Echoes

"There's only one consistent factor in each of the readings from the past few months." Jinx was one of the few employees in the S.H.I.E.L.D. building at such an ungodly early hour in the morning. It was about three in the morning on Friday and the only others working that early were Natasha Romanoff, Nick Fury, and a handful of other employees who manned the stations while others slept. There were bunks in rooms on the floors above for those who had no time to waste heading home. S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents were very dedicated to their jobs and to the people they protected. For most, it consumed every moment of their lives.

It would be a misconception to say that Jinx had been in to work very early before heading to Refuge for the morning. It would be truer to say that she had instead stayed very late the night before. After Scarlett had traveled to Malibu the week before Jinx had been oddly busy for someone whose "boss" was absent. Scarlett had been correct in assuming that Natasha was not going to be happy that she had taken the contract with Stark Industries and had traveled away. While she hadn't exactly said it to Scarlett, Natasha had instead taken her frustration out on her coworkers. Jinx, someone who had worked doing paperwork for a very long time was considering the amount of paperwork she had to do over the past few days a little much.

"And what would that be?" Natasha was making a record of the readings that Jinx had been taking over the past few weeks for Scarlett. They hadn't been part of S.H.I.E.L.D. files and that was because Jinx had just assumed it was more of a casual thing. It wasn't like Director Fury had asked her to read Scarlett when she got the chance. Jinx did it because she liked to do it.

"That a building is probably going to fall on her head at some point and crush her. Not metaphorically either." Jinx shrugged nonchalantly. An agent a few desks away stopped to give her a puzzled look but Jinx merely smiled and waved. "That's what the cards say every time. Scarlett thinks it's a joke but it's pretty clear."

"How am I supposed to keep that from happening? Make her live in a tent?" Natasha pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. There had been very little sleep for her the last few nights.

"Boss lady won't do that. She likes her bed too much. Said something about spending enough nights in the dirt." Jinx smiled. She had actually suggested that to Scarlett who had thought she was joking. Jinx had been pretty serious about the suggestion and then Scarlett had made that comment about the dirt. Jinx had been disappointed but then again, it was unreasonable to hide from what she saw in the cards. One way or another, fate caught up with everyone. Usually what resulted of Jinx's readings could be left open for interpretation. Some of it reflected off of the mood of the person being read or doing the reading. Unfortunately when a prediction came up that frequently it usually meant something. Scarlett had never taken any stock in Jinx's readings. But, she was in Malibu with Tony Stark these days so Jinx could at least say one thing came of it.

"When was her last reading? Before she left? You're pretty consistent." Natasha was circling something in her notes and flipping through the paperwork in her lap. Even she was bored of this. She had to stop moping over things beyond her control. Natasha didn't like not being in control though. It was her way or no way at all. Scarlett had gone above and beyond to make it known that she wasn't going to let Natasha steer for her. Why wouldn't she let Natasha help her?

"Like two or three weeks ago." Jinx corrected. At this point Natasha put down her notepad and then placed it on the desk in front of her.

"Why so long ago?"

"Well…" Jinx made a face and Natasha countered with one of her own. The Black Widow wasn't going to let it go just because it made her uncomfortable.

"Did Scarlett ask you to stop?"

"No." Jinx shook her head. "I got a bad feeling." Her entire demeanor changed as she averted her eyes. Natasha swore she felt the hair on her arms stand alert. She wasn't one for superstition but she'd seen enough unbelievable things to discount Jinx's gift.

"And you didn't say anything about it?"

"I told you guys in the car that day."

"You didn't say it was about your readings."

"Well, it wasn't just about those. It was a very vague bad feeling about Scarlett." Jinx was squirming in her seat. She didn't want to say what was on her mind. Natasha was already searching for reasons to lock Scarlett away somewhere safe and Jinx did not want to be the reason that happened. "Boss lady would kill me if I said anything."

"All the more reason to tell me."

"What? You want her to kill me? Or you think I should tell you because she wouldn't want me to? This could go either way, Widow." Jinx procrastinated and Natasha audibly groaned in annoyance. "Okay, okay… but it's personal. I mean, you're just going to worry."

"I'm already worried." Natasha offered a rare, kind smile.

"No one is more than her, you know." Jinx tried to return the smile but knew it wouldn't quell Natasha's fears any. "You may not think so, but it's all she thinks about. I can tell."

"She came to me for help. It's my job. I promised to protect her."

