The Nine Tailed Foxx

Chapter 16

((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.))

Living Day to Day

Third week of February…

"Again!"

That became the most commonly used word of the week.

With a groan, Johnny did a kick up to his feet again. After doing a quick once over, he took a better grip on his sticks. He wasn't entirely sure of what the point of the current exercise was other than using him as a pinata.

It was only the third day of the new schedule too. Mornings was regulated to weights with Clint and workouts on the machines in the main gym area then a small break. Mid-day was given over to dance and gymnastics with Natasha followed by lunch. Afternoons was the designated torture time with both Natasha and Clint as they took him through both hand to hand and basic weapon (escrima sticks and staffs) combat. And the evenings were taken over with taking care of Alexei, then dinner in the commons (with or without the rest of the Avengers present), followed by study of some sort with discussions and testing knowledge retention.

"So when...," Johnny started as he moved through the drills with Clint. "When will you have Ms. Maximoff…Nngh!... damn it...When will you allow her to do whatever it is she does?" He asked before shaking his hand out.

"Soon," Natasha said as she watched from the sidelines, Alexei in her arms.

"Uh-huh…"

A little while later, Johnny stood in the main kitchen digging out the veggies and meats for the evening meal. "FRIDAY, how many are we expecting tonight?" he asked from the depths of the second industrial sized fridge.

"It appears that there will be a full roster plus one in attendance tonight Foxx. A total of ten plus yourself."

"Great…." Johnny muttered as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Can you give me an estimate of the amount of food required for both Thor and the Captain?"

"The caloric intake required to satisfy Captain Rogers and Thor Odinson are approximately three times that of a normal unenhanced human."

"So...cook for twenty and we might have leftovers if we're lucky?"

"In theory, yes."

An hour later, Johnny was putting the last dish on the table. It was a simple meal of a sweet and spicy chicken stir fry with rice and a side salad. He divided the food into two sets of dishes so everyone had a faster chance of serving themselves. "FRIDAY? Chow time, call em in." He remembered where most everyone liked to sit, so chose a spot farthest away from the Captain's usual seat. He kept quiet for the most part, answering questions, etc.

When dinner was over with, Johnny was the first to leave the table, nodding politely to everyone as he did. He headed to the, now, usual corner and settled in the chair and wait for Clint and Natasha to join him.

Natasha arrived first, settling easily in her chosen chair. "Next Monday is the first in a series of hearings dealing with the issue between The Avengers, Doom and HYDRA."

Johnny opened his mouth then shut it as he sat back and covered his mouth with a hand. He made several other abortive attempts to make a comment but could not find anything to say just yet.

Clint joined the pair, noting Johnny's expression as he sat down and handed Nat a data pad. "I see you told him."

"Yep," Natasha said as she flipped through the data looking for something in particular.

"I presume the reason you waited so long to inform me was because either A - you were only recently informed yourself or B - I have less time to do something stupid between now and then to screw things up," Johnny finally said. He narrowed his eyes in thought for a few moments then nodded. "That would make sense."

"What would?" Clint asked.

"Why Pepper took me out of the Tower this past week. She knew about something and started stacking the deck in my favor," Johnny said.

Nat only smiled, then handed him the data pad. "Read the files, make your own evaluation of the situation then figure out what might have been done to change it to a different outcome."

"Parameters for the outcome?" Johnny asked as he started looking through the data.

"None except what you will find in the data already."

Johnny nodded. "How sensitive is this information?" he asked. "As in can I let anyone see it or is it my eyes only?"

"It's old news. From about 11 years ago and, if one looks hard enough, it can be found on the internet," Clint said as he got up. "Two hours max," he said as he walked away.

"Have fun," Nat said as she also got up and walked away.

Twenty minutes passed as Johnny sat reading. Names and location were redacted, but everything else was left alone. Something about it nagged the back of his mind but he wasn't sure what, so he decided it was time to ask for some help. He closed the file then stood up and looked around, spotting who he was looking for.

Once again, Tony was eyeing Thor's hammer where it rested on the coffee table in front of the Asgardian. He was listening with half an ear to the story Thor was regaling them with this time. He noted the sudden pause and turned in the direction Thor was looking. "Swiper! Just the person… You missed all the fun from last time." Tony waved in the direction of the hammer, "Go on, give it a shot. Just wrap your hand around the handle and lift."

"I'm not here at the moment to go fondling the handle of a warrior's weapon in front of all and sundry," Johnny quipped, the gleam of amusement in his eyes.

Tony blinked, processing just what Johnny said and how. "I'm not asking you to fondle anything Mr. Todd, just wrap your hands around that long hard shaft and tug." He smirked then turned to the others to catch their reaction.

