The Doctor was smiling. His TARDIS was still communicating with him in his boredom. So, when the two men banged loudly on the glass of the cell, he really wasn't prepared. He shot up, gasping, as his mind sprang from the picturesque world.

"What are you doing?" Tony Stark demanded, one fist on the glass.

The Doctor breathed out heavily. He had one hand on his chest to stop his rapidly beating hearts. "Holy smokies, you two should really call before bursting in on me like that."

"Then you weren't prepared for us. What were you doing?"

Reluctant to tell, the Time Lord didn't say anything.

"The TARDIS was acting very pissed off. Can you explain that?" Bruce asked, arms crossed.

The Doctor ran his hand through his hair, thinking. "Well, you see. . ."

"Yes?" Stark probed, raising an eyebrow.

"I haven't told you everything, you know."

"Then tell us!"

"Calm down, calm down." The Doctor stood up and smoothed his suit out. "Look at it this way: the TARDIS is alive, right?"

The two men exchanged wary glances and nodded at the Time Lord.

"So," the Doctor continued, "it would make sense if she got temperamental. She's not always the most agreeable box, am I right, or am I right?" He grinned.

"What are you getting at?" Tony asked suspiciously.

"Seems like you're stalling," Banner said.

"And it seems like you're interrupting," the Time Lord retorted. "Oh, sorry. I can get quite rude with this body."

Stark and Banner traded quizzical glances.

"Anyways, you say the TARDIS was angry?"

"Uh, yeah. She shoved me! With what I don't even know, but I got pushed back," Tony explained indignantly.

"Heh. I may or may not have accidentally told her to do that?"

"What!?"

The Doctor steepled his fingers, contemplating what to say. He rolled his eyes around in his head, looking for the right description to people that would object to everything he said. "You see, the TARDIS is a very special ship. She's a time ship, and naturally, a ship has to have some way of communicating. Like a radio, of sorts. But, someone's bound to lose that form of communication, right? So, what TARDIS's do is something so completely amazing that nearly no one can believe it."

"Well?" Bruce raised an eyebrow.

"A TARDIS is telepathic. She's inside my head all the time, and I'm inside her heart. She can sense me through her telepathic circuits. You two and everyone that comes in contact with me and her is also linked to her telepathic circuits. She gets inside your head, translating languages. That's how you can understand me. I'm not talking English right now, actually. I'm currently speaking in Gallifreyan."

"You- you mean that box is in my head right now?!" Stark exclaimed, holding his head.

"Yupparoo. . a word I've never used and never will again. . ." The Doctor shuddered at the word, grimacing.

"Oh my god. . . that is so awesome." Tony grinned at Banner.

"It's pretty weird though," the scientist agreed.

"It's great. But only I can actually communicate with her. You two are only in the very edges of her system, along with everyone else. I'm right in the middle where all the action takes place," the Doctor said, grinning as he winked at them.

"I cannot even begun to say how beast that is!" Tony exclaimed. He jumped around in excitement. Then he stopped, looking at the Doctor. "Wait, you told the TARDIS to be mean to me?"

The Time Lord rubbed the back of his head. "Not on purpose. . ." He gave a nervous chuckle. "She's sick of being experimented on and I pointed that out to her. She did her own thing."

"Your ship's a bitch sometimes."

"Oi! She's not a dog!"

"You- what? Oh, never mind. You wouldn't want to know anyway."

"I know."

"Oh."

"If you say that again, I'll throw you into space."