"Maybe she came to you as a friend not as a job."

"That's not how we operate." Natasha cleared her throat. "You're avoiding the question. Bring it back around, Jinx."

"Fine! Fine." Jinx took a deep breath, placed her palms flat on her knees and then straightened her back. "I had a bad feeling that night we got attacked so I stopped asking to do the reading. Sometimes my bad feelings can reflect in the cards and it just makes the feeling worse. Then I can't tell if it's a feeling or if I'm jinxing myself. Hold jokes for the end, okay?"

"You've spent too much time with Scarlett, continue."

"That's a shame. I was hoping for some good puns. But anyway, I… Scarlett asked me to read her fortune one day when she was not doing particularly well." Jinx was apprehensive but Natasha nodded in understanding.

"Does this have anything to do with Stark?"

"No, I mean I told her she should do it but…"

"You told her to go to Malibu?"

"Of course I did. Have you seen him? And her? And them together?" Jinx made a smooshing motion with her hands. "She needed something happy with so much awful surrounding her. I'm sure she wouldn't admit it but that back and forth thing they do makes her happy."

"I can't believe you disobeyed direct orders. We can deal with that later." Natasha sighed heavily. "What did she want if not to know about Stark?"

"She wanted to know if she'd be… okay."

"She never seems that worried." Natasha felt a pang of sadness in her chest but didn't show it. All the more reason to be concerned.

"I think she just doesn't let it consume her, that's all. I mean, it's hard because things are so different for her now but… It doesn't mean she's being careless. Plus, she's kinda like you sometimes. You feel things very deeply, I think, you just don't say it. Some people drown you in paperwork when they're upset… others make jokes."

"You're defending her. She's not under attack."

"I'm being proactive." Jinx chuckled nervously. "I kinda wish I had gone to California with her. It's weird at Refuge without her. I'm not really doing my job anymore. It's mostly Origami now. Scarlett is going to be surprised when she gets back to her office. It's like Noah's Ark in there. She's still in and out every few days but the trips get longer and longer. She likes it there, I think."

"Well, personally, I hate that she's there." Natasha put the paperwork down and leaned forward in her chair.

"I can tell." Jinx laughed and much to her surprise, Natasha didn't seem too surprised by that. Maybe she hadn't been trying to hide it very hard or maybe she was comfortable enough discussing it with Jinx. "All the paperwork was a dead giveaway."

"I sorta had a feeling you had something to do with her going." Natasha, again to Jinx's surprise, didn't look very upset. "I'm thinking of going out there to keep a closer eye on her. You can be on this end when she's here and I'll be out there while she's in Malibu. Someone should be with her, not just S.H.I.E.L.D. agents we have in the field. Someone familiar with the case. As things progress she's going to need help anyway." Natasha had given up parts of her life before, she'd done it without fear, without question. When she'd given up her past to be part of S.H.I.E.L.D. she knew what the risks were and had been willing to take them. Others had always admired how she could push through those emotions, like another enemy to conquer. But it wasn't as easy as she made it seem. She wore her emotions deep inside and allowed very few to see them. Part of her knew that her façade would someday crumble, she just had no idea how soon it would happen.

When Scarlett had gone to Malibu it hadn't just affected Scarlett. She was sure the woman knew that but Natasha sometimes wondered if she should say something about it. Their bond was often unspoken and while they'd been forced to address some issues in the months past, there was still much to say. Natasha had never been very good at voicing her emotions. Lying about them, sure, but actually confessing them? That was a different thing altogether.

"She won't want to hear that."

"Well, you can't always get what you want. Particularly when she's in this position." Natasha tapped her fingers on the desk but didn't get to continue her thought.

The doors burst open and a man in a dark hood stumbled through them, followed by half a dozen S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents trying to stop him from going further. Several had their guns drawn and were yelling.

"Let me go! It's me, you idiots! Nat? Nat, are you in here? Nat? Where are you?" Clint threw off the hood and the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents stopped behind him at once. He was wearing a few prosthetics on his face to hide his identity but they were sloppily applied and he looked worried and exhausted. His beard was scraggly and unkempt.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Natasha stood at once. "Everyone stand down! Clint, what the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be undercover! Do you have any idea how dangerous it is for you to show up here? Why didn't you call? We could have set up a meeting!"

