<div class="floatleft">(http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/1/2008/08/downeynewer_def.flv.jpg)</div><hr/><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>  Name:</strong> Tony Stark<br/>  <strong>Title:</strong> Iron Man<br/>  <strong>Location:</strong> Tony &amp; Pepper's Penthouse Suite<br/>  <strong>Time:</strong> 6:47AM Friday<br/>  <strong>Tags:</strong> Pepper Potts, <strong>Natasha Romanov</strong></span></span><br/><br/><br/><hr/><hr/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;"><em>Continued from: Stark Tower - Research &amp; Development Level (http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=144300.msg7336994#msg7336994)</em></span></div><br/><hr/><br/><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: times new roman;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 12pt;">      Stark slept very well for a change. Over the last few months - ever since Loki's attack - Tony had struggled to sleep through the night. It went well-beyond just having an overly-active mind. Tony had been plagued with visions of what-might-have-been; had the Avengers not managed to bring Loki's destructive push for power to an end. Rather than fight through the nights trying to go back to sleep - he would just get up and go do some work. Eventually he had convinced Natasha into beginning early morning training sessions with him. And now it had become routine - at least every other day, provided Natasha wasn't out on a mission somewhere off the grid.<br/><br/>     Pepper's decision to tear him away from work, even for just the evening, was exactly what he'd needed. He didn't wake even once, nor did he stir in his sleep - as he usually did. When the middle-aged man's eyes finally blinked open, he felt groggy, and was more than a little surprised he was actually in bed. Most of the time he fell asleep in his lab, at his desk, or on a couch watching some oddly random and informative television program. He saw Pepper sleeping soundly beside him and he smiled at her - the sheets hugging her close to her prone form. <br/><br/>     He turned his head to the side to view the translucent digital clock on the nightstand; it was nearly 7. He blinked a couple more times and got up as quickly - and quietly - as possible. He made his way over to the huge walk-in closet and quickly found a pair of sweatpants, a t-shirt, and a hoodie to thrown on. Making Natasha wait was nearly as bad as making Pepper wait - though Ms.Romanov's vengeance usually came in the form of applied physical pain during their session together. She rarely held back on him - which he appreciated, albeit grudgingly.<br/><br/>     He was already stepping into the elevator as he pulled the hoodie over his head, and the instant the doors closed - a familiar voice spoke up: "Running late, are we Sir?"<br/><br/>      <strong>"A wake-up call and coffee would have been nice."</strong> Tony said, just to retort - though he wouldn't have wanted to wake Pepper - which Jarvis understood. The lack of coffee, however, had no excuse.<br/><br/>     "It's waiting for you on the fitness level." Jarvis replied, almost smugly - if it were possible.<br/><br/>     <strong>"Well done. What about Natasha?"</strong> he asked.<br/><br/>     "Am I registering a hint of worry in your inquiry Sir?" <br/><br/>     Of course Jarvis could tell - he was probably the only one other than Pepper that could. Tony had no desire to experience a more-brutal-than-usual session. Especially since he still had so much work to do. Trying to get that done with ten or twenty different aches, pains, and bruises would <em>not</em> be pleasant. <strong>"Yes Jarvis, it is. We're going to need all of the Avengers on hand - and I still haven't heard from Black Widow."</strong><br/><br/>      It was a clever play by Stark, but Jarvis wasn't buying it. "I see." It wasn't a lie - Jarvis's programming prevented him from giving Stark false information; but the intelligent program had gotten around that little fact by offering an incredibly general and short response. <br/><br/>     Stark smiled slightly to himself, catching on to the clever response. Jarvis was almost like a son to Tony - and clearly he'd taken after his "father" in far-too many ways. Tony's smile was genuine. Since the program was nothing more than an object of his own creation, it's impressive intelligence only further inflamed Stark's massive ego. <strong>"Witty Jarvis. Witty."</strong> Tony added, as continuing the conversation with Jarvis' voice was still a human reflex - even if he knew it was artificially generated.<br/><br/>     "Oh get over yourself Sir."<br/><br/>     The doors opened, and Tony quickly exited - heading straight for the small breakroom and glancing up at the clock as he went. It was just now 7:00AM, their agreed meeting time. Surprisingly though - Natasha wasn't here yet. She usually at least called him if she wasn't going to be able to make it. However, by the time Tony had his freshly-brewed coffee in hand - it occurred to him that the woman could already be in the room... and <em>purposely</em> out of sight. Stark tried his best not to give away that he was no alert for any sudden appearances. He tried to casually take a sip from his coffee - concentrating on his peripheral vision and any hint of a noise as he looked out across the huge fitness room to the sparring ring in the middle. <br/><br/>     <strong>"Looks like somebody's running late."</strong> he said out-loud, hoping she could hear him. He had his back to the counter and was in a pretty defensible location. If she tried to make a move on him, he'd have a good chance at seeing (or hearing) it coming.</span></span></div>