The Nine Tailed Foxx

Chapter 15

((A/N: No, I haven't forgotten about my other stories. Just waiting on one muse to step back and let others have some time.

A wonderful thanks to my friend Lady Moonhawke, who is also my co-writer, co-conspirator, Idea tester, plot hole finder, monkey wrench thrower, and ghost editor.))

Puzzle Pieces

End of the second week, beginning of the third week of February….

Bruce was the one to actually retrieve Johnny from the gym's dance studio. He directed him to the medical lab first for a second checkup. There was no detrimental effects other than light strain on already healing muscles, so he limted Johnny to light workouts for the next several days and alerted both Clint and Natasha of the restrictions.

Natasha upheld her threat of dragging Johnny to a Team meal. It went well, all things considered. Conversations were stilted at first but then smoothed out. Johnny spoke when spoken to and answered questions, though with mostly short, to the point answers. Thor arrived halfway through so Johnny managed to use the distraction as a means of escape.

Later that night, after Alexei was put to bed and the occupants of the tower's upper floors were distracted, Johnny slipped out of the Tower. When he returned early the next morning, the elevator stopped on the seventy ninth floor and wouldn't go any further.

"Well, don't just stand there," Tony said once the doors were open. He had one hand in his pocket and a drink in the other. "Come on. Don't have all night before Legolas and Itsy Bitsy decide to hunt you down."

Warily Johnny stepped out of the elevator, eyes searching the foyer like area that preceded the lab proper. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"This," Johnny said motioning to the lab then back at the elevator doors. "What's in it for you?"

Placing a hand over his heart, Tony put on an innocent expression. "Can't I do something out of the goodness of my heart?" he asked in amusement as he opened the lab doors.

"There's no such thing as a free lunch," Johnny replied back, cautiously following the shorter man.

"You're right, there isn't," Tony agreed, setting his drink down on a countertop and turning towards Johnny. "Let's see.. I like you, Doom's a dick, you've managed to successfully annoy the piss out of Spangles, Pepper likes you, and your interesting without being boring." He turned around, picking up a tiny screwdriver and a piece of an Iron Man armor then stopped and faced Johnny again. "Oh, and you're not underfoot giving me the Double D look when I don't meet your expectations."

Johnny glanced around the lab, spotting a dozen different things that could be sold off to interested parties the moment they were put up on the market. "Double D?" he asked, giving Tony a puzzled look.

"Disappointment and Disapproval." Tony turned back and started tinkering. "Talk to me Mr. Todd, tell me what an awesome genius I am for designing everything in here."

Johnny huffed a soft laugh. "R & D at Mondo Tech has something similar. A lot more clunky and only a quarter of the power, but it's in the final stages of testing before being introduced to the public." He pointed at one of the small devices on a nearby countertop, then smiled innocently. "Or rather, they were. There was a small fire in the lab that destroyed most of the design specs so they were set back a few months."

Tony paused, listening carefully to what was and was not said. "Really?" He asked seemingly engrossed with what he was doing. "They should have invested in redundant computer systems in order to prevent stuff like that from happen." After a few moments he set the armor piece down, dropping the screwdriver next to it. "Now that we've got the bullshit out of the way, let's get down to business. You were not just out there galavanting around town tonight. You were looking for something. I'm willing to give you some help if you give me some information in return." He crossed his arms over his chest and waited.

Johnny froze for a few seconds then continued moving around, looking at stuff. "What type of information?" He asked.

"Nothing that can't be found on the internet or with some research out in the world. But that doesn't give me a first hand view of what I want to know," Tony said, watching the younger man as he moved around the lab.

"And what type of help are you planning on giving me in return?"

"For starters, this…" Tony said, reaching over to a covered object next to where he had been tinkering and lifted the cover.

Johnny looked surprised for a moment then frowned. "I thought I lost that sometime during the raid on the base…" He looked from the mask to Tony then back. "What's the catch? What did you do to it?"

"It was pretty good, but for starters I vastly improved it. The lenses now, not only filter light spectrums, but can also provide a simplified HUD display. The communications now has longer range and more channels. Currently I have it linked into FRIDAY's systems since I was running tests, but it can be linked to other systems. It also monitors basic biometric signs," Tony said as he picked up the fox mask. "I've reinforced it with the same gold-titanium alloy I use in my armor, a very thin layer but enough to stop a direct hit by a bullet. Don't promise it won't hurt like a bitch, but hey can't have everything." He tossed the mask to Johnny. "Put it on, give it a try, test it out. FRIDAY, bring up visuals please."

