2013.10.03 - Just Another Tuesday at Stark Industries

Chaos? Panic? Disorder? Sounds like Monday.
Actually, it's Tuesday.
Tony comes into Pepper's office. He barges in more often than not, and in this case it's a little louder than normal. "Pepper!" Tony exclaims as he barges in, "pepperpepperpepperpepper. WHAT." he pauses dramatically, "did I do last night?" he runs a hand through his hair, "None of my texts make sense, JARVIS won't talk to me, and I woke up with my PJs on inside out." a brief pause as he looks around. "Again."
Pepper Potts looks up as Tony barges in, but oddly, he's LESS coherent than usual. She is, of course, as impeccably dressed as ever. "I can check the security feeds if you want, but it will take a few minutes. Sit down, I'll make you some coffee." Starting a query on her computer, she stands and walks over to wet bar and gets out the coffee fixings she keeps there for people with different caffeine intake preferences from her own. "Oh, and while we're waiting for the feeds, I should remind you that you've got an appointment with Ms. Gordon from Gotham in," she glances at her wristwatch, "fifteen minutes."
Ah, the trials and tribulations of keeping track of Tony Stark. Barbara Gordon does not envy Pepper her job. That said, it's a good thing the eccentric futurist pays the woman so well, because anyone else would be lucky to have an assistant/handler half so good. 
Of course, it might have taken a little doing for her to sort out the quizzical text Babs sent Tony on the night of the WayneCorp reveal at the Expo, but really... a phone call isn't that hard to arrange. Not with Ms. Potts, anyway. Not in Barbara's experience. 
Of course, Tony's another beast entirely, but she expects that.
True to her nature, the Gotham Police Commissioner's daughter arrives early for her appointment. Fifteen minutes early, in fact. It's rather de rigueur, where she's concerned. 
So, only seconds after Pepper has finished checking her watch, the security desk at the front of the building calls up to alert them that the Gothamite has, indeed, arrived.
Tony Stark immediately begins adjusting his tie, straightening it up. He has the luxury of coming down from the Penthouse to work so there are times when he's a bit more casual in his dress. Like the time he actually showed up to a board meeting in his robe, carrying a newspaper under his arm. Thankfully for Pepper, fixing his tie is all he really had to do. "Well," he says dryly, "Starting my day with another smart redhead. Things are looking up already." he sighs, "I didn't think she would want to talk to me. I'm still hammering out the bugs. I shouldn't have rushed it." there's a tone of regret in his voice. Sincere regret.
Pepper Potts is now splitting her time between fixing the coffee and answering the phone. She's mildly surprised, but recovers quickly. A skill she uses frequently. "Thank you, Dmitri. Please see her to my office. Oh, and ask her if she'd prefer coffee or tea." Because at this point, it's just as easy to make both. Setting the phone down she goes back to pour the near-boiling water into the coffee press. "When did you eat last, Tony?" Yes, now she's planning to have food sent up. Think fast.
"Coffee," is the reply message from Dmitri. Barbara's not a caffeine junkie (okay -- maybe a little bit, computer geek that she is), but she does like her joe. A few moments later, the elevator dings and she maneuvers her chair past the executive assistants out in front of the offices, before she knocks lightly on Pepper's door to let her know she's arrived.
Tony Stark thinks about the question posed to him. But he has to really think, "Wait.." he asks, "What day is this?" he asks. It's not an unusual reply to this question. When the door knocks, Tony looks to Pepper and then looks around. Seeing something amiss, he gets up and pushes the other chair in front of Pepper's desk to the wall. He then sits back down and adopts an appropriately casual pose.
Pepper Potts glances toward the door then answers Tony as she goes to open it for Ms. Gordon. "Tuesday. And I'm going to take that as a no." Then the door is opened and she smiles as she steps aside to let the Gothamite enter. "Welcome, Ms. Gordon." She looks over and if she's surprised by Tony's apparent thoughtfulness she doesn't show it, and then she's returning to the wet bar to finish preparing the coffee and send a text on the sly from her phone requesting a platter of sandwiches. The lower level assistant who receives the text is already familiar with this sort of request and places 'the usual order' with a local deli.