"There's going to be an attack." Clint held his hand out to silence her objections. "I had to move quickly. I just heard about it during the nightshift and I made some stupid excuse to leave… They made me toss my burner, alright? No contact unless it can be monitored at this point." He pulled at one of the prosthetics on his face and wiggled his nose uncomfortably to try and remove the glue. "Manhattan. Broadway… they're taking action. MedCo is done hiding in the shadows. The dominos are about to fall, Nat."

"The actor." Jinx whispered under her breath and Natasha exchanged glances with her then looked back to Clint.

"How much time do we have?"

"Not sure. Just know they plan on going off with a bang and it's going to be soon." Clint leaned back and pushed his hair out of his face. It was getting longer and shaggier with his time undercover. He'd lost weight, gained muscle. The longer he stayed undercover the less healthy he looked, the more he seemed like a thug.

"We have to get in touch with the theater. Do you know where he's performing these days?" Jinx was pale and worried. "We have to tell Scarlett, she needs to know."

"Of course I know where he is. We keep tabs on all her contacts, even those not related to S.H.I.E.L.D. But we shouldn't tell him. This is an opportunity. "

"I know. I was thinking the same thing." Clint nodded to agree with Natasha but looked worriedly over his shoulder. "They're taking action. Teams were deployed to god knows where in the night. I think I'm close but… you've got to move quickly. If you… show up… if you stop the show? They're going to just do it somewhere else or hurt innocent bystanders."

"We've got to set a trap."

"So we're just going to let them attack the theater? Isn't that dangerous? Like ridiculously dangerous?" Jinx immediately objected. "Fury is never going to approve this."

"There will be S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents everywhere. If we can catch even one of them there? Maybe it will be one less thing to worry about. Maybe we'll be able to let Scarlett have some privacy, finally." Natasha reasoned but Jinx felt her stomach turn. She had a bad feeling. This wasn't going to end well.

"I heard some of them talking. There's this horrible… web they've woven and it's been in motion for months. Sounds to me like ever since the deal fell through with Scott they've been taking measures to make sure their assets are well accounted for."

"Assets? Clint, are you kidding me? They refer to her as a damn asset?"

"I'm not." Clint scowled. "She was part of a deal, Nat. Scott promised her to them. That's why he poisoned her. It was a last ditch panic attempt to get her to cooperate with whatever the hell he was working on in private. He's their puppet, they own him now that he didn't deliver."

"God damnit, Clint." Natasha turned and pushed the paperwork she'd held earlier onto the floor in anger.

"It gets worse." Clint cleared his throat and Natasha hesitantly turned back to face him. The group crowded around them grew in number.

"How could it possibly get worse?"

"It feels like they're running out of time." Clint wasn't sure why, but his bosses were frantic. MedCo was on the move. There was a time stamp on what they needed to do and he had a feeling it had very much to do with Scarlett's timeline. Reaching inside his oversized, dirty jacket Clint handed Natasha a worn file and looked to her seriously. She grabbed it but he didn't let go. "This is all I've got, okay? Do some good with it." He let it go at last and Natasha nodded before opening the file. He buttoned his jacket, pulled up his hood and reapplied the prosthetic nose on his face to the best of his ability.

"Where are you going?" Natasha snapped her head up from her folder. "We need your help on this."

"I've got to go back." Clint looked at his watch and then back at the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents who all objected at once. He held his hand up to silence them. "I got away with it. No one followed me. It took me hours to get here I was so careful. I shouldn't have come here but I think I'm in the clear. Trust me if I didn't think so I wouldn't go back."

"Clint…"

"Nat, don't argue with me about this. I'm doing it with or without S.H.I.E.L.D. approval." Clint stood his ground and after a moment of quiet contemplation Natasha simply nodded and turned back to the file she'd been given. "I need Agent Pierce and Director Fury, immediately." When the crowd of agents around her didn't jump into action Natasha continued. "Now!" There was a fury of agents as they rushed around the command center. Lights overhead switched to life and computer screens lit up.

Jinx watched as the team moved but turned her attention to Clint as he readied himself to return to the shadows. Her stomach reeled and she glanced back from Natasha to Clint before she went ahead and jumped from her seat. No one was looking for her right now in the sudden chaos in the command center anyway.

"Mr. Barton?" Jinx ran in front of him and nearly tripped as she slid toward the doors that kept Clint from the outside world.

"What is it? Jinx, right?"

"Yeah, wow, okay surprised you remembered but… please don't go." Jinx held her hands in front of her cautiously and offered a weak smile.

