Echoes

Before sitting down for her meeting in the workshop Scarlett called the man she had the meeting with to let him know she’d be late. She just couldn’t bring herself to work in her expensive dress so she asked for an extra five minutes before their arrangement so that she could change. After arguing again with Tony that her dress was not Dior and refusing to tell him where she’d gotten it Scarlett managed to escape so she could get changed into jeans and a simple tank top.

If she was going to get messy in her lab during her meeting then she wasn’t going to ruin a dress that she had spent a considerable amount of money on. She had once been a very frugal woman and had lived with the bare minimum for years. This new life of fame and fortune had been a very difficult adjustment for her, even if no one had seemed to notice it. To the rest of the world it seemed natural for her to be dressed in the finest clothing.

Tony looked around Scarlett’s workshop curiously while he waited. It was small, nowhere as big as the laboratory that he was used to working in. Then again, not many people were privy to the kinds of resources Tony had access too. But for someone of her current social status, Tony thought the laboratory was miniscule. Even her office upstairs was bigger than her workspace! The far wall was lined with counters and shelves that held expensive equipment and tools for her to work with. There was a long table next to that where she did most of her work judging by the scuff marks on top of it. It was surrounded by several rolling chairs, each tucked neatly in place. Several computer screens hung off of metallic arms from the wall near the table, set up to help with her work.

In an alcove behind the table, hidden away to the left, was a small sitting area with a comfortable couch, an espresso machine on the counter, and a refrigerator with all the essentials packed away. Scarlett had left Tony alone in the workshop while she’d gotten changed after assuring him that he couldn’t access anything important without her so not to even bother. Tony had been curious so he’d poked around inside cabinets and underneath counters just to see what she had stowed in there. He had absolutely no interest in stealing any of her ideas. Tony wanted to work with her, not take her developments. It was not in his nature to steal from someone else’s genius, he had plenty of his own. There was no need to borrow something he had an abundance of.

“Before I take this call,” Scarlett began as she pulled her hair back into a lazy bun when she returned to the room. She didn’t even bother to look up at Tony who had stopped abruptly digging through one of her drawers upon her arrival. “I need you to promise me something.” Still not addressing him directly, Scarlett flipped on the screens hanging near the table. Using her phone she transferred the files she’d obtained upstairs onto the screens on the left and right. They were considerably smaller than the screen in the middle.

“We’re making promises now? Already? You move fast.” Tony slid the drawer closed as quietly as he could in hopes she hadn’t noticed. He’d begun redesigning the workspace in his head for maximum efficiency. Something told him that she wouldn’t very much like to hear his suggestions on the matter, at least not yet.

“Cute. There’s a rest area back there for you. It’s out of range of my camera but you can still watch what I’m doing from there. If you make your presence known during my meeting I will not hesitate to throw you out and have security remove you from the premises.” Scarlett leaned against the table and then finally turned her attention to him as he drew closer. He ran his fingers through his short hair, contemplated her terms, and then nodded his head to agree.

“I told you, you won’t even know I’m there. I just want to observe.” Tony laughed, waving his hand as though it was no big deal. Scarlett watched him skeptically as he walked past her and over to the couch she had instructed him to sit upon. It was comfortable and worn, not as modern looking as the one a few floors above in her office but it worked for the decor set up in the workshop. Tony leaned back against it, spreading his arms across the back cushions and folding his legs with a dramatic kick.

“Right,” Scarlett narrowed her eyes suspiciously and spoke in a long drawl. Tony looked to his left and his right and gave a silent nod of approval. The couch needed replacing but the rest of the workshop was modest yet functional. Given the state of her office upstairs and the rest of what he’d seen of the building he assumed that her workshop would’ve been just as presumptuous. Refuge was trying to make a statement and it was a very bold one. They were there to stay. Refuge was the future of technology. Tony knew that’s what she was doing with the sleek modern style of her building because it was the same thing he had done when he’d taken over Stark Industries. He’d remodeled the whole office with a modern vibe and made it his own.

First impressions were one of the most important things in business but Tony knew over the years that those first impressions weren’t always what they appeared to be. Tony was not properly represented by his company just as he was sure that Scarlett was not represented by hers. He wondered if she’d argue against that but somehow he knew the truth. They were both clever enough to know what people wanted to see.

“Are you all settled in now? No more questions before I finally start my meeting? This is your last chance.” Scarlett didn’t turn away from her table so Tony felt free to watch her as she moved around.

“I think I’m good.”

“You think, or you’re certain?”