"Yes Sir," the AI responded as screens lite up around the central lab bench.

Johnny caught the mask, noting that it actually felt like it weighed less than it originally had. He examined it closely, noting the tiny ear buds and the soft material used for the padding. The only part lit up was the eyes and then it was a much softer glow. "What powers it?" he asked, unable to locate the small but powerful battery it used to have.

"Kinetic perpetual auto-relay," Tony replied. "Any movement you make causes energy to be transferred into the power cell which in turn powers the mask's components….You've seen those fancy little moving desk toys haven't you? it's based on that same concept, but improved."

"Do any of the others know about this?" Johnny asked as he flipped the mask back and forth in his hands.

Tony tried for the innocent look again and failed. "Yes.. no.. not really. Well I mean I'm sure Itsy Bitsy knows about it just because of who she is so by proxy Legolas will know.. as for the rest.. not so much."

"And what will happen to it after I'm no longer here?"

"All up to you," Tony said as he looked up at the screens, fingers dancing over the keyboard. "Now… chop chop, don't have all morning…"

Several hours later, still early morning, the Tower was once more deserted due to an Avenger's call out.

Pepper, never one to be left behind, decided to take it upon herself to drag Johnny and Alexei out of the tower for the day. Happy was only too, well, happy to oblige her request to drive them all around town. The first stop was a high end salon, not for her, no, but for Johnny. As soon as the name Pepper Potts was dropped, appointments that had been made months ago was promptly shoved aside. She took Alexei from him then set the salon attendants after him.

Between the consultation, the actual styling of his hair and the finishing up stages, several hours had passed. Johnny looked at himself in the mirror. His hair had been cut in such a manner that all the blue was gone and it now complimented his exoctic looks. He was amused at all the comments about how jealous the other ladies were due to his (now) natural white coloration. If they only knew how he got it, they wouldn't be too jealous… or maybe they would, who knows?

Lunch was a private affair, in a private room, complete with a personal chef. The meal was decadently scrumptious and the wine was excellent as well. Even Alexei had a tasted of the food and his own tiny place of fresh cooked and mashed food.

Relaxing back in the chair, glass of wine in hand, Johnny tilted his head to the side. "You've given me a fancy hair-do, wined and dined me, I'm just waiting for you to doll me up as well. Why? Not that I'm complaining, but it does make me wonder what plans you or Tony has in store for me."

Pepper smiled, her own glass of wine in hand. "Can't I take a friend out for for the day?

"Hmm If I was a friend."

"Aren't you?" Pepper countered.

Setting the glass down on the table, Johnny reached over to gently poke the baby's foot, distracting him for a moment. "Here I thought I was merely a problem fobbed off on you by the UN and other parties."

"Oh, in the beginning you were a problem fobbed off on us, but you've managed to charm just about everyone you've met," Pepper replied. "Tony has taken a liking to you, something that is both easy and hard for him to do."

"I bet it's a bonus that I have absolutely no interest in making him a sugar daddy and mooching off of him or his tech. And I haven't made any move to try to turn you into my sugar mama either. Now, if the both of you agreed to it and made an offer, I'd be hard pressed to turn the pair of you down," Johnny said with a wink and a grin. "I will tell you the same thing I told Natasha…. I am surrounded by gorgeous men and women and can't touch a one. It's not fair."

Pepper started laughing, a light blush tinting her cheeks. "Are you flirting with me?"

"If I said yes, would you hold it against me?"

"As long as we've established that you are not attempting to use it as a means of weaseling company or Avenger private information out of me."

Johnny laughed, "There is a slight problem with that. I have no clue as to the first place I'd go to try and sell such information. And even if I did, it would come back and bite me on the ass. Hard."

"So what are you helping Tony with?" Pepper asked.

"Understanding the differences between an enhanced person, a super powered person and a person that is a genetic anomaly," Johnny explained. "In layman's terms, a mutate, a super soldier and a mutant."

"Wait, isn't a mutate and a mutant the same?"

