"That's a dumb idea."

"It is not."

"It really, really is."

"How would you know?"

"Because I know dumb ideas when I see one."

"I'm sorry, how many degree's in engineering do you have?"

I sighed irritably, rubbing my temples as I looked at Tony and his latest crazy idea. It was late the next morning and I was still feeling hungover as fuck. Tony blaring music all day yesterday hadn't helped in the slightest. But the green sludge he kept putting in front of me was about the only reason I was able to speak today. It'd taken JARVIS' reassurance that it wasn't poison before I'd drink it. The green sludge was vile and had the weirdest texture in the world, but I lost the feeling of wanting to die. Sleeping on the couch in the lab hadn't improved my mood in the slightest since Tony never seemed to sleep. Neither had Tony's constant shit stirring.

"Why don't you just ring up CERN and ask to use theirs?" I said, trying to hide my pained sigh. Tony's current idea about being a particle accelerator generator in his own workshop was a whole new level of batshit crazy.

"Now who's having a dumb idea?" Tony snarked at me, flipping the wrench in his hand back and forth. "You really think CERN would let me waltz in there and have a play with something that could destroy the Earth?"

"And building one in your basement is a better idea?" I countered, raising my eyebrow at him. "Instead of the world, it'd just be the west coast of America getting sucked into a black hole."

"One, it'd probably just be California." Tony argued back. "Two, I'm mildly impressed you even know what I'm talking about."

I ignored the vague attempt at flattery. The man was so fucking annoying. His actions could be nice, like repeatedly putting the green sludge in front of me to ease my hangover. But as soon as he opened his mouth, I wanted to punch him.

"So Ice Queen, how would you create a new element?" Tony asked when I didn't answer him. "You're smarter than the average cookie."

I let out a very long suffering sigh. The shitty thing was, I knew Tony was right. A particle accelerator generator was the only way to create a new element. You couldn't throw in a few elements like you were making a cake. Something new had to be created by smashing some protons and neutrons together and a shit ton of other science that went over my head.

"I'd use a particle accelerator generator," I grumbled. "But, I'd borrow one already built."

"I'm sorry, did I just hear you agreeing with me?" Tony asked, leaning forward, cupping his hand around his ear. "Please, say it again so I can record it."

"Fuck off." I picked up my phone and went back to ignoring Tony. I bit my lip as a message from Gareth came through. I was still horrified I'd rung him and apparently spent the entire 45 minute conversation talking dirty. Thankfully he seemed to find it funny. It didn't stop the constant flirting though. I was going to ignore the messages at first. But I gave in pretty quickly. I'd forgotten how flattering it was having someone flirt with you. I was kind of enjoying it.

Working out will help your hangover. I'm headed to the gym now. Need to muscle photos for inspiration?

I snorted trying to stop myself laughing. There was no way I was moving off the couch, except for food. I'd never been hungover for 2 days in a row. I'm surprised I hadn't given myself alcohol poisoning. So was Greg after I found out from Natasha we'd finished off the bottle of tequila and a jug of margaritas.

This coming from the guy who used to drink a gallon of coffee with a donut for breakfast. It amuses me greatly to see you turning into a gym rat. And yes, photos would be much appreciated. It might make me feel better.

I smirked a little, reading over the message. It turns out Gareth wasn't shy at all about showing off his new found muscles. I certainly wasn't complaining about him sending me photos of him flexing off his biceps, or showing off the start of a 6 pack he was currently sporting. It was a very nice sight.

"Yo, Ice Queen, stop sexting and look at this." Tony appeared in front of me, dropping a Stark Pad in my lap. I grunted in response, tempted to throw the pad at his head. But as always, my curiosity got the better of me. I picked up the paper thin tablet and glanced at the screen. The blueprints of the particle accelerator generator were easy enough to follow. The chemistry behind actually creating the new element was beyond my knowledge. I tried a few times to read the complication equations, but my head wouldn't process it at all. Physics was my strong point, not chemistry. I attached it to an email and send it to Dad instead. He'd have a field day with something like that.