"It's sweet that you're worried but I've got to go."

"I know we don't really know each other very well but I… I have a bad feeling."

"Trust me, I do too."

"No, when… you see there's a reason they call me Jinx, it's not just because I'm a klutz, okay? It's… I get these feelings and when I do they're… you can't ignore them. Please, please I implore you… please don't go."

"I'm so close, Jinx." Clint gently took her hands and urged her away from the door. "They're worried because they know something about this illness, okay? If I can get what they know then I'll bail immediately, don't worry. I'm good at this." Clint nodded his head.

"It doesn't matter how good you are if they know you're working for us." Jinx couldn't shake the feeling as she watched Clint. She knew she couldn't convince him, he was as stubborn as the rest of the spies she worked with. Damn them, what was the point of employing her if no one listened when she had a feeling?

"I can't give up. It's not in my nature. Keep an eye on them, they need you more than I do." Clint firmly grasped Jinx's shoulder and though they were practically strangers it was oddly comforting. "One more week could make all the difference, Jinx. There's this doctor there, a real madman, but I've been his detail on and off. He's working through this science crap faster than anyone has so far. There's a chance I could do some good here."

"But… I have a bad feeling."

"I know." Clint nodded and looked away for a second. "I do too. But it's never stopped me before." Jinx nodded to let him know she understood but she didn't like it. Why wasn't Natasha making him come in? It was the right thing to do. These spies, always insisting they had their emotions in the clear, it sure didn't seem that way when it came to one of their own. Without another word he turned and disappeared into the darkness of the early morning.

Jinx turned back to the command center and watched as the bustle of agents rushed around at Natasha's command. Mickey Pierce was the first to show up and only moments later was followed by Nick Fury. They worked through the early morning hours to formulate a plan to catch MedCo off their game. With any luck they would be able to stop any plot with minimal casualties. S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents would blend in with the crowd, obtain tickets to the performance that night. If an evacuation became necessary they could do it in a few moments time.

Chances were people would be put in danger, but the risk was worth catching Scott or anyone who worked for MedCo. It took some convincing from Jinx and Mickey but finally Natasha pulled away from the chaos to call Scarlett.

At first she had argued that they wouldn't want her there. Yes, Scarlett should be made aware but it could be after the fact. Jinx had argued that MedCo has to know she's in Malibu by now and are doing this so that it is out of her control. Having Scarlett there could bait them into making mistakes. Natasha argued that it would also put her in harm's way. Ultimately, they had agreed to include her in the plan. As much as Natasha didn't want her involved, it made more sense to bring her in.

Scarlett, however, wasn't near her phone. At least not yet. She hadn't slept that night but not because of any nightmares or fears. No, Scarlett had never gone home. Working with Tony Stark had been awkward for all of fifteen minutes before it had become incredibly fun. It had also been dangerous, but not in the way Scarlett had expected.

When they put their heads together they could talk and speculate for hours. Coffee had become their best friend and for awhile they'd spent days and days in the laboratory working on a prototype for a converter for the Arc Reactor. The laboratory was brand new and state of the art and. as Tony had been hoping upon her first arrival, Scarlett had been impressed. She was like a kid in a candy store with all the new technology at her fingertips. Yes, Refuge was state of the art but Scarlett had always worked her best in bad situations so her personal laboratory had always been the bare bones minimum.

The things they could create with this technology, without limitations! Ideas came pouring in and just as excited about these ideas was Tony Stark. Inspiration seemed endless between the two. And when finally Scarlett had accepted his invitation to come back to his mansion and take a look at his Iron Man suits the excitement had only intensified.

Scarlett had feared that going to his home would only increase the sexual tension between the two, and it had, but it had been worth it in the long run. She, unfortunately, ran into Pepper almost every day but the bickering had at least calmed down a little bit. Tony's girlfriend had even once or twice attempted conversation without insulting her. It had been a pleasant surprise, if not an awkward one. Scarlett had no time for grudges so petty as what would be held against Pepper and she thought the redhead was grateful for that but then again it was hard to tell. Little did she know that Pepper was basically arguing with Tony every second they were apart.

That particular morning, Scarlett was still awake with Tony and there was music blaring throughout the basement. Her phone was discarded on the couch in the corner, buzzing away as Natasha made attempt after attempt to get in contact with her. Scarlett paid it no mind and instead pulled a pair of protective goggles over her eyes and pointed at Tony.

