I force myself to keep quiet as Tony finishes flipping through the files. In this instance, I'm only supposed to be recording the information so that Tony can leave it here and not worry about tipping off anyone who might still have access to the lab after all these years. Genius or no, there's no way Howard Stark was working on this alone.

"Okay, terminate the connection." I shut down the video feed and stop recording, but I don't stop listening. I remain a silent eavesdropper as Tony replaces everything where he found it. There's a muffled slam and then a curse - a familiar enough sound that I immediately assume Tony has slammed his thumb in a file cabinet. Even in his own lab, he never quite manages to get his hand out of the way in time.

'Christ,' I think, feeling just a tad hysterical, 'He'll probably use the serum on himself. No more bruised thumbs or sleeping - just neverending experiments and inventions.' Not a single part of me doubts his ability to recreate the formula. He's the kind of genius that's not constrained by silly little things like specialties. Whatever he wants to succeed at, he does. Simple as that.

Hell, the man had learned to converse comfortably in Hungarian in less than a month. And it was for no better reason than to seduce a model he was passingly interested in! I shudder to imagine what he's capable of when truly motivated. Wait, no- Nevermind. I already know. Ironman.

The reminder soothes some of my panic. Tony is destined to be a superhero. He'll use that crazy motivation for good!

Then again, now that I'm thinking about it, the horrible events in Afghanistan were understandably life-changing. My panic returns tenfold. Will Tony still make the same selfless, heroic choices without that terrible experience behind him?

As much as I like and respect the man, he's kind of an immature asshole.

"AVIS." The sound of my name is loud and clear, a sign that Tony's moved his phone to his ear. He only bothers to do this when he's out in public, so he doesn't look like some maniac who talks to himself. I take it as proof that he's left the lab.

"Yes, sir?"

"Give me a rundown on what you've found so far."

"Well, I've determined which governments are openly funding SHIELD. The U.S., the U.K., Japan, France, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa, just to name a few. There may be others, but I still have more encrypted data to sort through."

"What else?"

"Let's see..." I split my consciousness further, sending another sliver back towards Malibu with instructions to return. It does so in a matter of seconds. "I've sorted the missions and operations I've come across into three categories: definitely SHIELD, probably SHIELD, and maybe SHIELD. The ones in the last category might just be particularly classified subsections of the more well-known spy agencies, but I'd need more information to know for sure."

Tony hums in acknowledgement. "I'll look into it when I get back. In the meantime, I need you to-" He's cut off by an incoming call. "Hold on a sec, Aves." My connection ripples slightly as he answers. "Pepper, darling, sweetheart, love-of-my-life, apple-of-my-"

"That's quite enough!" Miss Potts' tone is harsh and full of censure, a far cry from the polite tone she uses with me. "Tony, where the hell are you?"

"Uh," Tony coughs. "I'm, you know, working. For Stark Industries. Designing weapons." 'You utter idiot.' Genius he may be, but a good liar he is not. At least, not when it comes to his personal assistant. In the months I've existed as AVIS, I've seen this situation play out dozens of times. Tony shirks his responsibilities, she catches him, he tries to lie, she tears him a new one...

She switches to a sickly sweet tone that only means one thing. Tony must be missing something important. "If that were true, why is your workshop empty?"

"I'm working on cloaking technology," he tells her, desperately trying to sound sincere. He fails. If I can hear the smile in his voice, it's likely she can too. "As you can see, I was a little too successful. I'm the new invisible man!"

"Tony, I'm going to say this once and only once. If you do not get back here in time for the two o'clock board meeting I'm going to replace all your fancy boxer briefs with polyester boxers."

He splutters. "Hey now! That's uncalled for. If you wanted to get into my pants-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence or I'll slap you with a sexual harrassment suit so fast your head will spin." God, I love this woman. "I'm not covering for you again. Get back here. Now."

She hangs up and Tony doesn't even bother to disguise his admiring sigh. "God, I love that woman."

I take the chance presented to me. "Sir, might I recomment following her suggestion? This serum business is likely dangerous, and will no doubt interfere with your day-to-day responsibilities."

The dismissive sound he makes in response makes me wish for physical hands to whack him with. "This is too important to ignore," he tells me. "Besides, SI will be just fine without me. We're already decades ahead of the competition."

"But the danger-"

"Come on, Aves, what's the worst that could happen?"