He didn't disappoint either. 5 minutes later, his work number came up on my screen.

"No, I will not help you build a particle accelerator generator unless its for a good cause," Dad teased as soon as I picked up. "What on earth are you doing Kari?"

"I'm using it to create a new element to cure hangovers." I couldn't help but smile. Dad sounded like he was in a good mood. Maybe he was just happy to hear from me for once in my life. "Hows my chemistry look?"

"Far too advanced for your grasp of chemistry," Dad said smartly. All of a sudden his voice rang out across the room on loudspeaker. "Though a very interesting concept."

"That would be my chemistry," Tony said hotly, sounding ready to be on the defensive. "And who are you to judge my work?"

"Paul Lyngley," Dad replied without missing a beat, or sounding upset. "Head of SHIELD's weapons R&D. Actually about to be head of R&D completely. Just waiting on the official announcement. Kari's dad too, be nice to my daughter. She's tougher than she looks."

Dad's news made me sit up in surprise. I'd heard that position was open, but Dad had been in weapons development for as long as I was alive. I never thought he'd move away from it. Tony spoke before I could congratulate him in the news.

"Huh." Was all Tony could say as he looked between me and the ceiling. "So, Paul. What do you think of my calculations?"

I gave Tony a long suffering look. I'd never get a word in once Dad got started on a topic. Especially if he had someone with his brain to debate things as well. He didn't disappoint. Dad immediately began pointing out flaws in Tony's calculations. I watched in amusement as the two of them immediately began to argue about the science Tony was trying to do. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if Dad had purposely made up the mistakes to try and get a debate out of Tony. He was good at that. He used to do it to me all the time in high school, making me lose my temper in spectacular ways. I used the distraction to quickly read the last text message Greg sent me.

Fluids, lots and lots of fluids is the only way you're going to feel better. Please remind me of that after this weekend. I've got a wedding to go to and it's an open bar.

I snorted in laughter reading the message. I'd been complaining about how terrible I felt to Greg. It was an interesting contrast to the messages I was getting from Gareth. I had to be very careful and double check who I was replying to. My still hungover brain wasn't feeling smart enough to tell the names apart at a glance.

"What do you think Kari?" Dad's voice cut into my train of thought before I could begin typing out my reply.

"I think he's going to get the west coast sucked into a black hole," I voiced my earlier concern. This was all over my head, but I wasn't going to admit that out loud within Tony's presence. "And I really don't want to be here for that. Can you fake a heart attack or something so I can come home?"

"She's sexting her hot doctor friend," Tony said smartly. "And not paying attention to the conversation at all."

I gave Tony a sullen look that would make Jared proud. He only gave me a triumphant grin in return, not perturbed by me at all.

"Did not need to know that," Dad sounded a little disgusted. There was a beat and I could practically hear the thought rattling around in Dad's head. "Hang on, what doctor friend?"

"No one Dad, ignore him, call me back later when I have some privacy," I scowled back at Tony, picking up the empty cup in front of me and throwing it at him. My aim was really sloppy, Clint would kick my ass for a week for such a bad aim. It sailed a few feet left of my intent target of Tony's head. It only make the proud smirk on Tony's face turn into a grin. I groaned, rolling over on the couch and pulled a cushion over my head. I couldn't deal with this shit for much longer.

"Ok." Even though the speaker was muffled under my pillow, I could hear the minor disappointed in Dad's voice. "If you need help with anything, ring me."

"Love you." I released the cushion from my head. "Congrats on the promotion. If I'm allowed to, I'll swing by home before I go back to DC."

"Thanks Kars," The disappointment was gone in his tone. "It'd be good to see you. Be good and stay out of trouble."

Before I could make a clever reply, the call ended.

"Thanks, now my Mom is going to harass me non stop about my hot doctor friend," I snapped, turning to send another dirty look in Tony's direction. "I'd say you know how Mom's can be, but you wouldn't know."

I regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth. The humour fell away from Tony's face. He cleared his throat and turned his back on me and went back to fiddling with a notebook on the bench. I felt awful for what I just said. He may be the most annoying person on the planet but he didn't need me to be a spiteful bitch.

"Tony, I'm so sorry," I said softly. "That was awful of me to say."

"But not untrue." Tony sounded like he was picking his words very carefully. There an awkward pause before he turned around with a smile that was anything but genuine on his face. "I need coffee and donuts. You want some donuts? Death by chocolate ones and vanilla latte?"

"Yeah." I couldn't find any words to say to the sudden change of topic. I knew I'd touched a nerve, but I had no idea how to make this better beyond apologising. "Thanks."

Tony didn't say anything else besides giving me a tight smile and he disappeared into the depths of his workshop. I pulled the cushion back over my head with a pained groan. Today was not looking like it was going to be a good day. My phone vibrated next to my head, which I ignored. I was not fit for human company today if that kind of shit was going to come out of my mouth. I'd nearly drifted off to sleep when JARVIS' rudely interrupted my potential nap.

"Excuse my Agent Lyngley, but your mother is sending you quite a few texts. Her last one was 'So help me Kari, I will come to Malibu and drag the information out of you myself. Call me NOW.'"

"Can you send one back that I'm hungover and not in the mood?" I grumbled, not even sure my voice was able to be understood properly. "Please tell me Stark is still in the lab as well."

"Mr Stark is in the storage section of his lab," JARVIS confirmed. "I have also sent the message to your mother, though I'm not sure it'll get the reaction you want."

"Don't care," I groaned, holding the cushion over my head tighter. "Really don't care right now."

"Agent Coulson is also on his way down," JARVIS informed me. "If you'd care to drag yourself off the couch, he also has the requested donut and coffee order."

I sighed heavily, but relinquished the hold of the cushion from over my head. I should at least be sitting upright when Coulson got here. I didn't see him at all yesterday. I wouldn't be surprised if I was still in the bad books for seeing Natasha. Coulson let the three of us get away with a lot of shit. But he didn't take disobeying a direct order lightly. I deserved the trouble I was in. Not that it made the situation any better. I dragged my body into an upright position, ignoring the churning of my stomach. I was hoping putting some food into me might make me feel semi human again.

Coulson was in workout gear and sweaty as he walked into the workshop, carrying a bag of donuts and tray of coffee.

"You look like shit." He didn't mince words as he handed over my requested items. It was amazing how quickly stuff got here.

"I feel like shit," I admitted, feeling a little ashamed still. "Serves me right though."

"A 2 day hangover is brutal punishment." Coulson had a ghost of a smile on his face. "Not one I'd inflict on anyone. Have you been drinking enough water?"

I pointed to the several empty bottles littering the table in front of me. Considering the state of my hangover it probably wasn't enough. Most of the water had come straight back up and I'd resorted to sucking on chips of ice I made instead. The only thing that had stayed in my stomach was the green sludge Tony kept putting in front of me.

"Why don't you go upstairs and have a nap?" Coulson suggested. "Get some food into you and come back down later. I'll handle this for a few hours."

"Thanks Coulson." I wasn't going to argue. I took my coffee and donuts and trudged back to the guest room. I managed a donut and half my coffee before I got back. My stomach wasn't protesting too much about either of them. I drained the last of my coffee and fell into bed, groaning in delight at the best mattress I'd ever slept on underneath me. This was so much better than the couch. I curled up around my pillow and closed my eyes. I was out like a light and didn't wake up until Coulson shook me awake gently.

"Hey," Coulson said softly, bending down so he was eye level with the bed. "I have to run into the LA office for a couple of hours. There's some pizza downstairs for you and more coffee. Ok?"

I nodded, feeling groggy and disorientated as I sat up. But I also didn't feel as hungover anymore. The nausea was mostly gone. My head didn't feel like someone was trying to split it open. Pizza was sounding really good instead of something that would make me throw up again.

