Vital Communication Chapter 3
Disclaimer - honest, 3rd verse, same as the first. Do not own, please don't sue.
Once there, they got into the nitty gritty of the questions Bruce had. Tony took advantage of the one featureless wall and had JARVIS project all the images they needed on the smooth vertical surface. Detailed images of the armor at life size appeared on the white wall, letting Bruce see some new things the smaller projection window hadn't had the capability to show him earlier.
"What's this part here?", he asked, pointing at an ankle junction. Tony moved in to peer at it.
"JARVIS, increase magnification," he demanded.
"That is as large as I can get the image before it degrades, sir. This area is limited with my projection abilities." The AI sounded apologetic. Bruce blinked, unsure that was possible for a construct.
"Huh, didn't realize," Tony muttered. "Well, shall we decamp to the lab then?", he offered. Bruce turned owlish eyes on Tony this time. He'd figured at least another week before gaining admittance to the man's inner sanctorum.
"Not about to look a gift particle accelerator in the 'mouth'!", Bruce quipped. Tony honestly guffawed at that.
"Bad science jokes! He speaks English, and now jokes! He's nearly human! Let's go! JARVIS, save and redisplay once we get to my lab," Tony grabbed Bruce's shoulder and spun him 180 degrees to head back out the door. Before they got too far, Tony smacked the heel of his hand to his forehead. "Dammit, nearly forgot! I've only got leaded juice up there. You should pack your own for now," he said, pointing at the kitchen.
Bruce understood immediately and headed for the cabinets. "Hm, if I had an electric kettle, I would just need bags and a mug," he murmured out loud, looking for bagged tea, and an appropriately large mug for what he felt was sure to be a long night.
"Dr. Banner?", came the disembodied voice of the AI.
"Hm?" was the distracted reply.
"I believe I can procure an electric kettle from the restaurant level, as well as top off the potable supply of drinking water in the lab. It will be in the lab within the hour," JARVIS explained, after quickly accessing his records and cross referencing them with the Stark Tower records on all supplies.
"Ah, perfect! Thank you very much, JARVIS," Bruce replied, very pleased. The AI might be more than a glorified butler, but he'd figure that out later. Taking a box of oolong, and a huge, merlot colored mug along with him, he joined Tony in the infamously secret, "private" Stark Lab.
They worked for a few hours until Pepper came looking for Tony. By this time, it was not quite midnight.
"Tony? I'm headed for bed," she said from the door of the lab. Bruce looked up, catching full view of a relaxed Pepper Potts. He had to reconcile this vision of feminine beauty with the highly motivated, killer CEO he knew from news reports. Her shoulder length, strawberry blond hair was hanging loose around her face, which was open of expression and devoid of makeup at this hour. A light smile lit up her blue eyes.
"Pepper, you met Bruce yet?", Tony asked, spinning away from the screens they sat before to face her.
"Not formally, no. I was tied up the day he joined our family," was her answer as she looked over at Banner. He knew the image he presented, a rumpled, shaggy professor type: clothes baggy and old, at least 2 days' growth of beard on his face. He started a bit over her use of the word 'family', not quite understanding how it was being used in this situation. Sure, he'd been nominally hired by Stark Industries, but Bruce felt it was part of the cover they were maintaining with SHIELD to keep him off the radar of the Army. He lost the chance for more contemplation as she determinedly moved forward, her right hand coming up, "Dr. Banner, a pleasure. Tony tells me that your work in the field of nuclear physics is unparalleled. I'm Pepper Potts," she said.
"Thank you. Ah, yes well," Bruce shook her hand, using gentle pressure. He was slightly taken aback by the welcome. He could detect no fear from her. Quickly, he turned part of his thoughts inward and nudged the Hulk, 'This one, safe. Keep safe as well.' He got a grunt of acknowledgment, and he allowed himself a smile in return.
"Ms. Potts, unparalleled only because it was life or death at the time. What you and Tony are doing with clean energy is truly fascinating. Thank you for finding me a spot here," he replied.
She looked into his earnest brown eyes during this, and could swear the color swirled to a pale tan, tinted almost hazel, just a tiny bit as he spoke to her. 'Must be a trick of the light,' she thought.
"Please, call me Pepper. We'll be working together a lot, I imagine," she told him as they broke off the handshake.