"No. A mutant is a person that was born with a genetic anomaly, a random power or a physical difference. Mother Nature's experiment," Johnny said. "A mutate is a normal human that has been bitten by an animal, has some dangerous chemical spilled on them or bathed in some type of cosmic energy and it changes them. That's a mutate. And I'm sure you know what a super soldier is."

Pepper thought about it as she took a few sips of her wine. "So what would I be?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

Pepper raised her eyebrows. "Did you ever hear of something called Extremis or AIM?"

"Uuuhh…. if it was mentioned then either I paid it no mind, it wasn't spoken about in my presence," Johnny said as he scratched his chin in thought. "Sorry?"

"Don't worry about it, I'll show you when we're back at the Tower. In the meantime, dessert then off to our next stop. Cheers." Pepper signaled for the dessert course.

The trio arrived back at the tower, sometime after sundown and past baby's bedtime. The pair stopped by Johnny's room to put Alexei down for bed then continued up to the common floor to revisit the topic of conversation from lunch.

Johnny offered to make Pepper a drink and she accepted. He fixed himself a simple glass of whiskey on the rocks then joined her on the loveseat. "So, what is Extremis? And what does it have to do with you?"

Pepper took a drink from her glass as she thought about how much she wanted to say. "Extremis is or was, a serum developed by AIM to create a sort of super soldier. It also grants the person super fast healing, regenerative abilities and allows increased neural processing. You think faster, can make leaps of logic quicker, that sort of thing. The downside is, you become a living bomb capable of destroying a large area if you lose control."

"Ah...I see," Johnny nodded then took a sip of his drink. "I shall endeavor to never piss you off."

The topic shifted after that, to Johnny's education and his plans for the future (besides joining the unnamed organization Clint and Nat have recommended that is). He admitted he had taken account courses over the years and he probably had enough credits for at least an associate's degree, maybe even a bachelor's.

An hour, and another drink refill later, Pepper was leaning back against Johnny's chest, his arms stretched out over her shoulder, hands in front of them with a large string loop threaded between his fingers. His left leg was stretched out against the back of the loveseat while his right was bent at the knee. Pepper, for her part, had her feet tucked up against the arm and her own fingers plucking at the string. Johnny was retelling some of his more amusing, comical adventures which cause Pepper to giggle and laugh.

That was how the returning Avenger's found the pair.

"Are you trying to seduce Pepper away from me Mr. Todd?" Tony asked, giving Pepper's foot a gentle squeeze as he perched on the end of the loveseat.

"Not at all," Johnny answered with a grin. "Though I think I might try to seduce you away from her instead, if given the chance." He winked, then laughed at Tony's expression before getting an elbow to the ribs. "Oof…"

"He's mine," Pepper stated. "I don't share and I fight dirty to keep what's mine." She punctuated her statement by burning through the string, ruining the cat's cradle Johnny had made.

"That's my girl.., er, the woman who graciously shares her life with me," Tony backtracked, seeing Pepper's glowing hand turned his direction. "The real miracle of Extremis, Johnny-boy, which I fixed, by the way, is in how much more respectful it has made me, right Pep? We still making money?"

Glowing hand extinguished, Pepper levered herself to her feet. "Yes, Tony, we are still making money. I do tend to watch these things. 12% of that money is mine after all." She collected her shoes and moved toward the elevators.

"I'll make it 50% whenever you say the word," Tony called.

"No, Tony," she called back.

Tony shook his head. "Women. Can't fire 'em, can't marry 'em. So, how was your day?"

"Expect rag sheet headlines," Johnny said with a shrug as he swung his legs to the floor and sat up. "A day out of the Tower, I'm not complaining." He gathered the remains of the string, absently winding them about his fingers before setting them on the coffee table. Picking up his tumbler, he was about to finish off the little bit of watered down whiskey in it, when his hair was grabbed and he was tugged backwards. "Ummhh… Hi?" He rolled his eyes upwards to look at who it was. With a smile he offered what was left. "I can always refill it if you wish."

"Looks better," Natasha commented as she let the now shorter strands slid through her fingers. "You look less...hmm…Irresponsible party goer with the blue gone."

