Tony

So Tony had a couple of hours before 'Movie Night' began, depending on how long debrief ran. Probably not all that long, actually, given how common doom bots were.

Tony was gonna have to have a serious chat with that guy.

(You don't start trying to take over the world with New York.)

(A capital would be better, doesn't really matter which one.)

And now, because he promised, he had to start building the Death Star on top of everything else.

He sighed, doing a lazy spin in the air. Flying was still one of his favorite pastimes, something not even HYDRA can take away from him.

(Unless they kidnap you and take your armor…)

(Fuck off.)

Yep, no one could take away the joy of flight, the feeling of moving unimpaired through the clear sky, the contradiction of heaviness and weightlessness existing simultaneously. The only thing that would make it better would be I he could feel the wind on his face, rushing through his hair.

(Why can't he just lift the faceplate?)

(Bugs.)

(Right… forgot about that.)

Frowning at the memory, Tony smacked his lips from the phantom taste. Yeah, maybe feeling the wind wasn't so great after all.

When he got close enough to his Sky Lair of Amazing he started flying higher. Maybe if he had like, a beekeepers net? He could still feel the wind, but the net would catch all the bugs...

(But he would lose all his Cool Points.)

(Not worth it. Better get used to watching birds with envy.)

Aviator goggles? It would at least keep the bugs out of his eyes…

Contemplating this, Tony landed and allowed JARVIS to remove the suit as he walked.

But he would also need something to protect his mouth- he frowned as he stepped down onto a platform- and that would kinda defeat the purpose. Hmm, he wondered what wind tasted like…

(Air. It tastes like air.)

(Well, no one said he was smart.)

(He is a genius. Everyone says he is smart.)

(The plebeian's don't count.)

As the last piece of armor came off, the platform Tony had stepped onto started to go down like an elevator. The top part of the fortress was his 'living quarters', even though he rarely went up there, much preferring the bottom part, otherwise known as his workshop/lab.

"Ahh, daddy's home," He announced with a satisfied sigh, patting Dummy's claw when the robot surged to greet him. The bot had gotten pretty clingy since Afghanistan, especially since Tony had been going out more these past few years than he had for the last decade before.

He wasn't used to Tony coming and going, of him disappearing to places he couldn't follow. It was one of many reasons Tony preferred to just go home after a battle; even JARVIS, who was always with him, got nervous if Tony was out for more than a few hours.

You and Butterfingers were better at not panicking, but they were younger, more adaptable, less jaded. Dummy and JARVIS were both created in college (Dummy at fourteen, JARVIS at seventeen), and had seen Tony disappear and come back worse for wear more times then he would care to admit, while the twins (they were created at the same time, build simultaneously, therefore; Twins) hadn't been built until Tony had taken over SI and rarely left his house anymore. While they had been uncomfortable at first with him leaving all the time, and Afghanistan certainly shook them, they weren't going to start a revolution unless Dummy initiated it.

(Trouble maker.)

(Like father like son-bot.)

"Don't get too excited," He told the bot, "I'm leaving again to have 'movie night' with the team." Dummy drooped which made Tony roll his eyes, "So dramatic."

He walked over to his computers, waving a hand at his other two children, who gave a whirl in unison but otherwise kept building their Lego castle, which reminded him, "Hey, I'm gonna need those later," at their sad beeps he sighed, "Yes, you can help, but it's a very important project, got it?" They nodded enthusiastically before going back to building. Dummy ran over to help them.

Tony smiled despite himself; as much as he liked to degrade/threaten them, he really did love the three (four.).

(As cute as this is, kinda on the clock, here.)

Right, Tony shook his head to clear it and sat down on his swivel stool, "So, what do we got?"

"HYDRA is still unsure of what you're looking for, Sir" Awesome, "and has doubled the security on all bases because of it." Not awesome. Okay, let's see…

"Barnes?" He asked. It was best to take this one step at a time.

"Still no sign of him, unfortunately; I believe he may be in cryo, Sir."

Okay, not the best. Moving on, "And the place we're hitting next?"

A map of Switzerland popped up, a red ping pinpointing his next HYDRA base location.

(Ah, Switzerland, my old fiend.)

(At least it isn't Morcote this time?)

(Because the wildcats, badgers, and salamanders in the Alps are sooo much better?)

Tony rubbed his hand down his face, "Okay, well." He hmm'ed, "I guess we should start scoping the place out. Let's get some satellites watching the place."

"Already done, Sir."

Tony grinned, "I love it when you break the law."

"I aim to please."

Tony giggled, swirling in his chair, "Okay, okay, okay," He said, "Can't really do much else on that front. Did Brucie ever respond?"

"Dr. Banner has agreed to come over tomorrow to help with the Extremis project. He also wanted me to tell you he disapproves of you waiting so long to ask him." JARVIS informed him pointedly.

Tony stuck his tongue out at the nearest monitor, "He can suck it." He said, "It's not like it's hurting me, I'm just," He waved a hand in his eyes general direction, "Glow-y."

JARVIS stayed silent.

"The silent treatment? Really?" Tony asked incredulously.

More silence.

With a huff Tony got up, "Fine then, I see how it is." He turned to his other AI's, "You guys ready to a build a Death Star?"

Enthusiastic chirps all around.

Tony was pretty sure he heard a sigh come from the computer monitor, telling him just what JARVIS thought of this situation.

But it could have been his imagination.

(Oh please, he doesn't have imagination anymore. It's all hallucinations, now.)

(Eh, potato, tomato.)

Okay, first, this is still not Stony. Forgot to mention that last chapter. Don't expect that to change (I've dug my hole too deep to change).

Second, I love how all of you are like 'I love the voices in his head. It makes him seem crazy, but in a subtle way' because I actually based that feature on my own thought process. They are both Tony. It's just him snarking at himself. It's how he works through things; he thinks of an issue and then answers how he would answer someone else. Admittedly, I exaggerated it a bit, and it's certainly gotten worse the longer I've written (I blame all of you) but the theory is still the same.

Tony is alone in his head.