“Wait, can I make an espresso first? Is that machine any good?” Tony pointed to the machine across from him on the counter. Scarlett sighed heavily but then turned to face him. He smiled innocently and batted his eyelashes in hopes that she found him cute enough to relent.

“Fine, but only if you make me one too.” Scarlett walked away from the table with a roll of her eyes. She ended up being the one to make the espressos since Tony hit four wrong buttons within the first thirty seconds of his attempt to ready the machine and made quite the mess in the process. It was very obvious to Scarlett that Tony was often given what he wanted and not made to get it on his own. Tony watched over her shoulder as she maneuvered the machine, standing annoyingly close. When she handed the tiny cup to him he merely stared at it. “What? What’s wrong with it? It’s espresso, almost impossible to screw up.”

“I have this thing.” Tony looked to the side and then pointed to the counter with a wave of his hand. “I hate when people hand me things.” Scarlett cocked a curious eyebrow as if to wait for an explanation but got none. “We all have our weird little tics, okay? You have this ugly couch and I don’t like when people hand me stuff.” Scarlett looked back to her couch and stifled a smile though he could see her lips curling into one despite her attempts to hide it. Gingerly she placed the small porcelain cup down on the counter and pointed to it.

“Better?”

“Much.” Tony picked the cup up and drained the espresso in one sip. Scarlett did the same and set her empty cup on the counter.

“Are you content now? Can I continue on with things?” Scarlett walked back to the table, facing away from him and Tony returned to the couch where he, again, sprawled across it. He wondered if the couch had a story behind, something from her past, perhaps. Maybe it was sentimental and that’s why she had kept it hidden away in her private workshop. Or it could’ve just been an ugly couch and she didn’t have the heart to get rid of it. Maybe Scarlett didn’t like to waste things.

“Yes.” Tony nodded his head in approval after considering if he was prepared to be quiet for an entire meeting. It seemed like a daunting task to him. Tony loved to talk, even if it was about nothing in particular. But he had to earn Scarlett’s respect, even if he had always thought he’d deserved it from everyone he met on the street beforehand. Something was different about her. Or maybe it was that something inside of him had changed. It was, after all, his first attempt to accomplish anything outside of his basement and away from his Iron Man armor in months. The thought scared him momentarily but in a weird way he felt very proud of himself. He’d gotten out of the house, flown across the country, and while he had destroyed a valuable piece of property in the process he had still done everything he had set out to do in the first place. Tony had proven to himself that he wasn’t broken beyond repair.

“Good.” Scarlett flipped on the center screen without turning to face him. “Don’t think I didn’t see you snooping around in my cabinets over there. Put whatever you took back before you leave and I won’t mention it again.” Scarlett folded her arms over her chest and watched as the screen connected to the phone at the center of the table and brought up a default video screen as she waited for someone on the other line to pick up. Tony didn’t dare respond, but he wondered how she knew that he’d been digging through her things since it seemed as though she hadn’t been paying him any mind when she’d first joined him after changing.

He’d only taken a pen as a souvenir but he’d put it back as an act of good faith. It said Refuge on it and he wanted to doodle while he was sitting down to stifle his inevitable boredom. Tony had every intention of asking if he could keep it, that was, if he could remember to ask about it. Which likely meant that he would end up keeping the pen in the long run simply because he forgot about it and would find it upon emptying his pockets when he returned home. Sometimes Tony had the memory of a small child.

Soon he was distracted by a voice coming from the other end of the room. Apparently Scarlett’s meeting had finally started.

“Ah, Scarlett I was beginning to think that you had forgotten about me.” The whimsical cockney accent met his ears and Tony leaned forward on the couch so that he could peer around Scarlett and catch a glimpse of who she was having her meeting with.

“Sorry Nathan, I’ve had kind of a crazy morning.” Scarlett folded her arms over her chest before taking a seat at the far end of the table.

“I do hope that it was the good sort of crazy.” Even Nathan’s laugh was charming. Tony instantly rolled his eyes and turned away from the screen so he didn’t have to look at the stranger. Nathan was handsome, but not in the typical way. He had a square jaw, severe cheekbones and a longer nose, but not too long to be off putting. His hair was brown, a little lighter than Tony’s but a bit longer and was pushed back out of his face, wisps of it having broken loose only somehow managing to make him more handsome. Tony immediately began thinking rotten things about the Brit chatting up Scarlett at the other end of the room.

Why? He wasn’t really sure.

