57Tony sighed wearily as he entered the elevator. It has been a long day... or several days to be exact, he wasn't exactly sure how long he had been in his lab. Long enough that his eyes tingled with the strain of being open too long and his body was sluggish but wound up on the mass amounts of caffeine in his system. He was certain his blood must be about seventy-five percent alcohol and twenty-five caffeine.
As the improved elevator speedily reached the up most floor in the tower he pondered if there was an algorithm he could use to find out how much his body really operated on those things alone. It was an ingenious but idle thought – as most of his were – and only severed to distract him on his short journey and to keep him aware.
He would need to be alert.
It was foolish of him to forget that Pepper was coming back to New York tonight and not being able to greet her properly. Well, it was foolish of him not to remind JARVIS to remind him. Or rather, to be more persistent in his reminders that is. Really, his AI should know better.
Nevertheless, he should have been there to greet her as all the best boyfriends are supposed to and would certainly need to make it up to the feisty red head.
"Sir, Miss Potts is currently on the roof" The polite voice of his AI informed him as he stepped off the elevator.
"Thanks J, don't let anything or anyone disturb us for the next couple hours" He mumbled, his eyes focused on the silhouette of his girlfriend as she leaned over the balcony. He couldn't make out what she was wearing but as he drew nearer he saw that she was wearing a beige pantsuit, killer heels, hair swept up artfully and delicately. Sometimes it amazed him how elegant yet utterly sexy his girlfriend was.
"Well look, if it isn't the most beautiful person in the tower dangling precariously on my roof" He spoke to get her attention.
Pepper turned around with a warm smile on her face her face not even registering how he must look, grease stains, sweat clinging to his tattered clothes and no doubt smelling stale body odour. But her pleased expression did not reflect any of those things.
"You're talking about yourself, aren't you? Because you should know that there is toilet paper stuck to your shoe" Pepper answered back softly as she approached him, an amused but indulgent smile on her perfectly polished face.
Tony blinked and looked down to see that the new non-corrosive and adhesive fluid he was playing with for Dr. Smith on his trainers. It was not necessarily his project but he liked to keep in touch with his scientists to see what they were up to. Not to mention Dr. Smith was one of Bruce's subordinates and it was better for everyone if he overlooked their progress, made everyone more comfortable. Said liquid had globbed together in a soft looking white paper form that resembled toilet paper.
He frowned and looked into the pale green eyes of his lover and he stood in front of his, "This is not toilet paper, it is a new an improved formula for the Rainsley project. This is the future of modern medicine right here, saving lives and saving the world, you know all that jazz that I do on a daily basis" He quipped as he lay his hands gently on Peppers' hips.
She simply looked amused but there was an underlying contentment that made his muscles relax and his eyes soften.
"Oh really? Saving the world from what? Insufficient personal hygiene" She said back with a tilt of her brow.
He donned a surprised face, "First of all, I have heard you on multiple occasions complain about insufficient personal hygiene and my lack there of, therefore you should be fully supportive of this project if it were about that. Which it is not, by the way. It's about saving lives and forever changing the world of western medicine, so show some respect. Even if it weren't I'm sure if I was manufacturing toilet paper it would be all about saving the world in some way. Have you ever seen dogma? The Golgothan? Ever heard of a shit demon-"
He was cut off by a pair of soft lips on his own cracked ones.
Immediately he leaned into those lips and moved his hands slowly around Peppers back. The kiss was soft and chaste but held a passion and excitement that was intoxicating. He sighed into the kiss and tried to deepen it.
Pepper pulled away slightly, "Nu uh, you need to have a shower first and get some rest. We can do this later"
Tony tried not to pout as he drew her nearer his body, "No, no re-scheduling Miss CEO, me and you have a long over due get together, a little catch up if you will. It shouldn't take anymore than a few hours" He murmured against her lips.
He felt the slight curve of her smile as she kissed him.
"Sir, I am sorry to interrupt but there is an issue that demands your immediate attention" The voice of JARVIS cut through the silence.
Pepper pulled away and he simply groaned, "What did I tell you J? No interruptions" He said and placed his lips back to where they were supposed to be.
"Sir, I am afraid that I really must insis-" The voice interrupted again, sparking a frisson of annoyance in his stomach.
"Is the world ending?" Tony asked loudly and felt Pepper giggling against him. Not good, not the reaction he was wanting at this moment.
"No sir, but-" He began.
"Then not an emergency, really JARVIS after all these years you should really know better, perhaps I need to go over your programming again, it's been a few years since I touched it up-" He rambled when uncharacteristically his AI spoke over him.
"Sir, In my passive monitoring of several high profile projects going on overseas I have come across something that you may want to look into. It is called operation e-42, it is a widespread testing of British citizens for the ebola virus to halt and contain its spread-" JARVIS began making him sigh heavily.
"What does that have to do with anything?" He asked irritably, Pepper pulling back from him in shock.
"You've been getting JARVIS to hack into government files? not even our government, are you trying to start a war?" Pepper gasped, angry and worry warring in her eyes.
He sighed irritably, "Well you heard JARVIS, passively monitoring, not hacking, there is a difference and again, what does this have to do with anything?" He was starting to get very annoyed now. His plans for tonight were going to shit.
"Are you joking? You can't just go snooping around in everything you want to, this could have very serious ramifications, Tony! Phil would have a heart attack if he knew what you were doing" Pepper announced and stepped away from him and started shaking her head.
"Oh, well I wouldn't want to disappoint Phil now I?" His irritation very thick his tone now.
Pepper continued shaking her head and pulled out her phone, "Tony, this isn't a joke, we need to do something about this before anyone finds out. Do you know the has PR mess this could bring down on SI?" She huffed and began texting.
Tony opened his mouth and took in a deep breath to probably say something that would land him in whole lot of deep shit when-
"-Sir, I have found in the results there appears to be a 71.23% similarity in DNA between you and one of the candidates"
Absolute silence reined for an indiscernible amount of time. His head for once wasn't connecting the dots and he couldn't comprehend the situation clearly.
He opened his mouth, "What does-but how-what information do you have on the... candidate" He said cautiously, still not entirely sure what was going on here.
"I'm afraid I am unable to find anything, most personal information was not recorded due to personal identity laws, the only thing recorded was an age and basic medical information" JARVIS explained, his cool voice for once sounded hesitant.
Tony still didn't understand what this meant.
"An... an age?" He asked his confusion showing clearly in his voice.
For some curious reason, Pepper approached him and put her arms loosely around him, worry and slight panic in her eyes. He was looking into her eyes when JARVIS spoke again his voice the most tentative he has ever heard.
"Yes sir, the candidate appears to be... eight years of age..."
Silence reigned again throughout the roof.
Tony Stark's eyes widened in realisation.
"Oh shit" He breathed.