Remarkably enough, Babs isn't surprised by Tony's thoughtfulness. She's seen it on several occasions from the man who considers her a kindred spirit. And she usually tries to repay it in kind -- by not making a fuss. It would only embarrass them both. 
As Pepper opens the door, Barbara smiles. "Ms. Potts," she says in greeting. "So nice to see you again." A glances across the room. "Tony." 
They've worked closely enough on various projects, lately, that the use of his first name really isn't a liberty. 
She notes the place where the chair against the wall usually sits by the depressions in the carpet. A smile touches her face and she coasts slowly to situate herself somewhere in that vicinity. "Thanks for seeing me."
Tony Stark smiles, "For you, Babs? I'd have cancelled my entire morning schedule." he then looks at Pepper, "Actually, why don't we do that. Pepper? My whole morning? Wipe it." - Note: This doesn't always work that easily, but hey - a guy can dream right? He then looks back to Barbra, "So what can we do for you, this fine morning?"
Pepper Potts bustles about mostly in the background as Tony and Barbara start to talk shop, the coffee cups getting set gently onto the glass top of her desk in front of their respective recipients, and then a small platter holding containers of cream, sugar, and a spoon is set next to Barbara's cup. The two orchids that usually grace the end of the desk are lightly pulled away to sit on the coffee table over by the TV set into the wall, and then finally Pepper settles back into her own chair (thus proving this to be her office and not Tony's) with a cup of what smells like Earl Grey tea. 
The tea gets set aside, though, as she pulls her tablet from the shoulder bag sitting on the floor by her leg and uses it to adjust Tony's schedule accordingly. Thankfully, Tuesday is usually a 'not much going on' day, and she only has to shuffle one thing. And that's easy to handle. A quick IM is sent to Howard in R&D saying Tony might be running late due to a collaborative meeting, and she'll IM him again when he's free. 
Then she sends a different message, this one more on the sly, asking JARVIS why he's not talking to Tony.
"Extremis," Babs replies without a lot of preamble, answering Tony's question. "I've been thinking about it. A lot. And I wasn't really sure for a long while. But..." Her lips both thin and curl at the same time. (It's quite the trick.) "I can't count the number of times in the past several weeks that I have been... sidelined... in the middle of a crisis because of this chair. Now that I know there's a way to change that?" She gives a dry smile and a mild shrug to try to downplay just how important this has become to her (likely to little avail). "It's driving me nuts."
She has, over time, become less self-conscious around Pepper. Though the women retain their professional formality, Babs understands how important Pepper is to the smooth functioning of Tony's life and has reconciled herself to the fact that she can't rightly withhold secrets from Pepper that she wouldn't withhold from Tony. So, it's safe to assume the Oracle thing is out of the bag. 
And probably the Batgirl thing before it. 
Thus, she adds, "I may not be slapping a bat symbol on my chest anytime soon, but I'm getting tired of being carried down stairs by well-meaning security guards who consider me a helpless invalid."
Tony Stark thinks for a moment, listening to Barbra. Then he smiles, "I've been hoping you'd say that. I haven't wanted to pressure you or make you think I was hounding, but I'm very happy that you want to go through with this." he says, sipping from a large cup of coffee. "I can't promise you'll be able to. But what I can say is that I can get you out of that chair. You won't have to be carried down stairs..well, unless you want to be."
Pepper Potts reads something on her tablet and almost hastily reaches for her cup of tea, using it to try and hide her attempts at smothering a smirk. She takes a sip from her cup, then sets it back down to tap at her tablet's screen some more. She glances up at the two at the mention of Extremis, then adds to what she's typed onto the tablet's screen.
