"So who wants to start?"
"If you do not mind," Loki raised his voice to get everybody's attention.
Of course, it was no real question. He didn't care if someone might mind.
"I would be very grateful, sir, if you will offer me a seat, too. I am satisfied with an ordinary one like the others - although I am due to a throne."
This was half played and half true behavior but principally it was just what this man might expect of the God of Mischief.

[Hollywood Heidi]

"Officer Macklin, I do appreciate your adherence to a treaty that does not exist. The costume shows that you're willing to go above and beyond for this charade," "But the apprehension of Loki and the return of the Quinjet gets you in the door for an audience with me."

And of course, even a man who seemed to not possess a fun bone in his body had caught the pop culture reference. Hope did not shoot Peter the 'told you so' look she wanted to as she took her seat since it would contradict the serious, disconnected air of someone already in a forced, sentence-serving position being dragged deeper into something she wanted no part in with people that weren't even part of the team she'd agreed to serve with.

Instead, after the mention of the treaty, she looked at Ross with mild surprise as if conveying a silent, 'I don't have the clearance to know about any space-related treaties' so therefore, she'd have no way of knowing it had been made up.


Hope was about to start on her carefully formed plan of playing the responsible, yet unwilling participant in this whole thing, feigning complete ignorance of Stark and his team being right here on the Raft as well as what had gone down in Norway. She was quite adept at playing a role, having convincingly fooled Darren Cross all that time and the ruse only given up due to the bad timing of him showing up at her father's house when she'd been there, working on their final plans for the heist of the Yellowjacket. Though on the other hand, the timing couldn't have been better because he'd planned to kill her father and the only thing that had stopped him was knowing that she was there.


Their plan for right now could have various outcomes, but most importantly, they wanted the information Tony and his team had already given them to be realized as and treated like the very real threat it was, and that started by making it sound as if the same information was being portrayed by two completely different sources that had no connections.

Having someone on the outside of all of it also helped, which was why Hope was leaning on the truth that she was never really a willing participant in the whole sub-contracting with the Avengers thing. Though she doubted Ross would release her, it was worth a try, if only to strengthen the ruse that the two groups had no connections and to keep up the appearance that she and Tony didn't get along, despite the grudging comradery they'd ended up forming.


"So who wants to start?"

Hope was ready to start up on her carefully constructed role when Loki interrupted. But she used it to her advantage.


"If you do not mind," "I would be very grateful, sir, if you will offer me a seat, too. I am satisfied with an ordinary one like the others - although I am due to a throne."

On an exasperated sigh as if this had consistently been the type of attitude Loki had been giving her since landing in her custody, Hope got to her feet, pulled him over, and unceremoniously shoved him by his shoulder into her vacated chair. "Happy, 'Your Highness?'" she asked rhetorically, immediately ignoring him and putting her attention to Secretary Ross.

"Sir," she began in a respectful tone despite the air of annoyance she was giving off, "my clearance is low as my position is temporary," she reminded, a bit of an extra stress on the last word that said she wished it to remain as such. "From the little I've been told," she began by covering her ass, "the information Officer Macklin and the fugitive wish to share with you seems levels above my clearance. Perhaps you'd rather have Stark take my place? Or Rhodey, since Stark seems to be on another of his benders..." Her air of annoyance kicked up at the last part over her earlier claim of Stark, her point of contact, having been unreachable; something Stark had been ballsy enough to make Ross a victim of as well.

[Kristi Lynne]

Secretary Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross

- tempplay by Kristi Lynne -

"If you do not mind, I would be very grateful, sir, if you will offer me a seat, too. I am satisfied with an ordinary one like the others - although I am due to a throne."

"Happy, 'Your Highness?' Sir, my clearance is low as my position is temporary. From the little I've been told, the information Officer Macklin and the fugitive wish to share with you seems levels above my clearance. Perhaps you'd rather have Stark take my place? Or Rhodey, since Stark seems to be on another of his benders..."

A brief grin appeared under Ross' mustache as Hope saved him the trouble of putting the restrained Loki in his place. She seemed in a hurry to drop off the package and split, but having had contact with the fugitive Steve Rogers (whether willingly or not) meant she had too much importance to leave so quickly.

"Stark is indisposed at the moment. And Rhodey ... well, he had the sense to turn his phone off," Ross grumbled. "So, Officer Macklin, why don't you tell me what was so important that you had to fly all the way here from ... what did you call it? Xandar?"

[Kristi Lynne]

"Stark is indisposed at the moment. And Rhodey ... well, he had the sense to turn his phone off. So, Officer Macklin, why don't you tell me what was so important that you had to fly all the way here from ... what did you call it? Xandar?"

"Yes, sir, Xandar, sir," Peter replied. The man somehow seemed more imposing in person than he did on the jet's video screen. But Peter reminded himself he had faced down plenty of imposing foes and managed to escape unscathed, most of the time. And he was here for a bigger purpose than himself. 

"It's a planet in the Andromeda Galaxy, home to Nova Prime and the Nova Corps," Peter informed Ross, self-consciously smoothing the folds of the 'borrowed' uniform. "Or at least it was. This giant psycho named Thanos destroyed it after he stole an Infinity Stone. We thought it would be safe there. I'm only alive now because my crew and I were already off-world and on the way here with this prisoner."