"I liked the blue though. Matched a shirt I use to have," Johnny mock-pouted. He turned his head to the side, eyeing the people coming out of the elevators. The big blonde (bigger than the Captain in both height and muscle mass) stepped out with the Captain and Vision, obviously discussing something if the hand movements were anything to go by. Overeager golden retriever came to mind. Friendly and only too happy to play but still more than capable of ripping someone apart. He turned his attention back to Natasha, the silent request to be allowed to leave in his eyes.

"No," Nat answered, settling herself on the back of the loveseat.

Tony glanced in the direction as well. "Point Break? He's…"

"An overeager golden retriever?" Johnny asked somewhat innocently, earning poke from Nat.

Nat leaned over and spoke softly into Johnny's ear. "Think of this as a training exercise. Make everyone forget you're in the room for at least thirty minutes. Time resets when you get noticed. Clint and myself do not count, but you earn bonus points if you can escape our notice." She slid her hand through the hair at his temple then down and around his ear as if tucking strands behind it.

Johnny turned his head, catching her hand before she could remove it and held it to the side of his head. He then lowered his voice as well, making it look almost intimate to anyone close. "How long do these gatherings last and when does it start?" he asked as he adjusted the invisible earpiece slightly.

"Oh they can last anywhere from a few minutes to most of the night and once everyone has arrived. FRIDAY will act as your monitor, giving you certain instructions along the way."

"Hmmm…. and just who are we missing still?" Johnny purred.

Nat looked around, "Clint, Sam, James, Wanda and Bruce."

"Is it getting steamy in here or are you two having a secret spy only meeting?" Tony broke in, getting remarkably up close and personal for someone with so many idiosyncrasies.

"Of course not. I'm not opposed to a threesome or a moresome. Care to join?" Johnny asked with a wicked grin as he wiggled his eyebrows and licked his lips. He earned a light tap to the back of his head from Nat for that, but it was worth it to see the look he got. Still grinning he straightened up then stood. "Would you care to revisit our discussion from the other evening Mr. Stark?" he asked, making sure the hand closest to Tony was holding the tumbler and there was at least a half an arm length between them.

"But of course Mr. Todd," Tony gestured towards the bar.

Johnny declined the whiskey refill but accepted the bottled water in its place. "Alright, let me see if I can explain it better than last night. You are a mechanic or engineer, correct?"

"Both actually. Multiple PHDs in Engineering, Mechanics and Physics, but who's counting."

Johnny nodded and continued, "When I explained the difference today to Pepper, it made me realize I was trying to explain things from a point of view you have no reference for." He took a sip from the bottle then set it down. "Let's use your suit as an analogy…" he caught a strange look for the barest of moments and rethought his explanation once more. "Ok, bad choice. An engine then, something a little safer. A mutant is a random genetic anomaly. In this case, a box of engine parts that are just thrown together. You don't know what you're going to have until it's built. Each time you're given a box, it's always random. That's what a mutant is. Yes, you'll come across similar mutations, but never exactly the same identical mutation at the same power levels." While he was talking, Clint, Wanda and Bruce arrived via elevator.

Tony held up a hand. He then waved Bruce over. "Ok, now repeat what you just said."

Johnny did so, waiting for Bruce to indicate he understood. "Now, a mutate, is not the same as a mutant, never was no matter what the public thought. Now that box of engine parts is now identical except for one item. It can be anything. Each box of engine parts are both identical, as in one item is different, and different because it's never the same part. With me so far?"

"I think so," Tony said then turned to Bruce, "You understand this right?"

"It's what I've been telling you all along," Bruce replied.

A soft voice only he could hear alerted Johnny to both Sam and James's arrival via Tony's landing pad just off the party deck. "Ready for the last part?" he asked, shifting his eyes ever so slightly as several more people joined them. He used the excuse of getting another bottle of water to move behind the bar, thus putting space between him and the newer arrivals.

"Yeah, let's hear your analogy for Super Soldiers. I'm sure you'd like to hear all about it Cap?" Tony asked turning to Steve and smiling. "Care for a drink?"