Babs tracks Pepper's movements out of the corner of an eye -- it's not hard given how they're all positioned. But, she refrains from tracking her finger movements enough to be able to inadvertently read the messages she types. And, she does feel a little badly that their meeting is taking over her office. She turns as Pepper glances up to them, reaching for her coffee, and gives the other woman a bit of an apologetic smile. 
But, Tony's reaction gets a chuckle from her, a genuine smile. "It's a good start," she says. The rest, she's more than willing to handle on her own, stubborn, determined thing that she is.
Tony Stark's mind is already working though. "It's actually a fairly easy procedure. It's a series of injections, and even those are minimally painful since I've developed the high pressure sub-dermal delivery system." he holds up a finger, "But." he says, and his voice is now serious. "You won't notice anything different the first couple of days. It's my experience that it takes at least forty eight hours for Extremis to properly bond and begin to work. So I don't want you to think it hasn't worked when you can't wake up and run a five K the next morning." he sips his coffee and gives Pepper a sidelong glance.
Pepper Potts knows when to paraphrase things on Tony's behalf, and figures this is safe enough to share in front of Ms. Gordon. (She's not as familiar with the woman yet, so doesn't know what will count as humor and what would go over like a lead brick.) "JARVIS says you called him a glorified XBOX last night." Of course she leaves out the part about him trying to booty call half of the eastern seaboard. Her eyes flick back to her tablet as more data appears, and her eyebrows quirk upward for a second.
Barbara nods to Tony as he grows serious. "I remember reading that," she says. Of course, by now, he's probably figured out that she remembers everything she reads. So, that shouldn't be a surprise. She smiles. "I have to say, I... I'm actually kinda looking forward to it." Actually, her eyes dance a little. She imagines walking in to her father's house for the first time. Full circle.
Tony Stark nods, "I'm kind of looking forward to it, myself." he says, propping his chin up with a hand, which is leaning on his leg. "I'd like to see what happens when I'm not testing it on myself." he says, that last bit almost to himself as if it's an afterthought. He looks up at Pepper, "I did." he pauses, "Wait, I did. Why?" he shakes his head, "I'd never call him a glorified X-Box..unless I had a really good reason." he shrugs.
Pepper Potts is contemplating the possibilities and the repercussions of Extremis when her brain catches on Tony's words, said as an aside. The sound of a record player needle being scraped abruptly off of a record is almost audible as her eyes go wide. "Wait. You're doing WHAT, Tony?" What JARVIS was called and why now is completely set aside. Tony just admitted to testing that Extremis thing ON HIMSELF.
Babs' attention darts between the two. Yes. She can virtually hear that record scratch. Her serious expression doesn't change. If anything, it grows deeper. "Well, then," she says dryly, "I guess I'd better sign a waiver." Because, seriously. Experiments like this are probably NOT sanctioned by the FDA. 
Which makes this a little riskier than she'd first anticipated, but... In for a penny, and all that.
Tony Stark coughs, "Um, nothing. Pepper, I just..um..apparently called JARVIS an X-Box," looks upwards, and speaks a little louder, "In which case, I'm VERY VERY SORRY." he looks back down and over to Babs. "Well, it's not required but if it'll make you feel better."
Pepper Potts rubs at her forehead with one hand as if trying to banish a headache, because she KNOWS what she heard. But, if Tony is that quick to try and gloss it over, that means he'd rather she not ask. And she'll take that to mean he'd rather she not ask IN FRONT OF MS. GORDON. Because she WILL get all up in his grill about this. If he's allowed to show that he's worried about her when crazy stuff like a giant bat glowering at her happens, then she's equally allowed to get a bit screechy when he starts experimenting on himself. Again.
Given that the research Babs read suggested that the treatment was ready for wider distribution, the superhacker is at least mildly surprised that the primary test-subject is Tony himself. But, at the same time, having gotten to know him over the past several weeks... she's so not surprised. And, okay. The long-term effects can't yet be gauged, but that's normal for any experimental procedure. So... 
So, she smiles. "Let's just set a date. I'll get a friend to drive me," and lend moral support, "and we'll just see how it goes."