“It’s always a mix of the two.” Scarlett was looking at the screen on her left where there were investor statements and catalogues of the returns she’d made on his input. This man was clearly one of those who had helped her find the startup capital for Refuge.

“I have no doubt of that, love. Speaking of which, did you happen to catch the papers this morning?” Nathan had a sparkle in his dark eyes that made Tony like him even less. He mocked gagging silently.

“Don’t tell me you actually follow that stuff.” Scarlett turned her head to the side and rested her chin in her palm before rolling her eyes. She was tired of hearing about herself in the papers. It was rarely true, what was reported, and most of the time it just proved to stress her out. Scarlett did her best to ignore what was being said since S.H.I.E.L.D. had recommended it was in her best interest not to fight any of the reports. But still, the lies weighed heavily on the back of her mind.

“And you don’t? Come on, it’s quite fun. Seeing what people are assuming about you when your back is turned.” Nathan smirked.

“We’re supposed to be talking about business, Nathan not chatting about the magazines. Now that the company has gone public…” Scarlett made an attempt to stop gossiping but was sidelined when Nathan instead continued on his tangent.

“But did you catch it this morning? You never answered my question.” He couldn’t hide his smile.

“Yes, I did. People seem to think that whenever I have a private meeting with anyone attractive I’ve had some sort of a romantic affair with them. It’s all gotten very annoying to be perfectly honest with you.” Scarlett shook her head in dismay. Nathan was a flirt, Tony could see why Scarlett had become frustrated with him. She had no interest in him, from what Tony could tell, but maybe Tony was only seeing the signals that he wanted to see. Or maybe she really didn’t, it was hard to tell. Scarlett wasn’t exactly the easiest person on the planet to read.

“If you like, I could catch a flight in an hour and we could go out for dinner and give the press a run for their money, something to really write about, you know. We could discuss business of course rather than this pesky phone call meeting thing you’re so fond of.” Nathan adjusted the camera on his computer and narrowed his eyes at it suspiciously. “I’ve never been very good at this technological stuff. I leave all of that to you.”

“I always wonder why you invested in my company when you tend to destroy every bit of machinery you touch.” Scarlett narrowly avoided answering his invitation for dinner by concentrating on the rest of his sentence. She had become very skilled at the art of avoidance in the past few months particularly when dealing with the press all the time. There was very little she could reveal about herself in a public setting and even in a private one these days, so she had to learn how to circumvent conversation in order to avoid addressing topics she wasn’t comfortable discussing.

“Because, darling, you are obviously very skilled with technology therefore I admire the work you do. While I may not understand what it is you do, exactly I have seen the end result and I am absolutely astonished by it. Refuge is a good company. That’s why I’m asking that you take the return for my investment and put it back into your company rather than sending it back to me.” Nathan gave her a dazzling, toothy smile which Scarlett returned.

“That’s very generous Nathan. But Refuge is public now, you should’ve talked to a broker like everyone else if you wanted to own a piece of it.” Scarlett laughed in disbelief. Tony couldn’t believe his ears either. He was practically throwing money at Scarlett. What was this guy’s deal? He was charming, handsome, had a cute accent, was obviously loaded and most important was obviously some kind of asshole.

“I didn’t think to talk to a broker because I could talk to you in person whenever I like and that appealed to me far more.” Nathan smiled sweetly and Scarlett offered a wary smile in return. “I figure if you could meet me at eight in Boston then perhaps I would be able to discuss this further with you. And if you showed up in that number you were wearing when you spoke to the press this morning I can guarantee you that it’ll be the talk of the town tomorrow.”

“I don’t really want to be the talk of the town. I’m the talk of the town when I’m going to get a latte at Starbucks and I smile at someone standing in line outside.” Scarlett laughed but was formulating in her head a nice way to say that she wasn’t interested in getting together. It wasn’t that Nathan wasn’t a decent guy or wasn’t what she was looking for. It was more like Scarlett wasn’t looking for anyone. Relationships were not her number one priority and being in one would only give the press more fuel for their terrible stories. Was it too much to be known publicly for the advancements that she’d made? Apparently, according to modern day press, it was far too much to ask. Being an attractive woman in the limelight made her the target of misogynistic media.

“People love you, Scarlett. Eventually you’re going to have to embrace that.”

“I know, look Nathan it’s an incredibly sweet gesture but I’m not up to going to dinner.” Scarlett folded her arms on the table and rested her chin against them with a smile. It was obvious that he didn’t want to discuss work. The meeting had been more of a ruse to try and get her to go out socially with him. While she thought that it was sweet she was also irritated that it was something she had put specific time aside for.

