central_librarymods | Test Drive Meme

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The Central Library

Test Drive Meme

You are in The Central Library… anything can happen here. In fact, the possible can become actuality while you stay here. Things are always changing. Some for the better, some for the worst… it really all depends on one thing. You.

Take a look around, visit the worlds through the book portals, and slowly bring it back to life. The more you do, the better life will get. But be wary, not everything is a fun story and not everything is harmless. Sometimes you will have your life at stake and others you will simply have to enjoy your stay.

You can use RNG to pick a scenario below… or you can pick your own! Whatever delights your fancy and makes you feel at home within the walls of The Central Library.

1. Arrival – You wake up in the main hall. The reception desk is behind you and you know you heard someone whispering “Save us” in your ear… but where are you? The hall gleams and there are many doors amongst the shelves of books. It is rather huge and a walkway circles a second floor… where are you? Well… you might want to ask.

2. Market Place – The Central Library has turned the large conference room into an open gateway to a market place. It shifts and changes along with the Library, but food is always available to those living there as long as the portal is open. Step into a Parisian market of modern day, an open market of the Dark Ages, or even a trading post in the Old West. Go shopping, take a stroll… your imagination is your only limit.

3. Go Out to Dinner – There aren’t many places to go out to eat in The Central Library, in fact, it is best to keep food to the living quarters. But when you go through portals in events, you experience whole new worlds from every era and every place. Possibly you may sit in at the Mad Tea Party or even dine in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. You pick. You decide…

4. Non-Fiction Immersion – It’s raining. Inside. You’ll find that Non-fiction has a way of ruining your day to day life in the Library. Some book in the Non-fiction section has burst open letting out a monsoon of types that only gets worse as you get to that section. Find it, close it… or we all just might float away.

5. Fiction Invasion – Sometimes things slip through. Little things or big things. After all, monsters do hide in the dark corners and in some sections of the grand structure. But this time… the problem is small, small size that is. Pixies have invaded. They are troublesome things… they love to cause problems and make life a little miserable. You need to catch them before they steal you blind… and possibly cause you too much mischief. You may need a net… but please, try not to kill them.

6. Cleaning is Necessary – You are stuck here, you might want to make it home. Being in such disrepair, it needs a little love and care. I’m sure the janitor’s closets have some tools and no harm in trying to pick up books and shelve them. Just be careful… they are rather testy about where they go.

7. A posse ad esse – Anything is possible. This is your Wild Card. Have fun with it!

This Test Drive is Closed. A new Test Drive will be posted soon.

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It wasn't the best plan but it really was the only option they had. The Cat said that the book needed to be found and there were few in the Library that would be as resistant to the weather as a super soldier. The problem was that Tony had decided to come with him.

Which was weird since Tony had said no more Avengers business. Technically, this wasn't a team mission but the resolution had made it sound like Tony wasn't going to take those kinds of risks anymore. "How else would we stop the storm? The Cat said the book was causing it." The problem was that the Cat really hadn't given a clear explanation of what book.

Glancing over his shoulder, he gave Tony a worried look even as he turned toward the direction the genius had suggested. "You know you don't have to come with me. It's not safe."

"The Cat..." shuddering at the thought of a talking cat, he arched his brow at Steve. "I get it. Stop the flood and we all live to see another day. But seriously... you always like to dive in head first."

Shaking his head, he faced the direction he indicated. "If the book is the eye of the storm, you have to head to the worst to get to the eye. It feels like we're skirting the currents." And where he couldn't see through the downpour, he at least could feel the way the winds moved. "Too bad our talking feline couldn't tell us what kind of storm. That would really narrow down the search because I could at least deduce location by the movement better."

So... relying on the water was his next best bet. "What was it you said to me? Together. We do better together so no arguing."

Hiding his amusement, Steve tried to make out some landmark through the sheets of rain that poured down on them. He couldn't understand Tony's reaction to the cat but he did enjoy the way the two of them snarked at each other. "What's there to plan? We can't figure out where the book is from one of the areas that aren't caught in the storm."

