location: stark expo, Project eScape virtual reality room

sam isn’t exactly sure what he should’ve expected from tonight. he knows he pushed himself to go to try and strive for normalcy, for something like the sam from before. the sam who would’ve fawned over these exhibits for hours like the tech nerd he is. to be social and enjoy being around people just like him.

but now? in all honesty, it’s very overstimulating. he turns, feeling a little dizzy at the brightness of it all, of all the bodies around him, and makes a move to leave when he sees the room. hears the encouraging british voice describe it.

“...users can go anywhere, anytime, and be anyone.”

the idea makes his chest ache. makes him think of riley, which is always a slippery slope. then, the dark haired man from his dreams and his sister’s boys – plural – flash across his mind. he wonders what tech like this can pull out of his mind.

location: stark expo, latverian embassy showcase

giving the variety of latverian exports a once over, natasha raises an eyebrow, wondering if anyone here would even be half as interested if they knew the contents of just the redacted files on latveria she has access to. she feigns interest, though, not wanting to stick out, not when––ah. especially not when one of her targets is within their line of vision.

IT’S 2012 …

… Captain America sleeps under the ice, nothing more than a near-forgotten chapter in the history books …

… Professor X’s team of mutants work from the shadows, protected from a world that hates and fears them by their secret identities…

… the Justice League of America begin to come together, having each carried alone the burden of responsibility for the world for too long …

… the Avengers are a name unknown to any but the few who have seen Nick Fury’s top secret files …

… BUT THE FUTURE IS HERE. 

Or so is proclaimed by Stark Enterprises, in a grand invitation made to all of New York City to attend this year’s annual Stark Expo 2012. For the first time it will be held at their brand new Stark Tower, in the heart of the city, where Tony Stark himself has recently completed the renovations, using an Arc Reactor to make it the first completely clean-energy powered skyscraper in New York. Everyone in the city has been invited to the grand opening, to see for themselves what the future looks like.

Of course, for some, the future is something they already know, too well and too painfully, the memory of fallen friends foremost in their minds, even though they have found themselves now back in their own pasts. While most people haven’t noticed a change, falling back into the way things used to be with barely more than a flicker of deja vu, than unsettling dreams in the middle of the night… for others, this night could be their first chance to investigate why things have changed, and why they are the only ones who know that things used to be different.