“Are you sure?” Nathan looked concerned that he’d offended her. “I could fly you down here for the evening if you prefer a change in scenery. Look at that view.” He moved away from the focus of his webcam and showed her the skyline of Manhattan behind him. Despite the gray skies the city was as clear as could be. Most days you couldn’t see the top of the buildings through the haze created by pollution and the water surrounding the island city. But the view on that particular day was astounding.

“It is very tempting, I do love the city but I’ve got too much on my plate today.”

“Perhaps a rain check, then?” Nathan spoke hopefully. The guilt practically radiated off of Scarlett’s shoulders but so did the apprehension. Tony watched her curiously, leaning his elbows on his knees and hunching forward. What was she so apprehensive about? Not that he wanted her to abandon him to go to Manhattan on some date with a British guy, but he couldn’t see why she would turn him down.

Tony sat upright and stopped his train of thought immediately. Manhattan?

Suddenly he couldn’t pull his eyes away from the picture on the screen and not because of the man chatting up Scarlett. The skyline behind Nathan was unmistakable now that it had been pointed out. His heartbeat drowned out any sound coming from the video and coming from Scarlett.

This couldn’t be happening.

Not here.

Tony held his hands over his ears and leaned his head forward, looking away at last from the backdrop of Manhattan in front of him. But the damage had already been done. Scarlett’s words were buzzing into his thoughts but none of them were making any sense.

“An ad campaign? Are you not getting enough publicity out here what with the upcoming show?” Scarlett was talking to the British man but Tony didn’t care. He couldn’t care. He wasn’t in Manhattan! Why was it bothering him that there was a video of it? It was true that he’d turned off news stories that had shown the city he had once called his home in the past but they had never made him feel quite like this.

His hands were clammy and he found them gripping tightly at the couch. When had he hunched forward like that? He couldn’t recall. There was no way this could be happening to him! Not now. But even Scarlett’s voice was drowned from his thoughts. He closed his eyes tight and shook his head in hopes the bad feelings would shake away just as quickly. Instead it left him feeling only dizzy and light headed. When he opened his eyes the room was spinning. The only thing that he could seem to focus on was the screen against the wall and the skyline of Manhattan in the background. His hands were shaking, going numb.

He swore that he could see something in the sky. Was it a cloud? It had to be. There couldn’t be another portal opening up, surely someone would notice that. Was Loki back? Had the monsters from another world found a way to return to earth and exact their vengeance? Tony felt a tug at his hair and realized he was gripping it in hopes of getting the thoughts out of his head. What was happening to him? He had to be losing his mind, there was no other explanation.

Rational thought had flown out the window. No matter how many times he tried to convince himself over and over that there was absolutely no way that the Chitauri had returned, that the Tesseract had been taken back by Thor to Asgard and was safe in his hands, he couldn’t stop his mind from interrupting. It could happen. What if Thor was overtaken by Loki? What if something went wrong and he went free?

His stomach lurched violently and for a terrifying moment Tony thought he was going to puke espresso all over Scarlett’s ugly couch. He had to take deep breaths; spots were forming in his vision. Was he forgetting to breathe? How could he forget to breathe? It was the most basic instinct a person had and here he was, the most brilliant man on the planet, and he couldn’t remember to inhale and exhale! Finally he let out a long breath and nearly gagged but managed to somehow stifle it.

“I’ll talk to the company publicist and see what they think. Refuge is making enough press without us running advertisements but you do make a good point.” Scarlett felt oddly out of place during this video call. She was glad that Nathan had found something to talk about other than going to dinner since at first it had seemed he was there to waste her time. Instead he’d brought up the idea for an ad campaign where they could use existing Refuge technology to show what the world will be like when it became more widely available.

“Just because you’re making your own press doesn’t mean you shouldn’t throw in a reminder here and there. Now is the proper time for an ad campaign. People love you and those who hate you absolutely love to hate you. If you put advertisements out there at least you have some control over what people see.”

“Should I be mildly insulted?” Scarlett smiled but something felt off in the room. There was a feeling in her gut that something was very unmistakably wrong about her workshop. Over the years Scarlett had learned more than anything to trust her instincts. In the past few months she had been told by S.H.I.E.L.D. to ignore almost every single one of them. It was a strange transition. The air in the room seemed to change, to thicken, as though something had gone wrong. If there had been some kind of toxic leak in her building alarms would have gone off, she was sure of that. On top of that, nothing she was currently working on had any hazardous materials required.