"Are you ready?"

"To test this thing that we've been working on for eighteen hours? Yes, yes I am." Tony smirked and shook out his arms.

"Now, if the sensors work the way we programmed them then it should trigger the propulsion system and the suit should come to you." Scarlett walked around the desk and to the far end of the test platform.

"If that's so then why are you walking so far away from me?" Tony chuckled teasingly. They'd integrated the technology Scarlett had developed for the prosthetic limbs into the suits nearly immediately but the problems had only begun there. While the suit now came when called the prosthesis was screwing with the propulsion system. There had even been a point where Jarvis had completely lost contact with the suit.

The suit would come to Tony soon after, but the propulsion system would land it off course or propel it with such force that he'd nearly broken a limb on their first test. If nothing else, this had been a great test for Tony's reflexes. Their first mistake had been excitedly testing the whole damn suit. Tony had been buried and while the suit had made its way onto him it had also knocked him unconscious. Scarlett had Dum-E, one of Tony's older machines, help her free him from it and resuscitate him.

"I'm pretty sure on one of these parts somewhere there's a safe recommended distance and it's this far away." Scarlett shrugged and Tony practically snorted.

"Next time we're testing it on you."

"Except that you're the one we attached the sensors to…"

"Well fine, but you're going to kiss my wounds if this hurts."

"Probably not. But a risk I'm willing to take." Scarlett nodded and pulled the schematics in the air toward her. "Jarvis, can you do a quick scan of the glove to make sure we've got it all set the way we wanted. Propulsion is on low, right?"

"Yes, Miss Damien." Jarvis did as he was told and schematics floated in the air next to her. Tony thought it was odd to watch someone else manipulating Jarvis so intimately but it was also exciting to share his ideas with someone who could appreciate them. There had been three days straight where they'd done nothing but toy with antigravity. For a brief second he'd been nervous to show her the developments hiding in his laboratory but once he'd seen her eyes light up with excitement the nerves had been destroyed. In fact, that familiar arrogance and confidence consumed him once again. Of course his technology was fascinating, he was Tony Stark for crying out loud! Why had he ever doubted himself?

"Are you ready?" Scarlett looked back to Tony who was shaking his limbs out again.

"I just keep thinking about how if this thing hits me in the junk it's going to be the worst moment of my life." Tony took a deep breath and wanted to make a joke about how he would still want her to kiss his wounds but refrained. "Okay, I'm ready." Scarlett opened her mouth to speak but Tony did so instead. "No, no, wait!" He hurried off of the pad and then over to the couch where he grabbed one of the pillows. Then he ran back into place, held the pillow with his right hand over his crotch and then held out his left arm with a shake. "Now I'm ready."

"Are you sure? Your butt is in the danger zone too."

"Don't even joke about that, it's my money maker!"

"I thought that was your face."

"Scarlett, all of this is valuable real estate." Tony looked to her very seriously.

"Alright Jennifer Lopez, calm down. Jarvis, sensors." Scarlett laughed under her breath and then watched as light filled the testing area, creating a grid of brilliant blue lasers. "Put your goggles on, Tony."

"But they make my face sweaty."

"Fine, lose an eye, see if I care."

"Alright, fine." Tony laughed and pulled his goggles on and then exhaled deeply. "Okay, test number forty three. Recently rewired the sensors inside of the glove to react to those Scarlett inserted so that it wouldn't interfere with the propulsion system. Testing to see if that fixes the error."

"Don't forget we recalibrated the timing mechanisms."

"Yeah, if the damn glove doesn't unfold I'm basically just getting punched by my own suit." Tony grumbled in remembrance. His shin was still bruised from the last test.

"Glad it's you and not me. Whenever you're ready, Tony." Scarlett watched the meters in the air nearby and Tony, after sticking his tongue out at Scarlett, readied himself and then triggered the suit.

The glove unfolded as it rose into the air, then there was an ear splitting click before it rocketed toward Tony.

"Holy shi-" Tony cursed and ducked out of the way as the glove soared through the air and went flying behind him, smashing into the concrete wall with such force that it cracked before bouncing away from the concrete and rocketing into a nearby table of supplies that clattered to the floor. "Abort, abort!" Tony shouted, running from the designated testing area and ducking behind his desk.

