Life over the next few weeks was almost too normal for Tony's taste. No one treated him any differently (of course, the media had yet to find out. He was glad to have time to adjust to the concept himself). It was still weird in the morning to wake up shorter and with breasts, but life went on. After all, people can get used to just about anything. Frustratingly, he hadn't made any breakthroughs with the sphere yet. To make it worse, he was starting to feel a connection to the piece of shit. He supposed that was probably a natural outcome of spending so much of his life with pieces of metal as his only friends, but it made it harder to keep his objectivity for his scientific research. Of course, at least his metal friends had been AIs for the last 25 years. There was hardly a difference between Jarvis and a human being and even Dummy was smarter than most dogs. The sphere wasn't alive by any stretch of the imagination. It just sat there.
At least, that was what Tony thought until he went downstairs one morning and found two more of them there.
"Jarvis," He said slowly, "What happened last night?"
"It seems that they simply appeared. There was no noise or motion recorded. Similar occurrences have taken place throughout the region."
"What?!" He stared directly at Jarvis's camera.
"I have cross-referenced several different news sources, and it appears that hundreds of them appeared overnight, sir. The highest density is within the city limits and they slowly become more and more scarce as they grow further and further away."
Tony turned and rushed up the stairs. He slammed the door open and ran through the halls, only to find the team gathered around the TV. They were staring far too intensely for the Olive Garden commercial that was on. It made him wonder what they were watching. The spheres were weird, sure, but they didn't seem to be doing any damage (although he'd have to wait and see what the rate of spontaneous sex changes was the next day). To his surprise, though, they were tuned to CNN and their top story seemed to be all about the sphere's mysterious appearance.
"So you know too, then?" Tony asked.
"It's kind of hard to miss," Steve said in reply. "I almost tripped over one when I was running this morning."
"Anyone know where they came from?"
"Nope," Clint said, "they weren't there, weren't there, and then right at sunrise they all appeared out of nowhere."
"Well, we've got two more downstairs, and Jarvis said the same thing happened here."
"So the question then," Bruce said, "Is why."
"Good news, my friends!" Thor declared as he entered the room, "I have been in contact with my father's court and the strange metal balls have vanished!"
"Well, now we know where they came from," Steve said, "So do you think they just migrated over here somehow?"
"Steve," Tony said with a sigh, "They're not alive."
"How do you know that?" Steve shot back. "Just because you haven't picked lifesigns up-"
"They're metal all the way through!"
"So? Face it, Tony, we've dealt with stranger."
"It doesn't react to stimuli. That's the easiest way to tell if something's alive or not."
"Not that you've noticed. Maybe you're just not looking properly."
"Not looking- Which one of us is a scientist and which one was an art student?"
"I was a soldier and that taught me to keep an open mind and to not believe anything was impossible."
Tony laughed, "Alright, so say these things are alive. What difference does it make? They're still big hunks of metal from who-knows-where that are now all over the city. So, Mister Soldier, what's your big plan?"
Tony stood his ground, staring up and Steve. It was easier not to feel intimidated when they were closer in height, but Tony Stark didn't give up without a fight. Even if his legs felt weak for some reason.
Steve broke eye contact and turned to the rest of the team. "We've got to run damage control. Get these things in one secure location."
"Secure's not going to do much good if they can disappear and reappear at will," Natasha said.
"No, but we can keep an eye on them, figure out how they're doing it."
"How do you suppose we're going to do that?" Clint asked, "Fly around and try to pick them all up?"
Steve froze, unsure. For some reason, Tony felt the need to step up.
"We'll hold a press conference," He said. "Tell the people we don't know what these things are but we need their cooperation. We could offer a monetary incentive. Twenty bucks cash for anyone who brings one in. Even if some people will go all conspiracy-theory and hoard them, we'll be able to get a lot of them."
"Alright, then," Steve said, "Tony, make the call. We're meeting back here in a few hours."
"Woah, woah, I don't know if it's a good idea for me to go out. No one knows I'm a chick yet."
"They'll find out eventually, Tony," Steve said, rolling his eyes. "As it is, people are wondering what you've been up to for the past few weeks."
"Besides," Natasha said, "That might be extra incentive. If you keep these things, you might irreversibly switch genders.
Tony sighed, "Fine, but I'm not wearing a skirt. Or heels."
"Deal," Steve said. "Alright, let's go. Avengers, disassemble!"
"Only works when you have the tights on, buddy," Tony said, smacking him good-naturedly on the shoulder on his way out. After all, the best way to deal with anxiety was to pretend it didn't bother you at all.