Yep. Still determined. She and Tony do actually have more than just technology in common.
Tony Stark smiles, and narrows his eyes at the same time. "I'm ready whenever you are." he shrugs, "I've..kinda been ready ever since we talked about it. I wanted to be ready..just in case..you know." he says with a grin, "And yeah, bring a friend." he pauses, "But...they'll have to wait in the lobby."
No, Clint hasn't taken a day job as a delivery boy. But there'd been someone else waiting for the private elevator when he got there, and he'd been more than happy to volunteer. Because sandwiches. Especially after that encounter in the front lobby.
It's the accent, Clint thinks. Arrow can't handle Russian accents. God, his dog is McCarthy.
Balancing the tray of sandwiches, one half-eaten in his hand, Arrow's bag hanging from his arm, his own bag on his back, and Arrow's leash in his other hand, Clint somehow manages to operate the elevator, and hip-nudge the door open. Enough that Arrow just manages to stick his head in, tongue lolling, and Clint follows suit.
"Uh, sandwiches?" he asks, eyebrows raised. And mouth only a little full.
Pepper Potts looks from Tony to Babs and back, then looks down at her tablet as another message appears on its screen. The sandwiches are on their way up. Thank goodness. Gives her something else to think about and hopefully keeps the freak out at bay for a while longer. She taps a quick message back indicating to send the sandwiches up... just in time for Arrow and Clint to arrive with the tray. She stands perhaps a bit hastily and sets her tablet on the corner of her desk to go help the new arrivals. Mostly to keep that sandwich tray from falling over. 'Cause that would make her angry. Even if it would make Arrow ecstatically happy.
Babs chuckles lightly in response to Tony. "He knows. He'll cope." Yes. She said 'he'. 
Then, of course, the elevator bell dings, Pepper springs up, the dog makes his presence known. The woman twists in her wheelchair, looking over her shoulder. As she recognizes the face -- Hey. She's Oracle. Of course, she knows his face. His dossier, too. And his time with Helena. -- and the dog by extrapolated extension, a bit of a smile touches her lips. She adjusts her chair slightly to be more in profile, and thus have an easier time of seeing everyone now in the room.
Tony Stark winks at Babs, "Hopefully he's not a frowner." he replies, before canting a head at the doorway before smiling broadly, "Clint!" he says warmly, as the fellow Avenger pops in bearing the tray "And you brought offerings! This pleases Caesar." and then there's Arrow. "Hey boy!" he reaches down and gives the dog some scritches behind the ears.
As is customary, Pepper is the first to receive Arrow's attention, though as she's too busy making sure Clint doesn't serve the sandwiches to the floor, he goes looking for attention elsewhere. And finds it, of course; he looks up at Tony with his one blue eye and dog-smiles at him at the scritches.
"If it will please Caesar," Clint begins, then remembers he has a reputation to uphold, here, and can't just go quoting Shakespeare willy-nilly. Instead he finds an appropriate spot to offload the rest of his cargo- suspiciously long duffel bag and Arrow's bag with the little pawprints on it before patting his thigh. Arrow runs over- though not before offering a curious sniff at Barbara- and is given a bowl of water and a chew toy shaped like a hot dog to content himself with.
They didn't have a pizza shaped one. Clint totally bought a frisbee like that, though.
Pepper Potts rescues the sandwiches, smiles at Arrow because that's all she can do for the moment, then takes the tray to the dinette-looking table by the wet bar to start serving up small plates with a few sandwiches each. "Ms. Gordon, would you like a sandwich?" Tony DID say they'd probably be here all morning... One plate is already making its way to Tony's place at the desk, and the other one is offered to Clint before he can speak up, along with a chilled bottle of fruit juice from the mini-fridge cleverly concealed in the wet bar.
Barbara offers Arrow a brief pat of greeting, smiling to the animal. She doesn't know him; he doesn't know her. She doesn't try to get too friendly. But, that doesn't stop her from saying 'hello', at least. She chuckles to Tony as she does. "Less so than many others in Gotham," she assures him.