Peter folded his hands together and leaned forward, mirroring the Secretary's posture. "We think that Thanos is trying to collect all of the Infinity Stones. I know it sounds crazy, sir, but the threat is real," he stated solemnly. "I've had close contact with one of those stones, and so has Loki. They're more powerful than anything you could imagine, and we don't know how many Thanos already has," he explained. "If he has even one stone, and he thinks the others are here on Earth or that Loki could help him find them, there may be nothing we can do to stop him."

[Anduin]

Hope played along and forced him to sit down on one of the chairs.
"Happy, 'Your Highness?'"
The Asgardian didn't say a single word but he darted a sinister glance at her.
Then he continued to stay silent and just listened attentively to the others.

"We think that Thanos is trying to collect all of the Infinity Stones. I know it sounds crazy, sir, but the threat is real,"
Finally Peter aka Officer Macklin came to the point.
"I've had close contact with one of those stones, and so has Loki. They're more powerful than anything you could imagine, and we don't know how many Thanos already has,"
"If he has even one stone, and he thinks the others are here on Earth or that Loki could help him find them, there may be nothing we can do to stop him."
Now Peter had given him the cue for speaking up again.
"Pardon me, but I just want to mention that I am not exactly overanxious to be Thanos' lay figure again."

[Anduin]

"Officer Macklin, I do appreciate your adherence to a treaty that does not exist. The costume shows that you're willing to go above and beyond for this charade,"
The charade was leaked out. Peculiar to Quill!
"Damn it, Starboy - you f@cked it up!"
"But the apprehension of Loki and the return of the Quinjet gets you in the door for an audience with me."
Anyway that dude gave them a second chance.
Now a lot of talk ensues. Rocket just listened with half an ear.
"Fine, so many names and redundant information. Hope they soon finish their blah blah..."

[Hollywood Heidi]

Hope remained unphased by Loki's sinister glare as if it wasn't the first she'd received from him.


"Stark is indisposed at the moment. And Rhodey ... well, he had the sense to turn his phone off," Ross grumbled. "So, Officer Macklin, why don't you tell me what was so important that you had to fly all the way here from ... what did you call it? Xandar?"

Hope's only response was to lift her eyebrows at the first comment in mild surprise to 'learn' that Stark wasn't on a bender, but on some mission; one that she hadn't needed to be called on, but she wasn't always called for every mission, hence the surprise only having been mild.


...If he has even one stone, and he thinks the others are here on Earth or that Loki could help him find them, there may be nothing we can do to stop him."

Hope stood with arms crossed, listening in silence. She uncomfortably shifted her weight from one foot to the other over the Thanos news and though she wasn't hearing it for the first time, her reaction did not need to be feigned.


"Pardon me, but I just want to mention that I am not exactly overanxious to be Thanos' lay figure again."

Hope's eyes flitted to Loki, then to Ross, with an expression that, based on what she'd seen and observed since Loki had been handed into her custody, she believed he meant it. But then the way he worded it and how he'd said it had her head quickly swiveled back to Loki. "'Again'?" she questioned. The pictures and videos from the attack on New York flitted through her mind. Those hadn't been Asgardian soldiers or the old timey weapons of swords and axes Asgardians preferred--or a hammer in the case of one particular Asgardian.  A look of a possible realization overcame her features. "Wait, the attack on New York. You were working for Thanos?"

She hadn't known that part of it, had assumed Loki had run the whole thing. They hadn't exactly had the time to chat about past events with such a huge current concern. Not great news to know the reason Loki knew so much about Thanos was that they'd worked together, but on the other hand, this information could really work in their favor. Not only did it give them a better idea of the kind of attack and army this Thanos guy could put together, it made Loki an invaluable informant... if Ross could be convinced that Loki had turned against Thanos.

[Kristi Lynne]

Secretary Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross

- tempplay by Kristi Lynne -

"...If he has even one stone, and he thinks the others are here on Earth or that Loki could help him find them, there may be nothing we can do to stop him."

"Pardon me, but I just want to mention that I am not exactly overanxious to be Thanos' lay figure again."

"'Again'? Wait, the attack on New York. You were working for Thanos?"

"And I was under the impression that Loki would be rotting away in an Asgardian prison for the crime of orchestrating that attack. But now you say that was all Thanos' idea. Did you strike some sort of plea deal with your god of justice back home, early release on good behavior?" Ross remarked, waving a dismissive hand at the god of mischief who was clearly not in jail. "Don't worry, we've got plenty of spacious cells here for you." 

True, the Raft hadn't had to contain an alien god before, but it was holding up so far in keeping Thor restrained. Ross turned to the computer monitor on his desk, then tapped out a few commands on the keyboard. "Let's say, for the sake of argument, that I believe your little story," Ross mused. "That there's a madman crossing the universe, picking up stones along the way in some intergalactic treasure hunt, making himself more powerful with each one. I've seen some crazy things in my time, but I've never seen anything the United States military couldn't handle. Especially given the cooperation of the fine people of Xandar," he declared, before returning to typing.

"Tell me, Officer Macklin, when you and your crew escaped the destruction of your planet, how did you get separated from them?" Ross asked. "It would be a strange coincidence that we got in some new detainees recently. Picked them up after an unknown craft entered Earth's airspace above Norway. Any of them look familiar to you?" 