Johnny pulled the correct beer from the mini fridge and slid it across the bar top before Steve could say yes or no. "Now, you have to remember that for all the information you find floating about on the internet, everyone agrees on one thing. The creators of these so called 'Super Soldier Serums' are all dead." He held up a hand to forestall any comments. "I'll explain why I said 'so called' in a moment. So, this last series of engines you're now building… each box now has identical parts. Each and every single box, exactly the same. There is your 'Super Soldier Serum'. Each and every one identical." He set a drink down in front of Bruce and slid a second beer down the bar to Steve, snagging the empty and tossing it into the bin. "Now for that explanation. What created you," he points at Steve, "was never duplicated. Ever. It is a historically documented fact that Dr. Abraham Erskine was killed by a HYDRA agent and the notes lost. Am I correct?"

"Yes." Steve frowned in thought. Memories of that day, even years later, were painful.

"So, each and every attempt made thereafter to recreate the serum was in truth, an experiment. Sometimes successful, sometimes a failure, but never an exact duplicate. Correct?"

There were mutterings and murmurs from those gathered as they thought over what was said. Almost everyone agreed. Almost.

"Wait, there was one other who went through the same 'experiment' as I did. Johann Schmidt. The Red Skull. He used Dr. Erskine's formula on himself before the Doctor escaped to America," Steve informed them. "Dr. Erskine said that the serum 'amplified' what was already there. Good man became great, bad becomes worse."

"Alright then. You then fall under the true heading 'Super Soldier Serum'. Now, Mr. Stark, using the information provided, based upon the evidence, would you say Extremis is a Serum or an Experiment?" Johnny asked. "For me, using Ms. Pott's explanation of what Extremis was or is, I would say it is a Super Serum."

"What about you?" Steve asked suddenly. "You're an enhanced."

Johnny gave a tight lipped smile. "You're right. I am enhanced, but only in the sense that I have two mutations which is very rare. But one of those mutations wasn't natural. So," he shrugged, "I'm both a mutant and a mutate," he lifted the bottle of water to take a sip then stopped. "Maybe even an experiment. Haven't figured it out yet. I'll get back to you once I figure it out." He took that sip then turned to Tony. "Does my explanation make sense to you now?"

Tony looked to be deep in thought as he processed everything said. "I'll get back to you on that," he said absently almost as he walked away. Bruce following him closely.

Johnny caught the looks both Natasha and Clint were giving him. One thoughtful the other amused. He just smiled in return. He had his own ways of disappearing into a crowd and being forgotten about. He turned back around to ask if anyone else would like a drink but stopped when a hand reached forward, almost touching his temple. "Ms. Maximoff, I'm afraid I haven't had the pleasure of making your acquaintance. Awake that is."

"But I know you," Wanda replied. She trailed her fingers down, tracing the contour of his cheek and neck without touching him. "Doom has laid his mark upon you and because of that, you are resentful of him for that."

"Perhaps," Johnny agreed, reining back his flirtatious nature as FRIDAY informed him of how old she was. "But if I was resentful for everything bad that has happened in my life, I think I'd be a bitter, spiteful young man with nothing good in life to look forward to."

Wanda said nothing as she looked at him and through him before nodding. "Perhaps." She turned and moved away from the bar to find a quiet corner where she could watch.

"My brother would have liked you."

Johnny glanced to the side at the speaker before looking back at the discussion going on between Tony, Bruce, The Captain and Vision. "Why do you say that?"

Thor let out a chuckle. "Because you have a silver tongue and love to cause mischief, just as he did in his younger days." He took a drink from the leather wrapped flask in his hand then offered the human some.

Johnny held up his hands. "No thank you, I know my tolerance and I have a young child that I care for. An aching head will be of little use to me tomorrow. Especially if Natasha and Clint are planning something."

Thor shrugged. "As you wish," he said before being called away to play some game of chance with the archer.

A quick mental tally later, Johnny was moving around the common room, refilling drinks here or there, removing empty bottles and glasses. Bit by bit, he faded into the background. The skills of a wait staff coming to play as he became invisible to most everyone in the room. When he felt it safe enough to do so, he slipped away completely.

Sometime later, as everyone's sitting around the central coffee table playing another game of 'Pick up Thor's hammer' (a somewhat common game whenever the Asgardian was around), someone (Tony) suggested Johnny give it a try.

"He left about twenty minutes ago," Clint said with a grin as he twirled an old drumstick between the fingers of his left hand. He shared a knowing look with Nat. The kid had done fairly well with this little test. Tomorrow though, tomorrow was a whole other ballgame.