She looks to Pepper when the food is offered, her brows rising some. "Uh... Sure. Sure, that'd be great. Thanks." She twists her chair again to get a better look at the platter. "The one on the end would be great." And she still has her coffee.
"And so were they all, all honorable men." Tony grins to Clint. When the plate with the sandwich is placed next to it he looks at it, hmms, then sips his coffee. "Well, better than some I can come up with." he shrugs, "So when were you thinking? We can do it pretty much whenever you want. If you had a date in mind, we can do it then, too." he sits back in his seat and relaxes a bit.
You ever get the feeling you're kind of- intruding? Clint gets that a lot, actually. Most of the time. He has a bad habit of sticking his nose in where it doesn't belong, or showing up at the wrong time, or- well, whatever. He's making himself scarce with sandwiches. Arrow has enough social awareness (probably more than Clint actually, let's be honest here) to cozy up under a table or a chair or something with his toy and entertain himself.
"Thanks, Pep," Clint says, then follows his dog's lead and finds an inconspicuous place to perch and get his ham and swiss on.
The sofa in front of the TV is vacant, but the coffee table has Pepper's orchids on it for the time being. Pepper takes a few sandwiches for herself as well as another bottle of fruit juice, then settles back into her own chair, setting the plate et al to one side while she wakes up her desk's interactive surface to clear her own schedule for the rest of the morning. She should have done that to begin with.
If Clint's intruding, it's after the truly revealing stuff has been said. So, it's no matter. "I can sometime this week," Babs tells Tony in response, starting to wheel her chair over to the sandwiches so Pepper isn't actually burdened with playing waitress. Babs can do for herself, after all. 
"Let me check with Dick to see when he might have a day free." She glances between him and Pepper. "I'll... message you both to set it up?"
She's not ignoring Clint. She's just trying to get everything sorted. So, as she places her plate on her lap and reverses back to her spot by the desk (and her coffee!), she smiles to him and pauses long enough to extend her hand in greeting. "Barbara Gordon," she says by way of introduction. "Nice to meet you."
Tony Stark nods in agreement with what Babs proposes, "That sounds good. I need maybe a half hour's notice if I'm in the Tower. A little more if I'm not, but I'll make sure you're both cleared to come up in the express elevator to the Penthouse. We'll be doing it in my private workspace." he then motions between Clint and Babs, "Clint, Babs, Babs, Clint." he looks and cocks an eyebrow at Babs, "Clint's a good guy." a beat pause, "Also Pepper's chewtoy." and a quick glance to see if Pepper's drinking and if she spittakes at that. Yes, sometimes he does it on purpose.
Clint has the decency to shake her hand before retreating off somewhere. "Pleasure's all mine, Ms. Gordon."
He recognizes the name, if only vaguely. Gotham's not his usual haunt but he has friends thataway. Still, he's doing his best not to be all that noticeable. Which he's actually very good at. Y'know, ex-spy and all.
Until Tony has to go and do that. There's no spit-taking from Clint, but a few seconds later, a pickle lands *SPLAT* right on Tony's forehead.
"Don't push it, Stark," Clint says from across the room.
Yeah, well, the tea had been going cold anyway. Luckily, Pepper has long since learned how to not spit-take, though it's a CLOSE thing this time. She has to slap a hand over her mouth and stay very still for a few seconds before she can swallow the mouthful of tea. And of course in that time a pickle has unerringly hit Tony in the forehead. That causes her to laugh and choke and start to cough. But DAMN. She really really hopes JARVIS was recording that.
Babs glances up quickly as the green slice goes flipping through the air. Glancing between the two men boys, she blinks... and can't help but join Pepper in her laughter. As a precaution, however, she thrusts her chair back, moving beside Pepper's desk, rather than remaining before it. "Hope you don't mind," she says with a lopsided smile to the other redhead.
Not, mind, knowing these two even by reputation, that she considers it all that great protection. She considers, just for a moment, loosening her escrima sticks to use as a bat in case things come flying at her, but ultimately decides against it. 