He turned the monitor around to face the others, clearly showing surveillance video of several occupied cells. Hope would recognize Stark and Banner, of course, and the other guy would see his compatriots in captivity. As expected, the man looked angry and started to get to his feet.

"Before you do something stupid, son," Ross cautioned, "like threaten a very high-ranking government official, I suggest you tell me why you're really here. Did you bring us Loki out of the kindness of your heart, or as a bargaining chip, thinking we would trade him for your people? Because we don't do deals around here."

[Kristi Lynne]

"Tell me, Officer Macklin, when you and your crew escaped the destruction of your planet, how did you get separated from them? It would be a strange coincidence that we got in some new detainees recently. Picked them up after an unknown craft entered Earth's airspace above Norway. Any of them look familiar to you?"

Of course, the older man had Peter's attention when he used his assumed name, but he then had his full attention when Peter saw what was on the monitor. The images of Gamora, Mantis, and the others were grainy but clearly recognizable. Had it only been days? He felt like he hadn't seen them in weeks. And now they were so close, only a few levels away. His mind raced with the terrible things that could have happened, the things he had warned Gamora about when the group decided to give themselves up. 

"If you hurt any of them, I swear--" Peter growled, starting to rise from the chair to his full height.

"Before you do something stupid, son, like threaten a very high-ranking government official, I suggest you tell me why you're really here. Did you bring us Loki out of the kindness of your heart, or as a bargaining chip, thinking we would trade him for your people? Because we don't do deals around here."

Peter tried to tap down his emotions and looked to Loki and Hope in turn. Ross was partly right, and maybe admitting that would work in their favor. "It's true, you're right, I thought I could use Loki to get back my people," he confided. "But everything else I told you is real. About Thanos, about the stones. With all due respect, sir, you're gonna' need the help of everyone in those cells to fight him. You have to believe me!"

[Anduin]

"'Again'?" "Wait, the attack on New York. You were working for Thanos?"
The Asgardian looked at Hope. He didn't say a word but his lips formed unspoken ones: 'I will tell you later.'
Even if he had wanted to try to tell her the true story he wouldn't get the chance to do so now. Secretary Ross took the floor again.
"And I was under the impression that Loki would be rotting away in an Asgardian prison for the crime of orchestrating that attack. But now you say that was all Thanos' idea. Did you strike some sort of plea deal with your god of justice back home, early release on good behavior?" "Don't worry, we've got plenty of spacious cells here for you."
Now he turned back to him. He gave him a dutiful smile while he answered. "Thank you for your kind offer, Mr. Ross, but I would like to decline it."
For some seconds he thought about saying something like 'You already got my brother in one of your cells' but he kept it to himself. It was better not to mention the prisoners because their opponent might put two and two together and surmise their true intention to free the others.

"Let's say, for the sake of argument, that I believe your little story that there's a madman crossing the universe, picking up stones along the way in some intergalactic treasure hunt, making himself more powerful with each one. I've seen some crazy things in my time, but I've never seen anything the United States military couldn't handle. Especially given the cooperation of the fine people of Xandar,"
Loki had to roll his eyes. It hadn't been their military who had stopped his army - it had been the Avengers at last.

"Tell me, Officer Macklin, when you and your crew escaped the destruction of your planet, how did you get separated from them?" "It would be a strange coincidence that we got in some new detainees recently. Picked them up after an unknown craft entered Earth's airspace above Norway. Any of them look familiar to you?"
The Asgardian tried his best to not show any sign on his face when Ross mentioned Norway. Luckily he had saved his people from being also caught by this government. Dealing with so many foreign people from space would probably be a bit too much for them for now. 
But again he wouldn't even have a chance to speak up even if he had wanted to because this time it was Peter who got all their attention.
"If you hurt any of them, I swear--"

"Before you do something stupid, son, like threaten a very high-ranking government official, I suggest you tell me why you're really here. Did you bring us Loki out of the kindness of your heart, or as a bargaining chip, thinking we would trade him for your people? Because we don't do deals around here."

"It's true, you're right, I thought I could use Loki to get back my people," "But everything else I told you is real. About Thanos, about the stones. With all due respect, sir, you're gonna' need the help of everyone in those cells to fight him. You have to believe me!"

Finally they gave him a chance to interact.
"And now it is time for me to tell you all something," he started to raise his voice with a tone of importance. He glanced at Peter for a second. "Oh, and thank you for giving me the cue for the chance to put some things together for you, Officer Macklin."
Before he turned to Secretary Ross again he first gave Hope an intense look that seemed to say 'It's true, I'm not lying'.
Then he cleared his throat and started to explain some details: "Thanos saved me from dying and offered me a chance to be a rouler by giving me an army. He also told me where I could find the scepter with the mind stone. And you all know how this story ended... Yes, I ended up home in prison."
Loki sighed.
"And like you already noticed - currently I am not in an Asgardian prison. This is because Asgard was destroyed by an old evil and my brother freed me to help him rescue our people. But after we had left our broken homeland we were attacked by Thanos. Thor did something - well, like most of the times - stupid and we got seperated from each other. And the mad Titan killed", he stopped for a moment. Not only because he suddenly had to remember those terrible moments but also because it would be the best if Secretary Ross might thought no one of their people would have survived Thanos' attack. So he gulped as if he would have a lump in his throat before he continued to speak. "He killed us. I am only alive because I feigned my own death." 
Loki made a short pause again. He was sure that their opponent would believe this story. After all he was the God of Mischief and a sorcerer so he really knew some magical tricks to fool others! And overall his story was the truth. He just didn't mention everything.
"Well, in the end I had decided to flee to Earth but then this nice guys found me." While he finished he took a look at Hope and Peter because his hands were in cuffs so he wasn't able to point a finger at them.