"Your Mom rang me too," Coulson said as he pushed himself upright. "Apparently there was a snarky comment from Stark about you sexting. I think she was disappointed to find out it was only Stark being an asshole."

"People have far too much interest in my sex life," I couldn't keep the grumble out of my voice. It made Coulson laugh quietly. "Can I at least shower before I head back down?"

"Sure." Coulson looked at his watch. "Don't be too long. Call if you need anything."

I nodded in agreement, pushing myself off the bed. Trudging to the bathroom took far more effort than it should have. But standing under the warm water helped a lot. I was almost feeling like a new person when I got out. It was late afternoon, the sun was just starting to make its journey down to the horizon. The beach called to me, but the pull of the skin on my back reminded me I didn't need to be sun-baking anytime soon. I was cooked well enough still. The sunburn had already started to peel, making my skin feel itchy and tight. I'd even spotted a few blisters come up on my shoulders while drying off.

The workshop looked like a demolition zone as I stepped in. Tony had shit everywhere, from large metal cylinders to what looked to be miles of cabling. I couldn't see him but I could hear what sounded like a sledgehammer against a solid wall from depths of the workshop. As Coulson said, there was pizza waiting on the coffee table. It was still warm, so I grabbed the last 2 pieces and wandered down to the direction of the noise. It didn't take long to find it. Tony was in the process of trying to knock through a solid concrete wall. I stood there eating my pizza wondering if I should interrupt him. But it was kind of funny to watch. He had earmuffs on and was swinging the sledgehammer at the wall like it was someone he didn't like. I decided I stand there patiently, eating my pizza and waiting to see how long it'd take him to notice me. It wasn't until I was halfway through my second slice he noticed I was there.

"Don't you look better after some sleep," Tony's voice was loud as he paused mid swing.

I was mildly impressed by his muscle control. It was a big sledgehammer and I doubted I'd be able to hold it in the awkward position he had it in.

"You would too." I lifted an eyebrow at him. Now I wasn't hungover as fuck and regretting my poor life choices, I actually took a closer look at the man in front of me. He looked like he hadn't slept in days. Last night was proof that he seemed to run on caffeine, junk food and snarky humour.

"Can't sleep, clowns will eat me," Tony smirked back at me, swinging the hammer again and putting another dent in the wall. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to not laugh at his very old Simpson's reference. It was something Clint would say. But under that terrible joke, there was a serious undertone. I didn't doubt there'd be a lot of Tony's mind right now. Racing the clock to find a way to fix something that was killing you would be a good incentive to stay awake. I was still feeling guilty about my snappy comment from this morning.

"Need a hand?" I gestured towards the wall. I wouldn't be much help with a sledgehammer, but freezing the wall I could do. I hadn't had a good play with my powers in a long time. Breaking stuff was always a good incentive to bring them out.

"Sure." The look on surprise on Tony's face was comical. I hid my own smirk as I went up to the wall, placing my hands flat against it.

"How big do you want it?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that question?"

Tony's smart ass reply made me want to smash the side of his head into the concrete wall. Repeatedly. I gritted my teeth and sent him my best glare over my shoulder. It only made him grin at me in obvious glee that he found another button to push on annoying me.

"Big enough you could crawl through it." Tony quickly dropped the bullshit. "It needs to fit all that piping through it to make a circle."

Of course it did. He was really making his own particle accelerator generator. I hoped I wouldn't be here when it finally got turned on. I rolled my eyes and turned my concentration to what I was doing. Concrete was easy to work with. All the small holes, pores and imperfections made it easy for my power to get into. Then it was just a matter of my power being pushed into it until the structure couldn't take the strain anymore. However, getting it to be about a 4 foot hole could be a problem. I'd never actually done something to size before. Stark might end up missing an entire wall, but at least he'd have his hole.