Maybe they could. Or Tony could. He'd be safer there than in the middle of the steadily flooding stacks. Steve could endure the weather without getting sick. Tony couldn't. "I'm sure if he knew more he'd tell us. He doesn't seem to like water much." The Cat might like to taunt Tony with hints of his unlimited knowledge but the feline had seemed cooperative on this topic. "Could the storm move in a specific pattern if it's caught inside of here?"

Sighing, Steve realized he should have known that his words would catch up with him. "That was different. This is... I can handle the rain and lightening. What'll we do if you catch pneumonia or get struck by lightening? There's no doctors here."

"There can always be a plan, Steve. I thought you were the plan advocate of our ragtag little family?" Usually Steve was the one that wanted to talk it out and plan it till it bled. Now Tony didn't know if he liked being the voice of reason. That was normally a bad thing. Seriously.

And where he couldn't help Steve standing outside the storm, at least he could pay attention to the the movements in the storm. If he stared long enough at the ceiling, he could see movement almost like clouds. "I think being indoors, it might might move either in outward flow... or circular. But Water.... water will always flow outward from a source at least in the under current."

Sending the younger a stern look, he put his hands on his side and looked defiant even drenched to the bone as he was. "It's a magical library. I'm sure I'll live. The head guy looks like Death. If I'm not dead yet, I'm sure I won't be. And two heads, especially when one is a genius, is better than one."

"I have a plan. Find the book and close it. Simple." Probably too simple but even if they had known the basics of the storm, there wouldn't be any other way to stop it. He was the ideal choice for the mission and Tony...

Should not be here. He'd given up being an Avenger. He shouldn't be caught in a storm without armor or even any protective gear. Angling the shield so it would keep some of the rain off Tony, he tried to think of some way to talk him out of following. "We don't know that for sure but we do know that I can survive this." He almost made a comment about the stuff in a bottle making sure of that but knew that it would make things worse. They'd been on speaking terms when Tony had left, bringing that old fight would push Tony away. No matter how much Steve wanted Tony to go back where he would be able to dry off, he wasn't going to start that antagonism up again.

"The rain can't make me sick. You made sure the uniform will protect me from almost anything and my shield will help if there's lightening. You don't have to come along." Looking over at Tony, he gave his friend a stern look. "I can follow the currents on my own. There's nothing here to worry about except the weather."

"Uh huh. And that is the kind of plan you used to yell at me about." Snorting softly, he shoved his wet hair back sharply. Huffing lowly, he moved through the water and grabbed on to the shelves.

Fixing his eyes on Steve, he felt more than truly noted his own frown that pulled hard at the corners of his lips. Brow furrowing, he held back the ball of anger in his chest. Taking a deep breath, he knew better than to say anything when he was not happy with the other. It tended to make him a little stupid when he opened his mouth.

"Well, glad you appreciate some of my work." Okay, that was a little snarky. He likely didn't need to do that. Leaning against the shelf he finally threw his free hand out in an 'I don't know' gesture before looking at him with a not of hope. "Are you really benching me, cap?"

"A storm isn't really something you can plan for." Knowing that he wasn't going to convince Tony yet, Steve moved so that he was in front of the genius. He'd make a decent wind block at least. If the storm managed to knock him off his feet, then there was more to worry about than whether or not Tony caught pneumonia.

Looking over his shoulder, he knew that Tony was angry, but he had his well being in mind. It wasn't that he didn't think Tony wasn't capable but Steve had been given the serum so that he could deal with situations like this. Why should others - why should Tony - put themselves in danger when Steve was there?

"I am not talking to you about that right now." Ultron was still a sore subject even if he knew that Tony hadn't intended to create a killer robot. He had saved them in the end, but that didn't mean it was something to discuss while they were in the middle of a monsoon.

He opened his mouth to speak, ready to contradict Tony, but then he shook his head. Fighting wouldn't do any good. Neither would telling Tony that he'd benched himself when he'd decided to quit the Avengers. It was in the past, there was no point in dwelling on it or the fact that they weren't really teammates anymore. But there was a subtle change in how he held his shield, like it weighed more than usual, shoulders sagging slightly before he focused on the water in front of him. "What direction did you think?"