[Anduin]

Although he had thought that their talking was annoying a moment ago Rocket now listened carefully. Suddenly there were so many background information that might become important.
And the dude the others were talking to seemd to start believing them.
But the way he had said "Because we don't do deals around here." made it very clear that in the end they will have to free the others without this guy's permission.
Good, that also meant Rocket could use some of his weapons and gets some action instead of that blah blah!
But for the moment he and Drax were forced to just listen and wait until Hope would unshrink them...

[Hollywood Heidi]

"...Any of them look familiar to you?"

Hope leaned closer to take a look, continuing to play the part of disassociated party by raising her eyebrows in surprise at seeing the Tony Stark in a cell and was about to question it when Peter spoke up first.


"If you hurt any of them, I swear--"

Hope inwardly groaned at how quickly Peter lost his cool, basically giving Ross an affirmative to his assumption that 'Officer Macklin', at least, was there for his people. Peter looked to Loki, then to her. She hadn't broken stride, remaining cross-armed with a stony expression as her eyes flicked from watching Ross to meeting Peter's eyes, hoping that her calm and collected demeanor would help him to calm and collect himself.


"It's true, you're right, I thought I could use Loki to get back my people," "But everything else I told you is real. About Thanos, about the stones. With all due respect, sir, you're gonna' need the help of everyone in those cells to fight him. You have to believe me!"

Good start, fessing up to his people, then doubling down on the Thanos threat and the fact that they needed everyone for this fight. But then he had to go and add that last line. Using that kind of phrase, the way he easily lost his cool... there was a lot of that hurt little kid still in him and every time he let that part of him take the controls, they were going to lose ground.


"And now it is time for me to tell you all something,"

'Shit. Zero tactical sense,' she thought dryly of her team, preparing herself to jump into action with Plan B when the man who let his ego control his good sense, as evidenced by the 'look at me!' type of line he chose to start with, took a turn next in his usual self-important tone.


"Oh, and thank you for giving me the cue for the chance to put some things together for you, Officer Macklin."

And now Loki looked to her. Again, she stood her ground, unwavering in her demeanor.


"Thanos saved me from dying and offered me a chance to be a rouler by giving me an army. He also told me where I could find the scepter with the mind stone. And you all know how this story ended... Yes, I ended up home in prison."

"And like you already noticed - currently I am not in an Asgardian prison. This is because Asgard was destroyed by an old evil and my brother freed me to help him rescue our people. But after we had left our broken homeland we were attacked by Thanos. Thor did something - well, like most of the times - stupid and we got seperated from each other. And the mad Titan killed", "He killed us. I am only alive because I feigned my own death."

Thankfully, the rest was spoken in a more serious manner with small splashes of Loki's usual demeanor here and there. Hope shifted uncomfortably, looking at Ross with a slight, 'I don't like any of this' to her expression. She started moving toward Ross' desk for a better look at the monitor.


"Well, in the end I had decided to flee to Earth but then this nice guys found me."

"Not that it's any of my place to say," not that she wanted to be involved, is what her tone also added, "and other intentions aside," her eyes flitted toward Peter over the potential 'prisoner trade' play, "this whole Thanos thing sounds legit." Placing her hands on his desk, she leaned down for a better look, starting to reach to the monitor but paused to look at Ross with a "May I?" gesture toward the screen. With his confirmation, Hope tapped the grainy image to zoom closer, panning from one end to the other for a look at each prisoner, finally ending on Tony. "God, that's satisfying. I'd love a screenshot," she said as a distracted aside. Hope waved that away, zooming out a little so that both Tony and Bruce could be seen before she glanced questioningly at Ross. "Sir, I get why unsanctioned guests are there, kind of get why Thor's there--he wasn't on Earth when the Accords were signed, if I remember correctly?--but why are Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner here?" she asked with her hand toward the image on the screen.

[Kristi Lynne]

Secretary Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross

- tempplay by Kristi Lynne -

"It's true, you're right, I thought I could use Loki to get back my people, but everything else I told you is real. About Thanos, about the stones. With all due respect, sir, you're gonna' need the help of everyone in those cells to fight him. You have to believe me!"

"And like you already noticed - currently I am not in an Asgardian prison. This is because Asgard was destroyed by an old evil and my brother freed me to help him rescue our people. But after we had left our broken homeland we were attacked by Thanos. Thor did something - well, like most of the times - stupid and we got separated from each other. And the mad Titan killed... He killed us. I am only alive because I feigned my own death. Well, in the end I had decided to flee to Earth but then these nice guys found me."

"Not that it's any of my place to say, and other intentions aside, this whole Thanos thing sounds legit. ... Sir, I get why unsanctioned guests are there, kind of get why Thor's there--he wasn't on Earth when the Accords were signed, if I remember correctly?--but why are Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner here?"