I took in a deep breath and focused on the cool wall under my hands. It took very little concentration to the ice to fan out from underneath my hands. It was a strange feeling, doing it so openly and feeling almost confident enough that I could manage this. My hands were tingling as the ice fanned out across the concrete, working its way into every little crack and hole within the wall. It only took another couple of seconds before the concrete cracked under my hands before disintegrating into pile of rubble at my feet. I couldn't stop the smug grin from spreading over my face. It was a perfect hole, about 4 feet wide. I'd actually done it.

"That is beyond fucking cool," Tony's voice snapped my attention back to my company in the room. I turned to see Tony looking like a kid on Christmas morning. "Wanna do the rest?"

He gestured towards the other 2 walls that would be in the way.

"Only if you get some more pizza," I said smartly. I'd do it anyway. It was always fun to be destructive with my powers. In came under the same type of thrill that came with blowing stuff up for the hell of it.

"JARVIS, ring up D'Amores and get them to send some more over," Tony said promptly. "What do you want Ice Queen?"

"Meatlovers, the more meat the better." I ignored Tony's attempt to get a rise out of me. As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted my choice of words. "Don't even fucking say it Stark otherwise you'll find yourself missing one of your favourite body parts."

"Meatlovers it is for the person clearly needing some…" Tony trailed off as I glared at him. "Iron in her diet."

I shook my head at his new attempt to piss me off. How Pepper had put up with him for so many years was beyond me. I'd only spent a day with him and I could happily strangle him and find a few creative places to hide the body pieces.

"Don't forget the garlic bread," I said, turning to make my way to the wall I needed to break through. "And something for dessert too. The more sugar the better."

I expected another smart ass comment from Tony about getting fat. But he thankfully kept his mouth shut. He went back to do whatever it was he was doing while I made the other 2 holes in the wall. By the time I was done, the pizza had arrived. I was starving, which was a novelty after the last day. I sat down on the ouch and demolished my meatlovers pizza, half the garlic bread and the almost too sickly sweet chocolate cake that was sent for dessert.

"Good god woman, where do you fit all of that in?" Tony appeared from where ever he'd been working as I was shoving the last of the cake into my mouth.

"Hollow legs," I said with a small bit of amusement. That was probably the first thing Tony had said to me that hadn't made me want to punch him in the face. "Plus an amazing metabolism and very good genes."

While I definitely got the tall, string bean look from Dad, I wouldn't call Mom a big boned person either. She was slender, but she at least had some womanly curves to her body. She always joked to me that I'd have to wait until I got pregnant for the curves to ever appear on my body. The way I was going, I'd be skinny for the rest of my life.

Tony made a noise of acknowledgement but didn't make a comment. He was too intent on demolishing his own pizza. While he was busying I flicked through my messages. There was the promised ones of Gareth flexing his biceps. Greg had been silent since his last message, which wasn't a surprise. He'd either be sleeping or at work. Clint had been abnormally quiet today. I'd only gotten one good morning and 'I'm bored' text from him all day. It would have to be a new record for Clint.

"So why are you not sexting your hot doctor friend?" Tony's question made me want to go and bang my head against the wall. Though it'd been 5 minutes since he last annoyed me. That had to be some sort of record.

"Because he's not interested? I don't know." I shrugged instead of trying to find a snappy answer. "My grandmother is a telepath, not me. I don't know what goes on in his mind."

"I'm sorry, run that by me again?" Tony turned to stare at me. The look of surprise on his face was amusing. "Your grandmother does what?"

"She can read minds," I said slowly, unable to keep the facetious tone out of my voice.

"Huh." Tony seemed lost for words at my declaration. "Thats weird."

"Me being able to break through a wall by using cyrokinesis isn't?" I challenged with an arched eyebrow.

"No, not that," Tony scoffed. "God, I fund enough of Xavier's people to not be impressed by mutant powers anymore. Dad had a female friend from his time in the war who he said could read minds. Or at least I think he did. I was really young when he brought it up but he never said her name."