It's not like Stark can't afford to pay for her dry cleaning.
*THWACK*
And just like that..Tony Stark is kosher-stamped.
People laugh, Tony sighs. Tony also picks up the pick out of his lap and munches it thoughtfully. He holds up the munched on pickle without looking at Clint, "Touche." is all he calls out.
"Sir," says the droll voice of JARVIS, audible for the first time since people have entered the room. "I have decided to accept your oh so heartfelt apology." there is a beat pause, "Though I did feel compelled to send the footage of you fraternizing with vegetables to the last sixteen contacts on your recently called list. I do think your chances with said members of the Swedish Bikini Team, Playboy Mansion, and JLA will drop proportionately. Consider this a challenge and not a humiliation, sir. Would you like me to arrange for your suit to get dry cleaned, or shall I have a replacement waiting in your Office?"
Wherever Clint has found himself a perch- and the couch is far too boring for that to be it- he props up his feet and takes another bite of sandwich. Tony gets only a muffled "Mmhmm" as Clint chews.
Then JARVIS cuts in, and Clint snickers, shaking his head. "You're my favorite, JARVIS."
JARVIS responds, "You've had my respect from the outset, Mister Barton, and with shots like that it only increases more. This is..what is the term..Bromance that we have here. Oh dear. Don't let Mister Stark know we are treading on the edges of his fragile ego. He may bristle at the lack of attention."
Pepper Potts recovers after a moment, though JARVIS-snark is always good for more laughing. Though right now it sounds more like she's coughing. She can only nod to Babs and gesture vaguely to invite her around to the 'safe' side of the desk. When she can breathe again, the only comment she has for the room at large is, "Hurt my orchids and I make you BOTH scrub every inch of this office with your toothbrushes."
Babs makes a mental note to have DELPHI ask JARVIS for a copy, later. She does, after all, do Tony the professional and personal courtesy of refraining from allowing the snoopy OracleNET AI permission to breech Stark internal security systems. It's something of a stalemate game, anyway, the two of them being who and what they are. Besides given the work they've done together lately, it's not like they're not regularly sharing resources, anyway. And each is pretty good at watching their own backyard. 
She does take the liberty, however, of retreating further to safety when invited, however. Although she doesn't laugh openly at JARVIS-snark, the way Pepper does, she does grin. And that grin only grows when the woman threatens retaliation for her orchids. 
Chew toy, indeed!
Tony Stark tries to resume the posture of a CEO and not a sitting Pickle Target. He shrugs a little bit - "So as I was saying, it won't take too much to get things ready to go. Just a short heads up and the final equipment needed will be wheeled into place before a sterile shield is initiated over the works."
"Tony can't get in the way of our bro love, JARVIS."
Clint raises an eyebrow at Pepper when she threatens him, and then, /just/ to prove that he isn't her chewtoy- what does that even mean by the way?!- he pries another pickle from his sandwich and wiggles it at her, then FLINGS it...
Into Arrow's waiting, open mouth.
This is possibly how Clint trains at home.
Pepper Potts was actually fully prepared to catch that pickle, even if she doesn't care for the things. She's been to her share of hibachi steak house places where the cooks fling bits of food at the customers/spectators. But, then, she's not upset that she doesn't have to eat a pickle. Yuck.
Barbara's eyes still twinkle as Tony returns oh-so-seriously to the earlier topic. But the rest of her expression grows appropriately adult and serious. "Half-hour to an hour's prep," she nods, recalling. "That'll be fine. It'll take us that long to get here from Gotham, anyway." 
Tony Stark nods and clears his throat. "Alright, then Babs. We'll expect your call in a few days." he pauses and then looks at Pepper, "Clear extension 5150 if it's not being used. It'll be the extension Babs calls us on to let us know we're on the way." he looks to Babs, "That work for you? No chance of a busy signal."
Meanwhile, Clint eats all the sandwiches.
Category:Log