Hatching a Plan

"For the last time, Tony, eat before I make you!" Pepper yells, stomping towards the lab.

"Come on, five more minutes!" is Tony's oh-so-mature response.

Undeterred, Pepper barges into the lab with a tray of sandwiches. But when she sees what is going on, she screams! The tray full of sandwiches falls out of Pepper's hands and clatters to the floor, but she barely notices, because, lying between Tony and Bruce on the lab table is a baby dinosaur!

"What is that?!" Pepper yells.

"It's a baby dinosaur," Tony says, like it's no big deal.

"A dead baby dinosaur, unfortunately," Bruce says, sounding sad. "But I fixed the genetic problem, and the next one will survive, I'm sure of it."

Pepper looks from one to the other in shock. "Do you have any idea how big of a deal this is?! I mean, dinosaurs, that's just... wait a minute, Bruce? Oh, you're back! I missed you!" she says, smiling and giving Bruce a hug.

Bruce smiles. "I couldn't stay away from such a great team," he replies. "I just needed some alone time, is all."

Pepper smiles. "I'm glad to hear it." Then she frowns, returning to her business mode. "Ok, now here's what's going to happen. Tony, you are going to dispose of the dead dinosaur in a proper way that will prevent anyone else from getting their hands on its DNA. Then you are going to clean up the lab and spend the rest of the day anywhere but in the lab. Bruce, you are welcome to spend time with Tony outside the lab or work on something non-dinosaur related in the lab, your choice. Now get started!"

"But Pepper, that's not fair!" Tony whines. "I NEED a dinosaur!"

Pepper rolls her eyes. "Do you even hear how immature you sound?"

Tony sighs. "What I mean is, I need a break. And since the whole…I mean… dinosaurs are way cooler than robots, you know? I mean, I really need a break from… things."

Pepper looks to where Tony is pointing and sees Vision walking down the hall. Pepper frowns. "What you really need to do is spend time with PEOPLE. Believe it or not, none of us like seeing you unhappy, and if you would just TALK to us—"

Tony laughs, and, just like that, hides his emotions again. "All I ever do is talk. Would you like me to spend MORE time making fun of Capsicle and testing Bruce's anger management skills, because if you want, I could—"

"Tony."

"—all I'm saying is, if you want me out of the lab so we can have alone time, all you have to do is ask—"

"TONY! I'M GIVING YOU TEN MINUTES TO GET OUT OF THE LAB, AND THAT'S FINAL!" With that, Pepper stomps away.

Once her footsteps can no longer be heard, Tony speaks up. "So, are you leaving? Because I'm not."

Bruce sighs. "Tony, maybe you should listen to your girlfriend. I mean, you two did just get back together."

Tony jokingly puts a hand over his heart like he's been shot. "Bruce, how could you? You're my best friend! I can't do this without you! I mean, I literally can't create dinosaurs without you, because I don't know enough about biology. I do, however, know enough about mechanics to create a fully functional dinosaur theme park.

Bruce raises his eyebrows. "I thought you said this dinosaur project was just going to be a small thing?"

Tony grins. "Oops, did I say a small project? I meant to say it would fill a small island, more specifically, the small island I bought last week when I was board. Just think of it, Bruce!" Tony says, noticing Bruce's doubtful expression, "An island full of dinosaurs! It's in the tropics, of course, so the dinosaurs' cold blood won't be a problem, it's in the middle of nowhere, so the dinosaurs can't escape, and, best of all, it's the perfect thing to cheer people up after Ultron. I mean, who doesn't like dinosaurs?"

"Well, that is true…" Bruce says, hesitating.

"Come on, Bruce! Pleeeeease?"

Bruce chuckles at Tony's pleading face. "Oh, alright."

Tony cheers. "Yeah! Let's do this!"