Says the person who was looking like a kid of Christmas morning after I smashed through his wall with my power. I can't say I was surprised though. Grams, Peggy and Howard were a force to be reckoned with in their younger days. Grams didn't speak about Howard at all and I almost got the distinct feeling there was something that happened between them that made things that way. It wasn't my business to go poking around about it, so I never did.

"My grandmother knew your father," I explained with a small shrug. "She was part of Project Rebirth and helped found SHIELD."

"That's an impressive legacy to live up to." Tony shoved the last of the garlic bread into his mouth. "So why USAF first?"

I shrugged again. I wasn't in the mood to go into my life story. I highly doubted Tony would even be interested in it anyway. He seemed like the type of person who'd get distracted in about 5 seconds.

"Come on," Tony said, throwing a wadded up napkin at me. I managed to catch it and shoot him a withering look. "We're having, what's the thing normal boring people do when they talk to each other?"

"A conversation?" I suggested forcing myself not to sigh at him. The man had a talent for getting on people's nerves.

"That's the one," Tony said, snapping his fingers at me. "So come on, spill it. There has to be a reason why SHIELD wasn't your first choice. You aren't stupid, you could have done anything you wanted."

That was high praise coming from Tony Stark. He looked genuinely interested too, not just wanting some noise to keep any awkward silence from happening. I didn't really feel like opening up to him completely. But I could be polite enough to keep the conversation going.

"I watched Top Gun far too much as a kid," I half lied. "Who wouldn't want to strap yourself onto a rocket and do crazy shit for a living?"

To my surprise, Tony laughed at my statement. It was only a short bark, but it was still a bit of genuine laughter. I felt the corner of my lips tug up into a smile. This was an unexpected turn of events.

"You should try being in the suit." Tony gestured his head towards the side of the workshop where his Iron Man suits were kept. They were currently behind thick glass and blacked out so I couldn't peek at them even if I wanted to. "You're strapped into the rocket, with lots of little rockets strapped to you. Wile E Coyote has nothing on Iron Man."

"Is that an invitation I can take it out for a spin?" I asked, my smile growing wider. This was a pleasant change from the last 24 hours. A real conversation without any bullshit.

"I don't think you'll fit," Tony said wryly, looking me up and down. "You're about an inch and a half taller than me. It's a very tight custom fit."

I was impressed he managed to say the words tight fit without turning it into a dirty joke.

"So, here's another question for you," Tony said before I could say anything else. "Coulson said you were Romanoff's protege, so you're a super spy too? Do you have one of those skin tight catsuits like she does? If you do, why aren't you wearing it?"

And we were right back to being annoying. He kept talking, not giving me a chance to cut that line of thought off.

"If I wasn't so hungover at the time,I would have asked Romanoff what kind of underwear she wore under it. Because there was no panty lines to be seen but that thing does not look comfortable enough to wear commando."

"She wears Skins or Under Armour tights under it." I gave Tony a pained expression. "And I don't have one. It's not the most comfortable thing to snipe in."

The combat pants favoured by most of the STRIKE guys had knee pads sewn into the fabric which made kneeling or laying in one position for ages a lot more comfortable. Plus it was handy to stop bruises when I accidentally banged my knees on the control panel while I was in the Quinjet.

"I would not have pictured you as a sniper," Tony commented looking mildly impressed. "Lemme guess, standard issue M24? You don't look like a bells and whistles type of girl. Some basic and straightforward, but gets the job done very efficiently."

"AWSM actually." It was my turn to be a little impressed. Then again, the fortune of Stark Industries was built on weapons manufacturing. He'd have to know his weapons. "I'm quite partial to the CheyTac as well."

"So you should be." Tony's impressed face turned into smug attitude quickly. "I designed the bullets for the CheyTac, but gave them the naming rights. What's your best kill shot?"

"Mile," I said simply, thinking back to the time I replaced Riley on a mission after his ex had shown up on our doorstep. "But that was on a clear night, no wind and I had a perfect line of sight. Anyone could have done it."

"Yeah because shooting at those kind of distance is a matter of putting someone's head in the middle of crosshairs and pulling the trigger," Tony said sarcastically, looking mildly disgusted at my shrugging it off. "Laws of physics and stuff like that don't apply."