He knew countless weathermen that would protest vehemently to that statement, but he pushed it aside. It felt like they were back on the Helicarrier when they first met and all of the emotions were going haywire. But this time, there was no mind stone driving them insane. In a way, he felt a little relieved to have that suspicion cleared up about the staff. At least he could honestly believe he didn't mean the crap he spit out that day...

However, the remark about not wanting to talk about it caused him to pause. Tony, for once, hadn't been thinking about Ultron. Actually, he tried not to think about Ultron even if he would be the ugly white elephant filling up his head from now until he died. And honestly, if Steve meant to take all the wind out of him, he succeeded.

Leaning more against the shelf, part of him was glad the reactor was gone and couldn't steal more of his air from him or make that deep bone chill any worse than the water already had. Rubbing at the back of his neck, he realized once more why he didn't have a right to be here. But at the same time, he didn't want Steve to get hurt. That was one of the main reasons he got himself into that mess. That was the reason he left... because Steve could die because of him.

And that made him useless right now.

Without looking at those broad weighted down shoulders, he stared at the water. "Go against the undertow. It should be where the water is coming from and not from the the wind movement." But he didn't walk forward with Steve. Not this time.

For a few seconds, he waited for the arguments or some kind of snark. Tony always had some witty comeback. Since Ultron things had been strained and Tony kept making comments about his 'usefulness', undermining what friendship they had left. It was a change that he was still getting used to. Before Tony had seemed proud that he was the one that created the cool 'toys' that they used and now it seemed like he resented every request they had made.

Which made it even more confusing that Tony wanted to follow him. If he didn't want to be an Avenger and hated working for them, then why suffer through the weather to stay with Steve?

He wasn't sure if he was relieved or disappointed that the expected protest wasn't aimed at him. Tony agreeing was... unnerving if Steve was being honest with himself. One of the things he could usually count on was Tony contradicting him, whether to wind Steve up or because he really did feel that Steve was wrong, right up until they had to work together. Then everything fell together perfectly.

Except now there were no arguments or muttered comments about him being stubborn. Instead Tony told him how to find the book. Sighing, he looked over at his teamm - at Tony, debating what he should do. Pulling his shield from his arm, he stripped off the gauntlet before walking over to Tony. "Here. Take this." Pushing the straps into Tony's hands, he managed a weak smile. "And my shield. You'll need it more than I will."

Tony had been so busy staring at the rising water, that he didn't realize Steve moved. And when he did feel the straps being shoved into his hand, he felt a rush of conflicting emotions. He stared at the Shield a long time thinking about how he'd always wanted to just... hold it. Keep it? Maybe only a little while. Because he read the files when he was young. He remembered his father talking about the way vibranium sang when touched.

But now... now he was not happy with this at all. "No." Setting his jaw, he pushed the shield back at Steve. "You are not giving this to me. Nope. You are keeping that if you are going to dive face first into danger all self sacrifice style. Put it back." He probably sounded like a little kid as he held the straps back out to Steve.

"You will need all the tricks and protection. I made all the protective gear to guarantee you came back. And so help me, if you decide to drown yourself, Rogers? I will be dragging your ass out to give you the kiss of life. So don't get any ideas about dying in this freak storm."

Looking over the edge of his shield at Tony, he gave him an imploring look. He didn't want to fight with his friend. If they were still friends. Sometimes Steve wondered if that was another part of his life that had been left behind when Tony had walked away from the Avengers.

Even if it was and Tony was only following him because of some misplaced sense of duty, Steve wasn't going to let him get hurt when there was a chance that he could prevent it. He cared too much for his ex-teammate to risk Tony's life when Steve knew he'd be safer with the shield. "Yes. You should take it, Tony. You know the shield can withstand lightening and with everything flying around... It'll protect you and I know you won't let anything happen to it."

There were few who he'd let touch his shield and Tony was the only one here that he'd feel comfortable leaving it with. Tony understood how important it was to him, what it represented to Steve. "You freaked out when you thought I might have given you the kiss of life so you're going to have to think of another threat if you're going to try to scare me." His expression turned serious as he curled his hand around Tony's and the gauntlet. "I'm not going to kill myself in this storm. I'm going to find the book and then find somewhere warm where we can dry off."