Scarlett had ducked low and watched as the glove crashed across the room. The propulsion system stopped but steam rose from the glove that now lay at the far end of the room, sparking. The music in the room paused and all remain silent except for the hiss of the Iron Man suit that had malfunctioned.

"Was that where we were testing for…" Scarlett stole a glance at Tony peeking over his desk. Before she could get confirmation the supplies that were now strewn across the floor burst into small brilliant green flames.

Scarlett hurried over to the supplies, grabbed a fire extinguisher they had at the ready after several other tests gone wrong, and sprayed the fire until it went out. Tony had leapt over his desk once he was sure the glove wasn't coming back for him.

"Is it out?"

Scarlett watched the smoldering pile of test tubes and gears, saw another flicker of flame and sprayed the fire extinguisher again. Once sure it wasn't coming back she turned toward Tony with wide eyes and nodded her head.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, I don't think a pillow would have been enough to protect my junk though." Tony nodded, the color coming back to his face. Scarlett couldn't help it, finally she laughed. The whole damn thing was just so comical! As if on cue the glove at the far end sputtered and spun on the floor before compressing back into the tiny bit of machinery it had once been. Tony joined in on the laughter. Never had he had so much fun failing before.

"Pretty sure that was a failure." Scarlett walked over to the glove, picked it up and brought it back over to the desk.

"Dum-E, you know where the broom is right?" Tony patted the robot who chirped and extended his mechanical clamp as if to admit he did. "Well, that's quite the mess buddy." Tony tossed the pillow at Scarlett who swatted it away and back at him. "I think you did that on purpose."

"I did, you're on to me." Scarlett unfolded the glove and then grimaced. "Burned out all the wires again, Tony. What the hell is with this thing? We were supposed to fix it not make it worse."

"They shorted?" Tony furrowed his brow and leaned against the desk next to her. He snatched the glove away from Scarlett who leaned on her elbows. "Huh, maybe because we think the problem might be bigger than it is. Look… your sensors are fine, they're not shorting this thing out. Jarvis are we still getting signals from these things?"

"Loud and clear, sir."

"Let me fiddle with this for a bit."

"While you fiddle with your toy there I'll go grab us some coffee." Scarlett shook out her hair and stole a glance at the time on Tony's phone that lay nearby. She hadn't realized the night had so gotten away from them.

"Miss Damien, I hate to be a pest, but your phone has been ringing off the hook." Jarvis interrupted her thoughts.

"Hmm?" Scarlett patted herself down and then looked around on the desk. "Where is it?"

"On the couch, madam."

"Damn, it must have fallen out of my pocket." Scarlett had made a point to fiddle with her phone after having been introduced to Jarvis. There was no way she was going to let him get a read on where her calls were coming from or what they were about. It had taken some work but she'd managed to keep her signal blocked, at least thus far. Jarvis had asked about it and Scarlett had said that it was a prototype. She liked Jarvis, he was innovative and even sweet in a way.

Like his creator, Jarvis was very curious. It was trouble.

Once again the phone buzzed in her hand as she lifted it.

"Damien." Scarlett answered at once but the amusement in her voice was gone. She knew who it would be. There was only one person who would call her so many times in a row.

"Finally! Where the hell have you been, Scarlett? Do you know how long I've been trying to reach you?"

"I'm working. Time got away from me." Scarlett nodded to Tony who seemed to ask if everything was alright with just a glance. He turned away and continued to pull at the glove, asking Jarvis to bring up schematics of what they'd done and where they had started. He could do digital tests to try and figure out what was causing the short in the propulsion system, hopefully to prevent any further bodily harm.

"You need to get home."

"We've been through this. I'm here in Malibu for the week, I'll be back on Monday for Refuge meetings…" Scarlett was tired of being told what to do. Her patience for S.H.I.E.L.D. and for Natasha was wearing thin very quickly.

"It's not about that."

"Then what's so important it can't wait?"

"It's Nathan." Natasha spat, irritated that every time they spoke it quickly became an argument. Scarlett at once stopped her bickering and swallowed the lump in her throat.

"What is it? Should I come in?" Scarlett stepped further away from Tony and looked in the fridge at the far end of the room. She would pretend to make coffee, she would focus on keeping her heart rate normal and her breathing regular. Jarvis could read all those things. He'd already noticed too many things about Scarlett as it was. She knew it was only a matter of time before she would have to refuse to work in his basement. Jarvis would know she was sick eventually.