“Because, Miss Van Dyne, they aided and abetted an alien incursion," Ross stated plainly. "And even without the guidelines of the Sokovian Accords, I’ve the right and the responsibility to detain Stark and Banner indefinitely for the countless lives they’ve endangered over the years, including myself and my daughter.” Maybe he was stretching the statute of limitations on the men's previous transgressions, but it certainly made Ross feel better to know they were in one place and not free to roam.

Speaking of freedom, Hope's had been negotiated after the unauthorized use of PymTech at the Berlin airport, putting her reluctantly in SHIELD's service. Upon which there were some pretty strict terms. "And since you're the only other person on the payroll who's had contact with the fugitive Steve Rogers, how should I assume that you're not working with him? That he would just use you as what -- a courier?" Ross asked. "The captain does a lot of foolhardy things, but he's not one to put innocents in danger. Maybe he gave you a cheat sheet on how to orchestrate another jailbreak from this facility."

[DarkSideCookie]

(tempplay by DarkSideCookie)


On Drax's features, the change of conversation unfolding up at the place not shrunken seemed to reflect. Not so much as internalization but rather sequences of attention. While, in the beginning, there had been nothing but a lack of understanding on them, in the second part, the moment when Peter fucked up, a bit of realization had appeared there. Not particularly for the whole thread but, at least, the fact that things wouldn't go according to plan thanks to their impulsive friend. It was the last half of the conversation, however, that actually brought tension to even Drax's face.

At some point, he turned his eyes towards Rocket, watching him in silence. His furry friend seemed rather happy about said change. So was this good now after all? After some more moments of remaining silent, Drax let out a quiet sigh of annoyance. "I am getting tired of waiting."

[Hollywood Heidi]

“Because, Miss Van Dyne, they aided and abetted an alien incursion," "And even without the guidelines of the Sokovian Accords, I’ve the right and the responsibility to detain Stark and Banner indefinitely for the countless lives they’ve endangered over the years, including myself and my daughter.”

The latter was obviously personal and inadmissible, but he had them on the former, so she did not waste time continuing that line of topic. She wanted to get to the real issue so she could start getting a feel for how this was going to play out and that all hinged on how seriously Team Tony's warnings had been taken and how quickly they were putting something into effect, if at all.


"And since you're the only other person on the payroll who's had contact with the fugitive Steve Rogers, how should I assume that you're not working with him? That he would just use you as what -- a courier?" "The captain does a lot of foolhardy things, but he's not one to put innocents in danger. Maybe he gave you a cheat sheet on how to orchestrate another jailbreak from this facility."

"Sir," she began, finding the lack of a vacant guest chair a perfectly reasonable excuse to push aside the monitor in order to perch on the corner of the desk, "you don't know me well, so I won't take offense." Hope casually crossed her arms. "I don't let people use me. And it generally takes me more than--what, fifteen minutes?--" she momentarily glanced toward Peter as she guesstimated the length of time Steve had stuck around with a flippant wave of a hand, "of knowing a person before I decide to work with them. Rogers knew the quinjet he arrived in was flagged, so he didn't stick around." It was a reminder of what she'd claimed earlier as well as a reminder that she hadn't become part of the Avengers until after Steve had already been in hiding.

"As for any tips Rogers may have for pulling off a jailbreak in this fortress," her eyes momentarily glanced around, "I'm sure they are outdated." In other words, security had been doubled (at the very least) and any loopholes Steve may have used had been securely sealed. "All he gave me was this." Hope pulled the locator device Steve had stolen from 'The Treehouse' from a pocket and placed it on the desk near Ross. "I couldn't reach my point of contact," she tilted her head toward the back of the monitor as to the reason why, "and we had a serious time constraint, so I used a judgment call."

Speaking of time restraint, Hope wasted no time changing the subject to what she deemed most important. She'd also been changing her air of wanting to leave and be left out to becoming concerned and invested, and Ross had nobody to blame but himself for not allowing her to leave in the first place. So far, she felt things were playing out in her favor. "Sir, none of the information they shared seemed to be news to you," she said, gesturing to her travel companions. "I take it Macklin's travel companions already filled you in? And Stark and Banner, they must believe this is a real threat in order to have aided and abetted them." Hope shifted uncomfortably, her concern growing as she verbally came to conclusions. "I need to know, Sir--as a concerned citizen and as a person contracted to be called to duty in these types of situations--what steps are being taken? Are you even taking any of it seriously?" she inquired, eyebrows drawn together questioningly as she studied him as if silently pointing out how calm and laid-back he'd been this entire time when he'd seemed to already be aware of a very grave threat.

[Kristi Lynne]

Secretary Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross

- tempplay by Kristi Lynne -

"Sir, you don't know me well, so I won't take offense. I don't let people use me. And it generally takes me more than--what, fifteen minutes? -- of knowing a person before I decide to work with them. Rogers knew the quinjet he arrived in was flagged, so he didn't stick around. As for any tips Rogers may have for pulling off a jailbreak in this fortress, I'm sure they are outdated. All he gave me was this. I couldn't reach my point of contact, and we had a serious time constraint, so I used a judgment call.

