[ So it turns out that Tony? Not a huge fan of boats. Which is something he hadn't even known about, but apparently this trip is all about new things. He's not going to freak out or anything, but apparently after you've gotten nearly drowned a couple of times, you get a little suspicious about large bodies of water.

Especially when there are strange shapes he can see not-quite breaking the water around them every so often. They don't make a ton of noise, and if Tony hadn't already been eyeing the passing water like that alone might jump up and bite him, he might not have noticed.

It's a bit harder to mistake, though, when leaning over a little too far prompts a sudden explosion from out of the water, in the form of something massive and scaly with entirely too many teeth. And Tony promptly jerks backwards and nearly falls right over onto the deck, because he still has some healthy self-preservation instincts. ]

Jesus.

[ He's got one hand up with metal flowing down it to form a gauntlet even before the word has finished, but whatever just tried to take a nibble has already vanished again. So that's fun. ]

Please tell me someone else saw that.

[ Of course, actually getting there isn't much better. Tony's already exhausted from the trip, a little bit edgy and very low on patience. So walking into something that's less power and more actual plant is not exactly encouraging. He knew it was probably going to be on the run-down side, but still.

With a sigh, Tony walks in a bit more and twists to get a better look around. If they manage to clear out most of the vines, he can at least get a sense of what parts need to be replaced to get the place working again, so that's somewhere to start. He reaches up to tug on once experimentally, only to freeze when he catches something sparking out of the corners of his eyes. Staying right where he is might be a good idea right this moment.]

So hey. Anyone want to tell me if there's any pools of water on the floor?

[ Tony wouldn't consider himself a paranoid person. Worried about things that might happen, yes, but generally with very good reason. He anticipates, he expects, but he's never been the type to jump at shadows.

Until now, apparently. Because there are things flickering at the edges of his vision, the feeling of someone right behind him even though he knows for a fact no one is there. He even pulls out the helmet at one point, just to check for lifesigns, and feels a little ridiculous when it pretty definitively shows nothing there. It's making him antsy and a little snappish, more sharply sarcastic with anyone who crosses his path than he probably should be. He'll apologize later.

It's not until he swears he feels a hand come down right over the arc reactor on his chest that he starts back, staring with wild eyes at the nothing around him. ]

Okay, you've made your point. Very funny.

[ Because someone just has to be fucking with him. Right? ]

[ But as the days wear on, even the sharp tension has faded into something quiet and run down. He sees them now, a handful of familiar faces and whole lot more unfamiliar ones. A tall, disappointed-looking white haired man and tired-seeming blonde woman. A smaller, thinner man in a pair of round wire rimmed glasses that shakes his head sadly. Maybe hundreds of different faces that whisper something that sounds like Merchant of Death as he passes.

He doesn't try to argue with them. Doesn't fight back. Just hunches in on himself as the murmurs start.

For god's sake, Tony.

Say something. If you don't, you'll regret it.

Don't waste your life, Stark.

The worst part, maybe, isn't the the fact that they're here. No, the worst is how disappointed they all sound. Other whispers start too, why didn't you do more. You could have saved us. Over and over. Why didn't you do more.

Tony keeps moving. Until he catches the briefest glimpse of a figure in red and blue that makes him stop and open his mouth -- right up until the figure dissolves into dust. That's when Tony's legs give out from under him and his knees hit the ground. ]