"Yes, we need you safe!" Natasha was relieved. "There's been a threat against Nathan and the theater in Manhattan. Intelligence suspects it'll take place during the second act of his show. They want the place as full as possible to make a real statement."

"I want to help."

"You can stay in command and we can use you from…"

"No, you're letting me help. You know why." Scarlett couldn't argue in Tony's basement. Every word was likely being scrutinized. "This is my company and I'm going to be the one to fight for it. You can't do everything for me."

"Fine." Natasha knew that in the long run, even Nick Fury wanted her out there to help. She was a distraction. It was dangerous to keep her in harm's way but earlier they had decided that she could be what kept the people at the theater alive. If they had the chance to take Scarlett in they were sure as hell not going to risk killing her in some kind of explosion. It had been made perfectly clear that MedCo wanted Scarlett alive. "We're prepping a jet for you now. It'll leave within the hour. You've got to move quick. You can help get Nathan out of harm's' way. He trusts you."

"Bad decision, right?" Scarlett sighed. "I'll be there." Before Natasha could say more she hung up her phone and closed the fridge. "Tony?"

"Everything alright, Miss Damien?" Jarvis spoke. "Your body seems to be under quite a bit of stress."

"Work makes my blood pressure spike." Scarlett joked and started back toward the desk. Tony made a motion to show Scarlett what he was doing but they were both stopped when the door to the basement opened and in came Pepper Potts.

The redhead feigned a smile but wasn't fooling anyone. She wasn't happy to see Scarlett still in the house at such an early hour.

"Getting a head start today, I see." Pepper cleared her throat and walked toward the duo at the desk. Every so often Pepper had come downstairs simply to make her presence known. She had hoped to remind Scarlett just where she was and who she had no choice but to respect. Mostly it had been an interruption but Scarlett had seen what she was doing regardless. It wasn't so much the way she spoke to Scarlett herself but rather the way that she spoke to Tony that bothered her. The two of them did their best not to argue in front of Scarlett but she could hear the bitterness, the unsaid, in their words. It irritated Scarlett to the point where she knew she would eventually have to say something. Tony was doing well and from what she'd seen of him in the past when he hadn't been well it was no thanks to Pepper.

There had even been times where Tony had completely zoned out after talking to Pepper and Scarlett had to bring him back around with a stupid story or a fun idea. Still, it wasn't Scarlett's place to interfere in their relationship. She just wasn't sure how long she could hold her tongue if it continued. Relationship advice was definitely not something Scarlett should be doling out, not after her history with romance.

Pepper had secretly been hoping, in the beginning, that she would walk downstairs and catch the two in the act. It wasn't that she wanted Tony to cheat on her, no. That would have been devastating. But part of Pepper wanted it to happen just so she'd have an excuse to get Scarlett out of her house and out of her life. It was hard to explain why she was so angry when things had gone so swimmingly.

Never had she caught them being inappropriate. Yes, she'd heard them joking, laughing, having a good time, but never doing anything that would seem like cheating. Pepper still somehow thought this was worse. Scarlett had formed a real bond with Tony. On top of that she'd been nothing but nice which seemed only to irritate Pepper further.

"Actually we lost track of time."

"Wait… so you've been working all night?" Pepper looked disapproving. There, Scarlett was a bad influence right? Tony had trouble sleeping, he should be resting, not burning the candle at both ends. Wasn't that something? Then again, Tony looked happy. He didn't even seem irritated that Pepper had interrupted them.

"Yeah, we got really caught up trying to fix this propulsion error and… well before we knew it." Scarlett held up her phone and allowed the screen to display the time. "I have to cut out early thought. Or really… really late depending on how you're looking at this."

"Aw, come on… I'm finally making some headway on this thing." Tony laughed, showing them both the inside of the glove. "Look at all these scorch marks! That would have been my hand."

"Oh my god! Tony! That's dangerous!" Pepper immediately felt alarm race through her. "What the hell are you two doing down here?"

"Don't worry, we're being careful. I'm not going to let him lose a hand." Scarlett patted Tony hard on the back and he nearly dropped the glove in surprise. "Shit hit the fan at Refuge. One of my projects kind of… wrecked half the lab. I've got to go schedule repairs and take a look at it myself. Julianna was kind of a mess." Scarlett smiled though she wasn't even sure the words sounded natural. It'd taken her too long to throw together the story, but it seemed genuine enough since no one was complaining. Well, or at least arguing with her about the validity of her story.