"Sir, none of the information they shared seemed to be news to you, I take it Macklin's travel companions already filled you in? And Stark and Banner, they must believe this is a real threat in order to have aided and abetted them. I need to know, Sir--as a concerned citizen and as a person contracted to be called to duty in these types of situations--what steps are being taken? Are you even taking any of it seriously?"

“Miss Van Dyne, you don’t know me well," Ross cautioned, turning her own words around, "so I’d advise you not to mistake my calm demeanor for a lack of concern. In my line of work, I don't have the luxury of being overly emotional. But let’s just say Loki’s little escapade a few years back made us … recalibrate our method of threat assessment. The bad guys are no longer in different hemispheres now, they’re in different galaxies.

“I have two scientists on this boat, supposedly the best that SHIELD has to offer, who aren’t given to flights of fancy," he continued to explain. "They tell me there’s an ancient rock that acts like a door to another planet and I need to make sure a powerful alien named Thanos doesn’t get his hands on it. During questioning, the green gal told us that her father Thanos, the kind of guy that would torture and mutilate a little girl, needed the information in her head to get what he wants. And now here you all are, to warn me about the imminent threat of Thanos searching the universe for a bunch of stones. A search that is likely to lead him to Earth.

“Two events is a coincidence, three is a pattern," Ross stated. "And much as it pains me to say it, Stark isn’t stupid. He wouldn’t break the Sokovia Accords and sic the authorities on his friends if he didn’t have good reason to. Several hours ago, he had a private conversation with this…Gamora, the point of which he has not seen fit to tell me. As his point of contact, maybe he’ll tell you. Or maybe she will tell him,” he proposed, looking past her to the uniformed Xandar officer.

[Kristi Lynne]

“Two events is a coincidence, three is a pattern. And much as it pains me to say it, Stark isn’t stupid. He wouldn’t break the Sokovia Accords and sic the authorities on his friends if he didn’t have good reason to. Several hours ago, he had a private conversation with this…Gamora, the point of which he has not seen fit to tell me. As his point of contact, maybe he’ll tell you. Or maybe she will tell him.”

Peter stayed motionless but attentive as the Secretary spoke. His tone still wasn't exactly friendly, but at least he wasn't dismissing their words about Thanos out of hand. Perhaps he could be persuaded to release their people without a shot being fired. Rocket would be pretty disappointed, though.

A lingering silence and the Secretary's stern gaze upon him brought Peter's attention back to the present. "Oh, Gamora would totally tell me," he asserted, now curious himself as to what secret she was keeping. "She always talks to me. I mean, usually. Unless I did something to piss her off, or she's brooding about some dark part of her past where she was a cold-blooded assassin working for her dad, or y'know, Drax ate all the Zarg nuts and didn't tell anyone we were out."

The confused looks on the others' faces told Peter he'd strayed from the topic and needed to get back on track. "Sir, I mean, yes, sir, Gamora will talk to me," he declared, hopeful that was their ticket out of this office and down to the holding cells.

[Anduin]

Secretary Ross was one of this individuals who had to keep an eye on nearly everything. And he obviously was clever at that.
Quite different from Peter Quill.
"She always talks to me. I mean, usually. Unless I did something to piss her off, or she's brooding about some dark part of her past where she was a cold-blooded assassin working for her dad, or y'know, Drax ate all the Zarg nuts and didn't tell anyone we were out."
Fortunately he noticed his useless behavior.
"Sir, I mean, yes, sir, Gamora will talk to me,"

The Asgardian coughed slightly to get everyone's attention.
"I totally agree with the conclusion you have worked out together. Since the beginning of time until today most wars might have been prevented if people had talked and listen to each other instead of start fighting."
He made a pause heavy with meaning and fixed his gaze directly on Secretary Ross.
"So, first of all, I would appreciate if we all can leave my little escapades behind."
Then he started to look around him.
"In the second place I bid you to believe that I am talking just the truth. I am NOT your enemy! We all stand on the same sight. And this leads to third: Could someone of you - please - be kind and free me from this handcuffs?"
He punctuated his words with a polite smile.

[Hollywood Heidi]

... As his point of contact, maybe he’ll tell you. Or maybe she will tell him,”

"Sure, I'll talk to Stark," she said casually, with a cool, calm shrug. Then Peter spoke right on the tail of her words in a complete opposite manner.


"Oh, Gamora would totally tell me," "She always talks to me. I mean, usually. Unless I did something to piss her off, or she's brooding about some dark part of her past where she was a cold-blooded assassin working for her dad, or y'know, Drax ate all the Zarg nuts and didn't tell anyone we were out."

Hope, as well as the others, looked to Peter, Hope's expression portraying a pointed, 'Dial it back, Quill' mixed in with the 'Huh?'.


"Sir, I mean, yes, sir, Gamora will talk to me,"


"I totally agree with the conclusion you have worked out together. Since the beginning of time until today most wars might have been prevented if people had talked and listen to each other instead of start fighting." "So, first of all, I would appreciate if we all can leave my little escapades behind." "In the second place I bid you to believe that I am talking just the truth. I am NOT your enemy! We all stand on the same sight. And this leads to third: Could someone of you - please - be kind and free me from this handcuffs?"