"And you are the one that is going deeper into the storm to jump into torrential waters. So you are the one that needs it far more than me." After all, Steve did make it a point to say without saying that Tony was not useful here. Even if that weren't the case, he couldn't stand Steve not having all the protection he could.

"All an elaborate front! Who wouldn't want CPR from Captain America? Seriously." Snorting, he laughed in spite of the situation before arching a brow at Steve. "Wait..." Did Steve just say he didn't mind if Tony gave him mouth to mouth? Not that he got a chance to consider it for long, because soon he was hugging the shield to him and Steve was hurrying away.

"Oh no, no, no.." He instantly jumped forward following in Steve's wake in determination. "Well, yes, no killing yourself but I'm not leaving you!"

"I'm not jumping into torrential waters. There's nothing high enough around here for me to jump from." Steve doubted that Tony would appreciate the humor but he needed to try to deflect his worry. Nothing was going to happen. If he hadn't died in the crash or when he got dropped into the river, then this wouldn't be a problem.

"You didn't." Despite how serious the situation was, the two of them both soaked through, he couldn't help grinning at Tony. "You freaked when you thought that it was even slightly possible." It felt good to tease Tony again, which made Steve realize how much he'd missed it. Telling himself that thought was selfish, he turned away before he asked Tony to come with him. He had to keep Tony safe and that meant Tony keeping his shield and staying out of the storm.

When he heard Tony behind him, his resolve wavered. He wanted Tony with him. The new team was competent and he liked the new group of Avengers, but he'd always fought better with Tony beside him. He should tell Tony no, he really should. "Okay, but you carry the shield. If one of us is going to risk getting struck by lightening, it's going to be me.

"Semantics!" He waved it off with a dramatic sigh. "Diving in, swimming in them, regardless you will be in them." Okay, he was enjoying this. That comfortable slide into humor that he missed terribly. He liked it. That warmth that came from teasing Steve and seeing the slightest changes in the others expressions.

"Well, what if the Hulk tried or god forbid, Thor?" Shivering in put out disgust, he trudged along behind Steve, fingers clutching at the shield, a reality still not dawned on him yet. "I freaked because it is expected of course. If you wanted to give me mouth to mouth, I surely wouldn't argue it." Hell... he had some thoughts from teenage years that could probably make Steve blush, but he isn't supposed to think that way. No thinking that way.

Stopping as Steve looked at him, he angled his head. Steve gave in.

But his eyes suddenly dropped to the shield in his hand and realization hit him. He was holding Steve's shield a bit like clutching the most amazing thing to his chest in all the world. Well, it was to him, but no one needed to know that. "You realize we are standing in water, right? It hits the water and we're both fried, shield or no shield."

"There isn't enough water to swim in." Yet. Hopefully that wouldn't be a concern or they'd have more to worry about than just the storm. The Cat hadn't had given Steve plenty of warnings about the dangers of his section of the Library being damaged. "You're being difficult on purpose." An observation that should have sounded annoyed instead of amused.

"You would have been squished if Hulk had tried it. Thor might not have been as bad as you think. Jane raves about him all the time." Somehow he managed to look completely serious as he waited for Tony to mentally flail over that. Which helped cover his own reaction to his friend's suggestion. "You wouldn't be complaining because you wouldn't be breathing. Afterward you'd lock yourself in the workshop and not let me in for a week."

Then Steve realized it didn't really matter if Tony did do something like that. The Tower wasn't home anymore so there wasn't going to be any more time spent watching Tony work while he sketched. Or movie nights or talking about books over take out.

Pushing the thought aside, he reminded himself to focus on the present and enjoy being able to joke with Tony now. Looking over his shoulder, he grinned when he saw how the genius was holding his shield. Tony always seemed to act like he thought it was just as special as Steve did. "I know but you can't be sure it won't help. We never tested that. And I'll make sure that if lightening does strike, it hits me instead of you. Then you won't have to worry about it."

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Test Drive Meme - closed

Steve says he chose the one that shows off the shield.Steve....

of course he did... Tony can't really argue that.

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