The Mantle is Donned

Shortly after some time Andrew arrived at the Nest with an open mind. He left a message for Alex informing her that he would be out for a bit at the Nest. Stepping inside he felt old memories return to him. He could definitly see the changes that Lani and Azari had done to the place. "Hello?" He called out.

Azari opened up the door to the lab. "Oh good you're here, we need your assitance in a project." He said. Andrew raised an eybrow and followed Azari to join the others in the lab. He looked to Lani and Mariah and gave a nod.

"Hello all." Andrew said. James gave a wave to his dad but hadn't moved any closer to that suit. Azari picked up the suit and looked to Andrew.

"It's a very simple process, we just need you to put this on. We have a privacy curtain right over there." Azari said. Andrew took a look at the suit and raised an eyebrow.

"Put on a suit? That's what called me over for?" Andrew asked looking to Mariah.

Steve heard Kate out explaining her reasoning why she was reveling herself as Ex Shield and why she retired to the countryside. By the sound of everything it seemed like she was pretty much done with that life. Fighting for the world required so much sacrifice, he was just glad that Kate turned out the way she had. His mind went back to Eve and he nodded. "I can understand your choice. I had thought of retiring twenty years ago." he admitted. "Obviously i went with the other choice in that scenario. I'm sorry you had to go through all of that to get this point." He said giving his condolences for her pain.

Mariah hung up with her father-in-law and walked back into the lab with the others to wait for him. She noticed that James stayed far away from the suit and she walked over to stand next to him. Azari and Lani talked quietly together until they heard an indicator that Andrew had arrived. Mariah looked at Andrew as Azari explained to him that they needed him to put on the suit. She could see the look in his eye as he looked at her.

"There's a little more to it than that, but just put the suit on for now."

Kate felt comfortable talking to Steve about all of this. She knew that he would understand. There were so few people who could understand. "Well, I'm sorry for what you went through as well. I saw the press conference you gave. It sounds like you had a difficult time as well."

Andrew looked to Mariah trying to see if she would let on more about what was going on. He sighed and accepted the suit and he jumped as the suit sapped him of some of his charge. Andrew yipped and withdrew his hand as Azari dropped the suit feeling the charge. Unlike james Andrew didnt feel fatigue but was more startled than anything.

"I already don't like this." Andrew said rubbing his hand.

"You ok dad?" James asked.

"yeah..feels like i let out a blast though." He said. Andrew prepped himself and picked up the suit feeling it try and drain him of his charge. As Azari predicted Andrew's mutation replaced anything he lost. Hauling the suit behind the privacy curtain he went about putting it on, soon enough he felt hte suit stop draining him. Removing his clothing he pulled the suit completely on. "Alright, it's on so why is it trying to drain meeeAHH!!" Andrew yelled out in pain as the suit suddenly tightened around him as it scanned the user. The fibers in the suit recognized him as the appropriate user and the muscle support set to work. Andrew felt something pop into place in his back and he nearly doubled over from pain/relief. And then a shockwave of harmless energy emitted from him knocking the curtain over as the suit lit up. It sealed itself around Andrew and the pain subsided. "Oh that hurt.." Andrew said placing a hand on the nearby table to steady himself.

Steve gave a nod appreciating Kate's apology. "Yeah not my proudest moment. But here we are, the better for it all." He said. "Did you know what you were getting into when you came out to the country?" He asked curious if she had prior experience to this sort of life

Lani watched closely as Andrew reached out to take the suit. However, just like with James he was zapped by an electric charge. She still believed though that this suit had been designed for him. He was still willing to put on the suit and she waited anxiously, wondering what was going to happen.

Mariah winced as she listened to Andrew behind the curtain. At first she began to think that maybe they should go help him get it off, but she decided to wait a moment longer. As the curtain was knocked over she saw that he had the suit on and it appeared to fit him perfectly.

Lani immediately walked over to him. "How do you feel now though? Do you feel like the suit is draining you?"

Kate got up and stepped back over with the wine bottle to refill both of their glasses. "I knew what to expect to an extent. I used to spend summers here with my grandparents and help them out. However, helping someone out and being in charge of an entire farm are two rather different things. I've enjoyed the challenge though. I don't like being bored...not something I was used to as a SHIELD agent."

OOC-So I have two questions. 1. Is Tony Stark still working with the Avengers? 2. What do you think of the idea of having Azari and Lani working directly with the Avengers to supply their technology?

OOC: If Tony is still active he's gotta be close to retirement age. he could provide a recommendation, he's connected he might be aware of Azari and Lani's existence. at least their academic accomplishments. And i'm down with them working with the Avengers

IC:

Andrew wasn't sure how he felt about the thing. On one hand the experience hurt like he had connected himself to a transformer on accident but on the other hand he felt he had more support in his back. That knot that Alex helped massage at night seemed to have just been popped and flattened by the suit. He took a few breaths feeling the suit drain him but eventually his body caught up and the effect lessened. Each breath he took he felt a surge of energy move through him and all the pain faded.

"It's draining me yeah but i think i got it figure out." he said using his mutation to replace what was lost. He lifted a hand up and wathced as bolts of electricty danced between his fingers. There wasn't a tingly burning sensation that normally came with that action. "I can keep up with it." Andrew said thinking it was pulling out excess power from him.

"So how come it doesn't hurt him?" james asked. Azari watched Andrew taking note of the electricity.

"According to estimates your father is constantly generating energy, could power a small city by my fathers estimates." Azari said.