"Honestly, I'd rather play with your equipment Mr. Stark," Johnny all but purred. He tilted his head to the side and looked at Clint, who had a drumstick in hand and was twirling it. "Let me guess, I broke up a meeting of the super secret boy band?" He snagged the thrown drumstick out of the air, spinning it over his fingers before tossing it back. "Is that an invite? Does that mean I get to go fanboy on everyone?"

"No."

"But I like the idea of trying to strip the clothes off your body," Johnny mock pouted a moment before turning back to Tony. "Actually I was wondering if you have a holo table I could have access too. I'm in need of a visual set up," he lifted the data pad slightly, serious once more. "Homework."

Tony opened then closed his mouth as he looked at the pad then at Johnny and raised an eyebrow. He turned slightly to look at Clint, but the archer was turned away speaking to Nat who was leaning over the back of the couch. He gestured towards the elevators, "Conference room one," he decided then motioned towards the elevators. "Gentlemen, I shall return in a few."

"Are you not going to even try?" Thor asked, gesturing to Mjölnir.

Johnny smiled. "No. I've heard the legends. That only the worthy may lift it. I don't measure my worth by what your hammer thinks of me, but by what my children think of me." He turned and followed after Tony.

"Ooooohhhh...he did not just say that, did he?" James asked.

Up in conference room one, Johnny was leaning against the table, hands flat on its surface as Tony brought the holo projections to life. "Thanks," he said as he reached for the data pad. Bringing the files up once more he looked between it and the table. "How do I transfer the data between this and the table?" he asked.

"FRIDAY, honey, would you do the honors please?"

"As you wish Sir." Within moments the data files were transferred to the table and now floated above the surface as transparent images. "Do you wish a basic tutorial Foxx?"

"Yes."

Another ten minutes passed as FRIDAY walked Johnny through the basics of how to use the holo table. To be at the same proficiency level as Tony would take months, if not years of constant usage. He was happy he could figure out how to open and close the files or rotate the images.

"Alright, FRIDAY, would you please bring up the building specs, all floors then add placement markers for each agent listed in the report?" Johnny requested. Now that he had a visual of the building layout his hunch that he'd been there before was much stronger. "Move this…" tapping an object, "to here… much better… now according to the files..this agent," he double checked the report, "traveled along this route…" He traced the path with a finger, FRIDAY created a ribbon of colored light. He did it with the other agents then stepped back and looked at it before slowly spinning it. "I know this place…"

Natasha slipped into the conference room quietly to lean against the wall and watch. She'd gone over the report early on in her time with SHIELD, making her own recommendation based on it. "So, have you decided?" she asked.

Johnny was still watching the holo projection floating above the table as it slowly rotated. "Yes."

"Report."

"Had this agent not stopped to admire himself in the reflection of a polished plaque, he would have caught me here," Johnny said pointing to the last set of intersecting lines. "This one I managed to distract just enough to slip by here and here. I was stuck on top of the shelving unit for a good twenty minutes." He worked his way backwards from end to start, pointing out each and every incident that had he been too late or an agent too early, or just plain unlucky, he would have been caught.

"How did you slip by here and here?" Nat asked, coming up to stand next to Johnny and pointing out two spots in particular.

"Attitude here, I acted like I belonged and walked in the employee entrance with the rest of the late evening shift. Security was lax and the employees were not very social like the morning shift. And for that one," Johnny pointed to the second one, "No one bothers to look too close at a janitor coming out of an out of order bathroom grumbling about parts replacements."

"Not too bad," Nat said as she crossed her arms, looking at the display. "You could have improved here, here…. and there. Added a few seconds on your safe time and decrease your chance of being discovered." There was equal parts praise and critique. "Now, why were you there in the first place?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

Johnny just shrugged. "I was young, stupid and took a dare that I shouldn't have."

"FRIDAY, download everything to the data pad please, then clear the table's memory," Nat said. She didn't seem surprised at all by his answer.

"Yes Agent Romanoff. Shall I encrypt it as well?" the AI asked.

"No, I'll do it myself," Nat replied. A moment later the data pad dinged softly as the download was complete. "Tomorrow, instead of the gym go to medical."

"Why?" Johnny asked, hand swishing back and forth through the holo field as he 'played' Pong with FRIDAY.

"Bruce has determined its the safest location should anything go wrong when Wanda does her initial scan."

"That's always a cheerful thought," Johnny muttered. "Please give my regards to Clint and tell Tony I said thank you again for the use of the holo table."

"Not returning?" Nat asked, amused.

Losing yet another round against the AI, Johnny turned and shrugged. "Considering how you two run me ragged during the day, I'm surprised I'm still awake right now. No, calling it a night." Johnny nodded as he headed out the door to find the elevator.

Nat nodded in return. "Good night then." She waited till Johnny was in the elevator before she left the room and headed to the communications room to send off both her report and the evaluation report.