st_abilitylost | Following A Lunch

Connor stared at the swinging doors leading to the diner and through the ocular conjoined windows where glossy red stools and patches of sunlight were visible through. Contemplating a decision mid-execution wasn't something he usually did. Routes were planned in advance and adjusted on the fly based on new information, but he'd run across no one since his first morning at the inn. Instead, he was stuck in a self-defeating loop. All attempts to communicate with Cyberlife or even access the world wide net were unsuccessful each and every time. Even entering stasis resulted in nothing--Amanda wasn't even present in the virtual garden. Connor had opened his eyes to his designated room of pastels from a lifeless, frozen hellscape and felt no better for it. But while he still functioned, he could still investigate on foot. Gather testimonials. Seek other residents for advice.

Really, that was the only thing left.

Finally passing through the threshold, Connor took a quick stock of the diner and deemed it no different from any other--no hidden cameras or bugs. At the sight of the first body--a cook and presumably a human (though he'd learned not to assume)--Connor approached the counter. "Hello."

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"Steel Shield?"

Thor hopes that's not who he thinks it is.

“A business magnate who traveled through time and built an impenetrable suit during a polar shift.” Superhero origin stories were truly ridiculous, but the human imagination knew no bounds.

It was.

"Tony Stark?" he asks, looking to Connor for confirmation.

"Tobias Sharpe." Connor idly rolled the coin to balancing on his alternating fingertips. None of what they spoke of today was bringing Thor any peace, but Connor wasn't programmed to lie unless necessary. "I wouldn't take it personally. The character has had numerous affairs."

Thor has no idea why this matters to him so much, but it does.

"Was she another one of his affairs?"

Thor can't decide what answer would be worse.

"Considering they married in that storyline, yes. Though I believe it ended with Sharpe in a coma as a set up to some greater plot and the marriage terminated." Considering the response he was getting, perhaps this was a bit too on the nose.

Thor's frown deepens. He doesn't say anything, just drains his glass of water and wordlessly fills it up again.

Thor drinks half of it in one go.

"In any case, the Thor you know is different from the Thor I am." He sets the glass down with an audible sound.

"You exist. For one." Connor winked, cinching his coin in his palm.

"I do," Thor confirms, watching Connor's hand. "Do you find it strange that I exist?" Plenty of people had when he first showed up on Earth, but now they simply accepted it.

Before long, his coin was back in the air. "Do you find it strange that I exist?" Connor replied, electing for the vague, coy approach. It was worth seeing how he responded.

"I am very old and I have seen many things," he says. "I'm not altogether surprised by your existence or disturbed by it." Not in the same way he had been disturbed by Tony's AI, in any case -- but that was an entirely different matter altogether.

"I'm several months old, if you will, but I have an aggregate of knowledge as it may pertain to my mission." Connor toyed with the coin between his thumb and forefinger, satisfied with his calibration process. "That being said, it is reassuring to know I'm not in the presence of an antagonistic deity."

"Is pop culture knowledge pertinent to your mission?" Thor asks lightly.

"You won't know you need something until you need it." Connor slipped the coin back into his breast pocket. "Do you have any more questions, Mr. Odinson?"

"What's with the coin?" he asks, directing a finger towards Connor's breast pocket. It's been the biggest mystery of this entire conversation.

"I use it for calibrating my physical and neural coordination." Connor tilted his head. "In all your years, you've never encountered the antigravity muscle pass?"

"It's not exactly something most people would do in public." At least when not prompted to.

"Understandable. But I'm not most people. Or a person, for that matter. But I do accept feedback for my social relations program." Straightening his tie, Connor glanced towards the kitchens--he contemplated offering his assistance with cleaning, but it was more likely he'd get in the way.

"You seem fine to me," Thor says; he wouldn't go so far as to say he'd mistake Connor for a human. Setting aside the device at the side of his head that strangely reminded him too much of the Obedience Discs back on Sakaar, there was something slightly off about him that Thor couldn't quite put his finger on. "Your programmer did a good job."

"I hope I could be of some assistance." Connor blinked attentively, probing Thor's expression with his gaze. In no way was the man at ease despite his friendly demeanor.

"Plenty," he says. "Thanks for the conversation about AI. It was enlightening."

Thor might have been better off not knowing how risky Tony's procedure was, but he was glad to know it. If he could, he wasn't going to allow Tony to do it again.

'Thor is troubled.' Connor remained silent. There was a powerful impulse to say more, to offer more, but it was a nonsensical one. Connor had only met this man and neither of them shared an obligation. Furthermore, there were yet unassessed risks that he could be diving headlong into should he get too involved.

"...It's my understanding we communicate via journal. Mine is available, should you need it."

"Thank you," Thor says, with genuine appreciation. "If there's anything you need, feel free to send me a message." Thor's not entirely sure that there's anything that Connor might need, just as he's not sure there's anything the Tony AI might need (aside, perhaps, from a body).

"If you like, I could try and point you in Liz's direction." Straightening his cuffs, Connor rose from the glossy stool, his pants making another harsh squeak against the tight surface.

"Yes," he says, watching Connor. "Send me a message if you see her."

Following A Lunch

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