"Would be a close estimate. Been used as a power source once or twice in my youth." Andrew said straightening up moving a little testing how flexible the suit was. Like James and Mariah's it covered his entire body but the fibers allowed for flexibility. Andrew struck his lower back a few times. "Bit tight in some places though." he said unaware it was providing him with support

Steve gave a nod appreciating the refill given the topic at hand a few drinks were probably in order. "Wouldn't mind a bit of boredom if im honest." He admitted thinking about why he thought country life would be good for him. "But i think i signed up for more hard work. Did not anticipate the variety of tools i would need but iv'e made do so far." He smiled

OOC-Did we want to do anything else with Tony and Alex?

IC-Mariah watched with a growing fascination as her father-in-law tested out the suit. She wasn't a scientist by any stretch of the imagination, but even she could tell that this suit wasn't designed for anyone else but him.

Lani had obviously come to the same conclusion and was walking around Andrew slowly as she examined the suit on him. "This was clearly designed for him," she said speaking to Azari. Then in the next breath she looked at Andrew. "Stop hitting your lower back. The suit has supports built in and we don't want those to be damaged." She then looked back at Azari. "So, is it enhancing his powers?"

Kate couldn't help but feel completely relaxed around Steve. He was completely down to earth and easy to talk to. She smiled a little at him when he mentioned the hard work. "With those arms I doubt it is all *that* difficult," she said flirting just a little.

OOC: what did you ahve in mind? not opposed to the idea

IC:

Andrew slowly looked to Lani as she lectured, Azari and James stopped at that but let it go. Andrew had a flashback to when he was younger and was seeing her mother. Way too many women in his life telling him what not to do. He smirked a little at that but did as he was told. He looked to his covered body flexing his fingers a bit. It felt strange at first as there was quite a bit of material but it didn't feel restrictive.

Azari kept his opinion to himself about how Andrew should behave, he was glad that Lani said it. "Or channeling it better. If an older.." he stopped his train of thought given Andrew and James were in earshot. He had a theory that the older version of Andrew wasn't as mobile so the supports could have assisted with him. "We can run some tests to test that theory. If you have the time of course sir." Azari said looking to Andrew who seemed enthralled with the suit.

"Hmm? Oh..yeah i have time. KEeping me out of the house will probably worry Alex less." Andrew admitted.

"dad..you're not doing any ohter projects are you?" James asked.

"Well yeah, what else am i supposed to do with my time?" Andrew asked.

Steve was glad ot have someone to talk to that was more relaxed. And it wasn't really work related. Outside of a few people and Mariah he didn't really get too many opportunities to just sit back and relax with someone. Course with Andrew retired he felt the two of them would only cause problems. He smiled hearing Kate not really picking up that she was flirting. He rubbed his arm, "Well i'm not getting any younger. And i'm prety sure i'm working harder and not smarter at this. Might need to shadow you a bit see if i can improve."

OOC-I'm not sure. I don't really have a specific thought in mind. Do you have any ideas?

IC-Lani gave Azari a sharp look when he began to talk about Andrew's older version. The last thing they needed was to try and explain that to Andrew and James. She had a strong feeling that that conversation wouldn't go over well. She was glad that neither of them seemed to have picked up on what Azari had begun to say and also glad that Andrew was willing to come back to do some more testing.

Mariah looked at her father-in-law when he admitted that he was working on other projects. "Please tell me that you aren't digging a gigantic hole in the front yard now."

Kate smiled at Steve. "Absolutely. I am happy to help you with whatever you need. It does take some time to figure out the best ways to handling things."

OOC: Nothing really comes to mind. Maybe he inquires about her with Azari and Lani? I imagine he would know how close Lani's family is to them

IC:

Andrew looked to Mariah when she requested that he wasn't doing anything too major. "I'm not digging a giant hole in the front yard. Alex wouldn't let me put in a fountain even if i wanted one." He said.

"Are you just burning through your bank or something?" James asked.

"I was never used to having money so i kind of hoarded everything over the years." Andrew admitted. James blinked at his dad and thought about a few requests he had made over the years. He never felt that his family wasn't well off.

"How long have you been saving?" James asked.

"Well Azari's father took care of that for me when i worked for him. Think i spent money on food mostly, and collateral damage." Andrew said thinking back over the years. "So i have a few nest eggs for rainy days and since my kids are all grown figure i can splurge a little here and there hence the pool and whenever i get started on the greenhouse." Andrew admitted.

"Dad you're suposed to relax, your heart remember?" James asked.

"I am relaxing mostly. besides with this suit i feel like i can put in two pools." Andrew said looking at his arm. James slowly looked to Azari hoping he'd speak up. Azari was not sure how to handle this one technically the suit was Andrew's and it wasn't like they could wear it for its benefit.

"We've already eliminated you from able to wear the suit. the side effects will be detrimental to you." Azari pointed out.

Steve smiled glad that he could ask for Kate's help. "I might have to take you up on that some time. having figured out a great way to plant things, cant seem to get my rows in a straight line." He admitted with a chuckle.

OOC-That could work. I think we might be about done here unless you have anything else to add.

OOC: I'm good with skipping ahead. So im thinking Tony offers Azari a job since he's gotten a nondescript job. Steve and Kate work on the farm a little bit, more flirting maybe Steve gets a clue. Anything else comes to mind that we want to play out?

OOC-Not that I can think of. Will Lani also be offered a job?

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