"Agreed on the whole communication thing," was all she said with her sight set to Loki, before shifting her attention to Ross again. "And, at least for the time being, perhaps it's wise to embrace the 'Enemy of my enemy' philosophy. As for the last..." she eyed Loki, then looked back at Ross, still playing the impartial and cooperative role. "Maybe we should talk to Thor, corroborate his story regarding Asgard?" she gestured to Loki. "Get Thor's take on if Loki can be trusted without the magical mischief blocking cuffs?" she suggested.

Hope avoided looking at Loki, knowing he wouldn't like her suggestion, but she was trying to play it smart. If Loki had been telling the truth, then Thor would agree that Loki could be trusted.

[Anduin]

"I am getting tired of waiting."
Rocket sighed. "I feel exactly the same."
How ever did he agree to be the one waiting in the background?!
"And you know what, bud? I'm sure they had made us only listen instead of talking to them on purpose. Quill knows that I'd give it to him straight while he's messing this shit up!"

Anyhow finally the others seemed to manage to stir the pot.
Thor's brother (Rocket had forgotten his name but he remembered that it sounded a bit like low-key.) butted in again and Hope (That instead was a name easy to keep in mind.) made use of it and mentioned one of their imprisoned friends.
"Maybe this operation moves into gear now," he turned to Drax again.
But still they had to wait until they were able to interact, too.
Or if they ever had to...
Suddenly he heard his own tummy rumbles.
"Um, you didn't have anything to nibble, do you?" Rocket felt really tired of doing nothing at all. And he also got a bit hungry.

[Kristi Lynne]

Secretary Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross

- tempplay by Kristi Lynne -

"She always talks to me. I mean, usually. Unless I did something to piss her off. ... Sir, I mean, yes, sir, Gamora will talk to me."

"...I bid you to believe that I am talking just the truth. I am NOT your enemy! We all stand on the same sight. And this leads to third: Could someone of you - please - be kind and free me from this handcuffs?"

"Agreed on the whole communication thing. And, at least for the time being, perhaps it's wise to embrace the 'Enemy of my enemy' philosophy. As for the last... Maybe we should talk to Thor, corroborate his story regarding Asgard? Get Thor's take on if Loki can be trusted without the magical mischief blocking cuffs?"

“I may be an optimist, Mr. Laufeyson, but I’m not a fool," Ross stated, addressing the Norse god directly. "And seeing as I'm responsible for the safety of all the souls on this boat, employees and inmates alike, those cuffs will stay on until I say otherwise.”

He exhaled and sank back into the chair, his hands clasping the arm rests. "You've put me in a difficult position, both of you," he advised, looking between Hope and Macklin. "Entrusting the safety of Earth to a man who already endangered it." His weary gaze tilted toward Loki. "But politics makes strange bedfellows. I guess you could say the same of interplanetary security. It seems to be in everyone's best interest for me to arrange a...strategic reunion between Officer Macklin and his crew," Ross relented, hoping that he would not regret his decision. "But if I get even the slightest sense that our interests are no longer aligned, or that we fail to have full transparency, all of you will be enjoying an indefinite stay. Are we clear?"

[Kristi Lynne]

"It seems to be in everyone's best interest for me to arrange a...strategic reunion between Officer Macklin and his crew. But if I get even the slightest sense that our interests are no longer aligned, or that we fail to have full transparency, all of you will be enjoying an indefinite stay. Are we clear?"

"Clear, sir," Peter agreed with enthusiasm. He was so close to seeing his friends again, to seeing Gamora again and holding her in his arms. "And as far as that whole 'full transparency' thing, I should let you know that my real name is Peter Quill. Also known as 'Star-Lord, Legendary Outlaw.' I'm actually from Missouri; my mom was human, and my dad... well, he was a planet, sort of. It's complicated. And I'm not in the Nova Corps, but I did get a commendation from Nova Prime the first time that my friends and I saved the universe from this guy named Ronan. Saving the universe is kinda' what we do," Peter proclaimed. "Very excited to work with you on that."

Quill's enthusiastic smile faltered as he took in his companion's shocked expressions. "What? He was gonna' find out, anyway," he protested.

[Anduin]

"I may be an optimist, Mr. Laufeyson, but I’m not a fool,"
"And seeing as I'm responsible for the safety of all the souls on this boat, employees and inmates alike, those cuffs will stay on until I say otherwise."
The God of Mischief nodded, a friendly smile on his lips. "I sort of expected it, Sir. But it was worth a try."

"You've put me in a difficult position, both of you," "Entrusting the safety of Earth to a man who already endangered it."
Loki answered his gaze with just another smile. This time a factitious one.
"But politics makes strange bedfellows. I guess you could say the same of interplanetary security. It seems to be in everyone's best interest for me to arrange a...strategic reunion between Officer Macklin and his crew,"

"But if I get even the slightest sense that our interests are no longer aligned, or that we fail to have full transparency, all of you will be enjoying an indefinite stay. Are we clear?"
Finally it seemed like they had achieved their aim or at least got a bit closer to it.
Of course, the Asgardian kept his mouth closed again. It wa ssurely the best if he allowed Hope to speak up to Secretary Ross.
Well, at least that was how it should have been dealt with.
But not if you asked Peter Qill!
"Clear, sir,"
"And as far as that whole 'full transparency' thing, I should let you know that my real name is Peter Quill. Also known as 'Star-Lord, Legendary Outlaw.' I'm actually from Missouri; my mom was human, and my dad... well, he was a planet, sort of. It's complicated. And I'm not in the Nova Corps, but I did get a commendation from Nova Prime the first time that my friends and I saved the universe from this guy named Ronan. Saving the universe is kinda' what we do,"
"Very excited to work with you on that."
After all he noticed his and Hope's stunned looks.
"What? He was gonna' find out, anyway,"
If his hands wouldn't have been in cuffs Loki would throw his hands up in despair.
Quill told Ross the truth about his charade the very moment they had earned Ross' trust (at least a little bit).
And besides he even told him his life story without being asked for it.