"Then I insist on Bruce," he informed her. Her resultant smile was truly beautiful to him in that instance.
Tony stood by and watched his two good, nearly best friends connect, and was pleased with himself. Though he'd probably hear from Pepper later about Banner's "rage monster". "Good that you can get along with the fairer sex, Banner. She's right," Tony started to say.
"What?", Bruce barked in surprise.
"You'll be working exclusively with me, and with Pep, on projects of our choosing. On paper, you are a one man R&D section on upgrading and updating nuclear energy sources. IF," Tony stressed the word dramatically, "I cared about the board of directors, you'd have to generate some stupid report once a year." He rolled his eyes at this notion. "Since I don't, and you aren't really employed by SI, but me directly, we can dispense with that crap."
Bruce's expression was textbook for surprise. He'd honestly thought...well, that was new. Someone was going to let him play in a lab to his heart's content. That would take getting used to.
Pepper turned to Tony, "So, are you on a lab bender, Tony?"
Tony smirked at her, "Nah, we're just doing basic stuff. Bruce, we can pick this up tomorrow, right?" He looked at Banner, who shrugged as if to say, 'You're the boss'. "Good enough, let's blow this pop stand. JARVIS, save it all and shut it down. We'll pick it up tomorrow," Tony informed the AI, who proceeded to clear up all the screens and start dimming the lights in the lab. Tony ushered the others out of the lab and back to the elevator.
"Tony, you can't," Pepper informed her boyfriend.
"And why the hell not?", he asked, perfunctorily. They arrived at the elevator that only ran from the garage beneath the building where Tony kept his cars to the penthouse.
"Because we have a lot of Stark Industries work to catch up on, since the invasion," Pepper reminded him, as if she was speaking to a 5 year old. She often felt that way, the way he avoided the hum-drum of normal business work.
He tried to level a glare at her, but she was immune after several years of working for him and beside him. "Sorry Tony, but most of it deals with the clean up, and some of it is the clean energy work we need to get moving on," Pepper refused to back down. This work needed Tony Stark to be visible, not have the company be represented by someone else.
Tony sighed, "Fine. What time do we leave?"
Pepper smiled, "Not til lunch. BUT," she emphasized the point with an upheld finger, "You are not spending the morning in the lab!"
"Ruin my fun!" Tony exclaimed, only a little hurt. Bruce watched their by-play, his heart a little bruised from missing Betty and the exchanges they once enjoyed. It had been too long, and he was glad she had moved on.
Tony swung his attention to the quiet doctor. "Hm, I know what. Dr. Banner, why don't you join me for this adventure?", he dropped the idea like he'd drop a rock. It quite literally sank between them.
Bruce stared, only slightly shocked. "Wouldn't it be best if I stayed here? Out of the public eye? Out of the Army's reach?", he tried to equivocate.
"Nah. You'll be doing Stark Industries work, so that means you're covered. SHIELD won't care. And the Army can..." Tony started to say.
"Tony!", Pepper broke in, knowing whatever he would say about the Army would be crude, and would probably embarrass Bruce.
"What? They have no rights here, Pep. The legal eagles are looking into it, but on the surface, that's what we're seeing. But if it bugs Bruce so much, he can, ya know, not be on camera for any of it. I still want him there. Someone's got to be around to speak science with me," Tony defended himself.
Bruce sighed, he had a feeling he wasn't going to win this one.
"Let's try this. You have the clean up to start with, right?", he looked at Pepper for confirmation. She nodded. "Okay, then I can work on the armor, or catch up on reading all you've done so far with the clean energy ideas and experiments until you move on to that in a few weeks, and meet you wherever that starts up. Sound like a plan?" It was a hell of a compromise, and he was trusting in quite a bit. He was trusting that only Tony would be able to keep them out of trouble, and it wasn't something he had a lot of faith in. He hoped the junket didn't take them too far away from New York.
Pepper immediately restored a bit of his faith, "Actually, that can work. The press junket is at a conference, and that will be on Long Island. You won't be far away at all."
"Good," Bruce admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. He was completely nervous, and nearly out of his depth. It had been too long since his last conference. Before...before.
Tony looked at Bruce, then at Pepper. He nodded, accepting the idea. It was enough for now. Something shifted between them then, perhaps, a fragile trust beginning.
Reviews welcome!