"How long will it take? I mean, you'll be back soon right? We have so much to do still." Tony nodded toward the rest of the suit.

"I'll be back as soon as I can. You work on whatever your idea is for the propulsion system. We can go over it when I get back. Don't… go crazy and test it on yourself. Please? I just promised Pepper you wouldn't lose a hand." Scarlett smiled pleasantly at Pepper but only got a glare in return. Eventually Scarlett was going to stop being nice. Thankfully Pepper hadn't said anything negative about her to her face since that first incident.

Still. Scarlett felt that petty resentment building just beneath the skin no matter how she tried to ignore it.

"Alright. Be safe." Tony nodded and didn't look up as Scarlett grabbed her coat and left the basement with a wave. Pepper watched her go and then looked around the basement awkwardly. With Scarlett gone, Pepper had no real reason to be down there. Was that what she had resorted to? Spying on her boyfriend in hopes of finding a reason to be angry at him? Maybe he had been right. She only seemed to want to pick fights with him these days.

Maybe she could fake it, feign interest in what was happening in Tony's lab.

"So you're making progress then?" Pepper spoke with a smile on her face. Tony nodded his head in excitement and held out the glove again to show her. "But you just said it shorted out and that could have been your hand."

"Yeah, but I'm fixing that and it wasn't my hand." Tony laughed and then placed the glove down. "I know you don't want to see it."

"No, no!" Pepper held her hands up and Tony looked surprised. "Tell me. We haven't really talked in days."

"I think I've seen more of you this week than I have in the last six months." Tony joked but Pepper didn't seem to think it was very funny. "Kidding, kidding…"

"Don't start, Tony."

"I wasn't." Tony nodded toward where the rest of the suit remained. "I know it looks like a mess down here and that's because… Scarlett and I work really differently." Tony nodded his head. "She's much more meticulous than I am but tends to spread out over a wider space and use what she's got until I tell her I've got something better."

"Yeah and you're used to this place." Pepper forced a smile. It was ten seconds into the conversation and he was already talking about her.

"Exactly!" Tony laughed. "But we actually manage to get this thing to come to me now. Her sensors work. The technology is solid, Pepper. I told you it would be good."

"Uh-huh." Pepper nodded again. "So then what's the problem?"

"Keeps shorting out and coming to me too fast. It's all the other technology that's not cooperating now. You see, the Iron Man suit well, the design is kind of like… a song. I've played it for so long and I know all the keys, all the notes. Now I've got to add this new verse and it's hard to place it properly. Some of the old notes have to be rewritten, rebuilt. It's kind of like starting over."

"Great, so there will be more of these, then?" Pepper looked to the wall of Tony's suits that was practically now a militia.

"I'm trying to think about the here and now. I might adjust the current suits in order to integrate the technology but Scarlett suggested that I perhaps leave it. She made a good point."

"And that was?" Pepper swore that if it was one of the ten thousand points she had made in the past as to why the suits were in excess she was going to throw something at his head.

"That I don't need them all on a daily basis. Why fix what isn't broken? This one suit… then I'll go from there. We got distracted for a little while with the energy project and then it sort of… melted all over the floor just now? And caught fire?"

"Fire?" Pepper's jaw dropped. She couldn't hide that she wasn't happy with this conversation.

"You should have seen Scarlett trying to put it out, it was hilarious. Hey Jarvis can you replay footage of that last…"

"Enough, can…" Pepper held up her hands to stop him and walked toward his desk. "Can you not talk about her for just a few minutes?" She practically bit at him and Tony leaned back. He knew Pepper didn't like Scarlett, she had made that abundantly clear.

"You asked about what we were doing, I wasn't going on and on." Tony's tone of excitement disappeared. He'd hoped that they could have a nice conversation. She was so rarely interested in what he did these days down in his lab. In fact, Tony was sure that she blamed the suits for what was happening between them. "We're working together on this project, it's stupid to just keep her out of it. We can talk about something else if you want."

"Like what? She's a part of everything these days."

"You're the one who wanted to talk." Tony turned back to the glove on his desk. That was short lived. Pepper didn't want to talk to him, she'd just been hoping to distract him for a bit. So much for that.

"I can't do this anymore, Tony." Pepper turned away and exhaled deeply. "I can't!" That was enough to get Tony to stop what he was doing and finally pay attention to her. He knew she wasn't talking about the conversation, his lab, or even Scarlett.