There were very few people who weren't trained marksman who understood how much work and calculations actually went into making a shot over long distances. Everything came into play. Elevation, humidity, temperature, wind speed and even the way the Earth spun affected your shot. It was an art form to get right. Especially under pressure.

"Anyway," Tony said brightly, brushing his hands off on his pants. "Want to help me put all these together?"

Tony gestured to the heavy metal pipes he had lying around the workshop. Each one of them looked like it weighed more than I did. But Tony was being very civil. I could almost forgive him for being such an ass yesterday. Almost. Plus I owed him for my seriously bitchy comment this morning.

"You do the heavy lifting and I'll nail them shut."

"Maybe you should ask your doctor friend if he'd like to nail you."

I sighed. And there goes civil Tony, nearly as quickly as he came. I was half tempted to make a dirty joke about that train of thought. But the man did not need any encouragement. I picked up a wrench and eyed off his head with a glare. All I got in return was a cocky grin. It was going to be a long night.

It was nearly dawn by the time the circle of piping was finished. I'd had enough and went back to my room to get a nap in while Tony fucked around getting it all level. My shoulders and back ached from keeping the heavy pipes in place while bolting it all together. But at least it was one thing done. I was 2 steps away from the guest room door as I ran into Coulson.

"Rough night?" Coulson eyed me off, looking concerned and a little amused at my rumpled state.

"I didn't kill him," I said tiredly. "I didn't even maim him."

That was a lie. I purposely dropped a heavy wrench on Tony's foot about 0200 this morning when he was trying to provoke a reaction out of me again. I'd been right and Greg had been sleeping most of the day, so he was chatty all night. At least Tony stayed out of my phone this time, despite his constant comments about telling me to send Greg a nude and be done with it. I wasn't sure how much more of obnoxious Tony I could take. His well mannered button must only work at rare intervals because I didn't get anything except snark and dirty humour all fucking night long.

"I'm very proud of you for that," Coulson said with mock seriousness. "Pack your bag, we've been reassigned."

"You're fucking kidding me?" I stared at Coulson, not believing I'd heard him correctly.

"Afraid not." Coulson shrugged, looking apologetic. "We're off the New Mexico, driving there too. So pack your bags and you can sleep in the car."

I wasn't sure if I wanted to hug Coulson for getting me out of here so quickly, or thrown a tantrum because we were about to have a 13 hour drive.

"Unless you want to spend another week here by yourself?" Coulson asked at my hesitation. "Or longer."

I shot off, taking the last few steps at a run to get to the guest room to pack my bag. There was no way in hell I was going to stay here by myself for an undisclosed amount of time. There was a bright side to going to New Mexico. I'd at least have Clint to hang out with while we were there, doing god knows what.

"Does this have to do with Jane Foster?" I asked over my shoulder as I started to throw my clothes into a bag. The room looked like a bit of a disaster area thanks to my lack of care factor over the last few days.

"More like an 084," Coulson said, leaning in the doorframe. I paused mid throw and looked at him in confusion.

"What's an 084?"

"You will soon learn young Padawin," Coulson said dramatically, an excited look starting to play over his face. I rolled my eyes at the Star Wars reference. Coulson could be a big geek when he wanted to be. "Do you want to say goodbye to your new friend?"

I was sure if I went back into the workshop I'd end up punching Tony in the face. Lack of sleep did not make me a gracious person

"I will wait for you in the car."

Authors Note

Sorry for the super short chapter guys. There's a lot happening over the next few chapters and Iron Man 2 was always a bit of a hard one to do because there really wasn't a lot for Kari to get involved in. But its all important set up for later. So I hope you all enjoyed it!

Thanks to all my amazing reviewers. If you want to contact me about anything, I even have my Tumblr page working now! So feel free to contact me via PM, Facebook or Tumblr if you want to ask anything, request a one shot, or even have a chat.

Until next time.