[DarkSideCookie]

(tempplay by DarkSideCookie)


"I feel exactly the same.""And you know what, bud? I'm sure they had made us only listen instead of talking to them on purpose. Quill knows that I'd give it to him straight while he's messing this shit up!"

Drax gave no more than a slight nod to that. Oh yes, he knew his furry friend well, and so his moodiness. They absolutely had done it on purpose because of Rocket.

"Maybe this operation moves into gear now,"

Drax looked up at that again, yet without saying anything. A single sigh gives away that said movement was still going too slow for his taste. A slight smirk appeared around his lips at Rocket's tummy noises.

"Um, you didn't have anything to nibble, do you?"

"No," Drax shrugged, then looked like he was pondering about something. "But if I had... would the shrunken size of it satisfied our hunger? And what if someone who isn't shrunken would eat it? I wish it could be the other way round. That we had unshrunken food with us," he added explaining, like this was some kind of philosophical conversation. Too deep into these thoughts, Drax didn't even hear Peter giving away more unasked information, this time about himself personally.

[Hollywood Heidi]

..."What? He was gonna' find out, anyway,"

Hope had been staring incredulously as she tried to follow the crazy truth bomb that had just exploded out of Peter's mouth, half of which she might have thought was made up, if he hadn't said it with such openness and ease. It wasn't just the information that struck her, but how forthcoming he was in giving it. It took the faltering of his enthusiastic smile as he glanced toward her and the others to realize her poker face had slipped. But that was okay. It played into her whole outsider, 'I don't know these people' part.

Still slightly speechless, she glanced over at Ross to get his read and while his expression still remained mostly stony, she could see a bit of incredulity had crept in for him as well.

Hope glanced at Peter again, finally breaking the silence. "Well, okay. That was... a lot of full transparency." She had so many questions, but now was not the time. She pulled her eyes away from Peter to look at Ross, the difficulty in shaking the whole Dad-Planet thing her brain was trying to process giving her another speechless moment before she regained her senses. "Uh, as I was saying, I could talk to Stark, see what he knows and report back? Unless you'd like to sit in," she offered, perfectly calm, casual, and cooperative in how Ross preferred to play it because Hope was perfectly confident in her capabilities. Whichever way this went, indefinite stay would not be the outcome.

[Anduin]

"No. But if I had... would the shrunken size of it satisfied our hunger? And what if someone who isn't shrunken would eat it? I wish it could be the other way round. That we had unshrunken food with us,"
Rocket sighed.
"Bud, keep your mouth shut! That doesn't help anyone," he answered grumpy.

So they had no option but to keep on listen.
And unlike Drax Rocket did listen.
And if he would have had food in his mouth he surely had spitted it out now.
"Quill, you silly bastard! What are you doing?"
He couldn't believe that Peter suddenly switched from his alias to his true self - his real true self who told everything to everyone when he thought it would made him be sitting pretty.
Rocket shook his head and sighed again. "Well, I don't know this Ross-guy but if I were him I would put Qill into prison..."

[Kristi Lynne]

Secretary Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross

- tempplay by Kristi Lynne -

..."What? He was gonna' find out, anyway,"

"Well, okay. That was... a lot of full transparency. Uh, as I was saying, I could talk to Stark, see what he knows and report back? Unless you'd like to sit in."

For a tense moment, Ross' dubious gaze wandered from the so-called Officer Macklin to Hope and then back again. "Maybe a little less transparency from you, Mister...Quill, did you say?" he suggested. This torrent of truth probably should have made him reconsider, but Ross' mind once made up was not easily changed. "I think it's time both of us had a conversation with Stark," he said to Hope, rising from his chair.

" 'Star-Lord'? Really?" Ross repeated, only loud enough for Hope to hear as he walked past her. Unless she was a good actress, she clearly shared his concerns about this man. Maybe he'd taken a serious blow to the head recently, or had been subject to one of Loki's tricks. Worst case scenario, Dr. Simmons would have a fun new subject for her studies.

"The elevators that lead to the cells are just down this hallway," he informed them, as the soldier broke his stance and opened the office door for them. "Ladies first, Miss Van Dyne."

[Kristi Lynne]

"Maybe a little less transparency from you, Mister...Quill, did you say? I think it's time both of us had a conversation with Stark."

"Yes, sir, of course," Peter dutifully agreed. Before he had a chance to regret his confession, Ross still seemed willing to reunite him with his friends. Plan A seemed to be going about as well as could be expected. Though he was sure Rocket and Drax were getting impatient to enact Plan B.

"The elevators that lead to the cells are just down this hallway. Ladies first, Miss Van Dyne."

Peter jumped up from his chair and taking a hold of Loki's arm, helped the trickster to his feet. Both of them then awaited their turn to exit the office.