"The clock talked loud. I threw it away, it scared me what it talked." ~Tillie Olsen, Tell Me a Riddle
The next day at work was misery. Pure misery. I cowardly made my way to the lab, trying to avoid anyone's glance. Sometimes I wish I had the power to be invisible, but as we all know, I'm not here because I'm a superhero. I'm just a scientist. The lab was my safe haven though, Bruce didn't bring up anything about it, and I respected him for it. I must have ruined my professionalism by running down the hallway in a bra and shorts chasing a man that everyone knows as a playboy. Definitely not the best combination.
As I headed into the lab, I recognized a man at my lab station. The long blonde hair was a dead giveaway. "Hey Thor!" He seemed a little edgy that I called his name aloud. "Ah, Lady Carheart! I have sanitized your working space with chemicals!" He held up a bottle of cleaner. "Oh, thank you!" Sweet. I set my bag underneath my desk. Bruce wanted me to have my own to work on, and I was glad I had one. "You are welcome." There was an awkward pause, like he was thinking about something. "The man of Iron has played a cruel trick on thou. No need to worry, I shielded my eyes from thee Lady Carheart." I was really hoping he wouldn't bring that up. It did make me feel better that someone else realized that Tony was a jerk.
"Well, thank you Thor." With a smile and a wave, he headed towards the door. "Thor," I asked him, throwing on my lab coat. "Put it back." His eyes became very wide. He knew he was caught. A small smile came across his face. Clearly defeated, he retrieved the silver wrapped food from his pocket. "You are a sharp one, fair maiden." Thor placed the Pop-Tarts back on my desk. "I wish that luck be with you today on your experiments!" I opened up the package and handed him one of the breakfast treats. "You can have one, but I needed some breakfast too." Graciously he grabbed it from my hands. Then, he was gone.
Today was my day to show Bruce my side of the work. I set up the hologram pads up to display all I had to contribute to the project. I went though each invention, expanding them, allowing him to see my calculations. He added a few things to tweak them, but I didn't mind. He allowed me to do the same to his work. We were a good team. In the middle of explaining the function of this certain serum, Tony decided to waltz on in. I completely ignored him as he took a seat next to Bruce, and continued to explain my project. Bruce gave me a few claps after I finished.
"Beyond impressive! You truly have a brilliant mind." My eyes flickered to Tony for a second. He was reclined back in his seat, his hand on his chin. His eyebrows were raised a bit, and I tuned my eyes back to Bruce. "Oh Tony, you have to see this one." Bruce said excitedly. A true science nerd. My kind of person. "Okay, let's see it. Did you calculate it correctly?" Bruce replied before I could. "Actually, it was something that you had worked on and she fixed it." Tony's eyes instantly met mine. "Burn." I mouthed to him. That classic smirk appeared on his face and he shook his head. I leant over the table to activate the holograph panel. I began explaining the basic information that I could remember and didn't need the panel to show. I looked up to make eye contact with the two. Bruce was glaring at Tony, but Tony was looking right at me. My eyebrows furrowed as I tried to figure out why he was upset. The shirt I put on this morning popped into my head. Instantly I shot up stick strait, my hands pulling my lab coat to the center of my chest.
"Let me get it Andrea." Bruce said, still glaring at Tony. His mouth came open, and it was his turn to look "confused". "What? She was doing a fine job of setting it up herself." He looked back at me, but not at my eyes. I buttoned up my lab coat and in my mind I was kicking him out of the lab. Despite the road block, I explained my correction on something Tony had worked on. He actually seemed impressed by my work, just like Bruce was. Soon after I finished, I went back to working on something Bruce had given me. The two of them talked over something at his desk, in rather hushed tones too. I asked Bruce if he needed me to go, but he said no. I was just a bit puzzled by their behavior. Was it about me? Did I do something wrong? I hoped I didn't, and went back to work.
And there she was. Waltzing around the lab on her toes. Constantly looking at her monitor, muttering measurements or names to herself. Placing various containers in different machines, occasionally stopping to look at them. As a result would appear, those doe like eyes would light up. Gosh, I wish she would take off that lab coat. "Does that sound about right?" I heard beside me. "Hmm?" I spun my chair back to face Bruce. "Gosh dang it Tony, focus!" I chuckled. "Do you know how hard that is for me?" I said in a hushed tone. Banner rolled his eyes. "Just because she is pretty doesn't mean you can just not work." I rolled my eyes. Whatever, I hated her anyways, and from what I could tell, the feeling was mutual. "Don't make me write you up again." I stood up from my chair and walked around the hologram currently playing. "I'm only looking, not touching this time!" I whispered. Bruce raised his eyebrows and just stared at me for a minute or so before carrying on. "Fury wants us to do a presentation on how to use some of this new stuff. I mean, if we replace the first aid's with all of these new things, and no one knows how to use them, then what's the point?"
Presentations were not too bad, except that I, for one, did not want to have to put a presentation together for this. "You know what, Bruce, I totally agree." I said, turning his serious face into a shocked one. "You mean you actually would?" Oh heck no, Bruce. "Ha, no. We make the lab rat due it." Bruce frowned, but he looked like he was thinking about it. "Come on, man. It looks like she knows most of the projects content anyways. It will also give her a chance to prove herself." He still seemed uncertain though. And people think I'm stubborn. "Well, okay, but only-" I completely cut him off to announce the good news. "Hey, lab rat, we have a job for you!" I said in a sing song voice. I could see her out of the corner of my eye tense up.
"Yes, Mr. Stark." Ugh, I hated being called that. Really, acting professional now? I was tempted to comment on it, but instead I told her "Mr. Stark was my father. It's Tony." I took another breath to explain her new job. "You," I spun around and pointed a finger at her. "Are going to give us, The Avengers, a presentation on all," I motioned to the table. "this stuff." I could see her eyes squint, like she was angry. I just smiled. "Alright." was her final reply. She turned briskly around and continued her work. I turned back around to Bruce and raised my arms up victoriously. No one slaps Tony Stark and gets away with it! Bruce shook his head, and went back to work. I gave Andrea one last glance before I did too.