“Not at all. I just meant that your fans and critics seeing your company between one of their favorite programs on the telly as a reminder that you are doing some good in the world wouldn’t be a bad thing. Sometimes the hype of the media gets more caught up in the gossip than the real story.” Nathan spoke wisely. Scarlett mused over his words, turning the idea over in her mind. “It would be a reminder that you are very much doing some good in the world and not just having a romantic dinner with a very handsome actor.” Nathan smiled as charmingly as he possibly could, it was almost painful.

“Oh, so funny you are.” Scarlett tapped her fingers nervously on the table in front of her, suddenly unable to sit still.

“What I was leading up to is that if your publicist agrees to it I would be happy to take part in the filming of this advertisement. That’s, of course, with your permission. It would be good publicity for us both.” Nathan stared her down and waited for her answer. Scarlett wasn’t sure what to do. On one hand he was a budding young actor who had stolen the hearts of audiences in his last film and was rising to stardom. It was likely the publicity would do them both well. But at the same time she would only be fanning the fires that the press had lit about a blossoming relationship between the two of them. There was nothing Scarlett wanted less than to have a relationship. Okay, well there were a few things she wanted much less but this she at least had control over.

“I’ll talk to the publicist. It’s a very generous offer Nathan, thank you.” Scarlett spoke at last. “I’ll send you your return tomorrow morning. If you want the company to have it then you have to go through the stages of making it a donation. Tax reasons, you know.”

Tony sat still on the couch, concentrating on his breathing. Finally he could hear them talking at the other end of the room again even if there was still a faint ringing in his ears. It was far beyond fear of Manhattan and what had happened in his past now. There was a war going on inside of his head. Why couldn’t he get his emotions under control? Something serious had to be wrong with him! And what if something wasn’t wrong with him and this was a panic or anxiety attack or whatever they were called?

How would he ever come back from that? He was Tony Stark! He could hear the jokes now about how he was so smart he couldn’t even figure out his own mind. Tony was losing it. The more he sat and thought about it, trying to ultimately think his way back into being calm, the worse it got. He assured himself that everything was fine and he was overreacting. But the more he tried to consider it the more he knew that nothing was fine and he definitely wasn’t overreacting. Somehow he had no control over his thoughts anymore and he felt completely helpless. Tony had never felt at the mercy of something like this before, not even when he had been in captivity.

Slowly he opened his eyes and raised his head from between his legs, where he’d set it down in an attempt to overcome the sudden nausea that had overtaken him. The room was still spinning. Had things closed in on him? Had the room gotten smaller? The monitors seemed to be much closer than they had been. Surely this had to be all in his imagination, right? There were no other options left.

Tony had to get out of that room.

He had to get out of there now and he had to do it as fast as he could. Getting up hastily, Tony rushed toward the exit. In his rapidity he knocked over a table near the far wall and some metallic pieces of a project he couldn’t decipher clamored to the ground. He didn’t have the energy to apologize. He didn’t care. For some reason he could barely walk straight. Stopping to clean his mess was completely out of the question.

Without another word and with his breathing ragged, Tony shoved the door open and left it to slam shut behind him. He needed air. He needed a quiet space to breathe and think. Or to stop thinking. Whatever Tony really needed he had no idea, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to let it happen in front of Scarlett.

Scarlett stopped midsentence when she heard the crash behind her. She turned in her chair and half expected to see Tony wincing and trying to come up with an excuse as to why he’d been fiddling around behind her, but didn’t see that at all. Instead he practically ran out of the room. He was as white as a ghost! What had happened to him? Scarlett looked to the mess that he’d made and to the door. The feeling of dread that had overcome her only moments ago had gone with Tony out into the hallway.

“Was that…” Nathan hesitated, looking just as surprised by this turn of events as Scarlett did. “Was that Tony Stark?” Scarlett turned back to her investor who had his brow furrowed in confusion.

“Nathan, I’m sorry to cut this short but I have to go.” Scarlett stood up and leaned against the table so that she could reach for the phone. “We’ll finish this discussion later, okay? I’ll have Jinx call your people and set it up.” Before Nathan could say another word Scarlett ended the call and the screen in front of her went black. Scarlett didn’t know what had happened but she had a strong feeling about what it could be.

Either way, she wasn’t going to let it go and walk away. Nathan would have to wait for her to discuss advertising when it was convenient for her. At the time being, Scarlett couldn’t care less about Refuge’s reputation.