13972/Something's cooking

Something's cooking
Date of Scene:	26 January 2023
Location:	Avengers Mansion - Kitchen
Synopsis:	Plans are a cookin'
Cast of Characters:	Tony Stark, Natasha Romanoff, Pepper Potts

---

Tony Stark has posed:
If something was cooking in the Avengers Kitchen ... Tony Stark didn't bother to read that memo. Or, more specifically, may not have cared about it either way, or taken in the information as being meaningful to him specifically.

Because Tony strolls in with fast food in hand. Literally in hand: one cheeseburger is in the process of being eaten as he walks, and the cloying smell of it comes along like a mini cloud of unhealthy life choices.

Tony's not in a suit, he's dressed down and simply; he's in comfortable jeans, a rock'n'roll T-shirt for ACDC with electric guitars and fire. Glasses are on, but not sunglass in type: they're a strong tint of neon blue.

Tony takes a seat smoothly, feet up on one of the other chairs underneath a kitchen table, as if he owns the place. Well, he does.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha's coming in over with a set of holographic files under an arm. Flimsy pieces of nano-fiber that when held up to the light would flash a three dimensional, holographical array of the data in them. She would glance over at Tony fro a moment.

"Enjoying yourself it seems, Tony?" She would glance over at him. "And I have something that I thought might be interesting for you if you were looking for a side project to pursue to keep you entertained for a few hours." Bait dangled, now to see if she could get him to fence over and chase after the little offer given.

Pepper Potts has posed:
The day is a touch more mild for the winter months, that is, it's handily above freezing, even if rain threatens from the south west. More than a little rain, even. Pepper has her business skirt suit on, with pumps, though her jacket is set to the side, draped over the back of a chair. She's putting away a few things she's picked up for specific people, both into the refrigerator and the cabinets where she knows they'll be found. The shopping bags are emptying out as Tony sits back with his food.

After a couple of moments, Pepper leaves a few of the cans on the counter and sidles over to the coffee pot in order get a new pot brewing.

Natasha's entrance has Pepper twisting around, a quick smile flashing across her face of greeting before she's back to attending to her task. She wants the coffee, but she's not above offering some more up,

"Hi, Natasha. I'm just making some coffee. Would you like some?"

Tony Stark has posed:
"I /do/ enjoy myself," Tony answers Natasha without pause. No shame in that statement. Why would there be shame, if it's true, anyway? "I would loathe to go through life with some sort of desire to get away from myself. I mean, we've seen how miserable Banner can be, carrying that weight around. That's not for me. Get on the pleasure train of my company. All are welcome."

Tony does open up his french fries, and is thoughtful enough to kind of half-gesture that he's willing to share. He has a /lot/, so it's not particularly all that generous. Much like money: when you have tons, it's less impressive, maybe, to share a tiny little bit.

"Something interesting, huh. Regale me with the details. Though if it's something heroic, I do find it sad that you wouldn't lead with THAT as a way to coax my assistance."

Tony looks to Pepper, "//Is// the best way to approach me with a request to make it sound like my kind of fun?" His question is in the same tone that a husband might ask his wife if she knows if HE likes halibut.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha would lgance over at Pepper, "No, thank you for the offer." She would elaborate back to Tony, "Malekith's cadre of Svartelves have been engaging in raids across Midgard. They've killed large numbers of people in their raids of which there seems to be no discernible similarities to indicate why they were singled out. But the fact they seem to have been specifically targeted rather than collateral damage is evidence of intent. We've had no luck at SHIELD with pattern analysis. Or in coming up with ways to detect where their portals are coming from and where targeted. This has put us rather on the back foot."

Basic engagement with Tony on something simple. State what's up, how no one else is able to figure it out, and then of course someone that's smart like he can can figure it out simply. In front of Pepper no less!

Pepper Potts has posed:
The coffee pot burbles as the water starts its boil and subsequent filter down through the grounds of that dark beaned slice of heaven. The air in the kitchen begins to fill with the aroma, and coupled with the scent of grease, potatoes, grease and cheeseburgers, it does seem more than a little homey now for it.

Rather than joining Tony at the table at the moment, Pepper is more than happy to stand at the edge of the counter, leaning as the pot does its thing. If Clint were around, it'd be his siren song...

"It'll take a little extra work to keep his attention," is offered with a fond, affectionate smile. "You should have led with 'Heroic' or 'potential of saving the world'." She's teasing him, and it's a gentle humor that is attached.

"Yes, Tony."

See now, Natasha's lead in doesn't give the rest of what she has to say enough credit. Brows rise at the explanation, the reasons for their particular need. "Oh.." Seems the wind has been pulled slightly from those sails, and her brows crease in the information. The fact that SHIELD hasn't had any luck? Doubly troubling. "Nothing like that has come over the news," is offered. At least the potential for public panic is down, for the moment, Undoubtedly thanks to SHIELD.

Green eyes move back towards Tony, the concern evident.

Tony Stark has posed:
"Really puts the lack of Thor up front and center, when it comes to these elves," Tony observes first, though it is clear to both women, who know Tony well, that he's just verbally treading water while his brain goes into a multitask mode to quickly troubleshoot the situation.

"Patterns among their choices, or if they're truly random. And better detection tech, based on what we've seen so far with their portals. Yeah, okay," Tony agrees. He just agrees simply, in the same way a person might agree to watch a movie they weren't entirely sold on. It's in keeping with Nat's portrayal of it as entertainment ... though obviously far more serious than that.

"Have SHIELD do a data dump, or I'll just go in and get what I need. They like the second one less, I've heard, though. No reason to make them annoyed by my help," Tony suggests.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha Romanoff would glance over at Pepper and give a low nod of affirmation. "We've not had any luck either. Doctor Foster's kept us updated onw hat the Asgardians have said." Which, as far as she's aware is much the same thing. Nothing. So now they're looking for other options on things. To try and figure out what the target is, and what the resolution is.

Which means branching out to alternatives to spread their options out. As Pepper would smirk, Natasha would give a hint of a smile. The banter with Tony is there for the setup. It's part of the game. "Here."

She passes over the holo-files. "Everything we had as of two hours ago before I came over. I presumed a physical copy would slice a few nanoseconds off your time."

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper pours herself a cup of coffee, then a second for Tony. Walking the two cups over, she sets the one down to the side of Tony's little meal setup before reaching out to waylay the offrance of the holo-file disc with a quick smile. "Thank you," is given softly as she sets it down right next to the coffee just placed. It's the opportunity, then, to take a singly fry (1 won't hurt!) and pop it into her mouth.

She's quiet now; even as Tony mulls the things he needs to do. Pepper's part in it all is support, and even as ideas rise, are considered and either are accepted or rejected, she's mentally figuring on all the tasks she needs to take on in order for Tony to do his part.

Teamwork.

"I think I'll need to cancel a few engagements," is murmured softly.

Tony Stark has posed:
"JARVIS," Tony addresses the ceiling without actually looking up. "Move the current project in the lab to the secondary resource area. Pull the data, and start to reference off of /my/ satellites," Tony says. He stops talking since he now has a mouthful of cheeseburger.

Tony takes a detour then, with his hand free since it's in his mouth, to wash his hands quickly of the grease. He doesn't disagree with pepper's cancelations: he lets her handle it. He picks up the items, gives a little waggle of them, and starts to look at those while walking off towards the elevator, which leads to the lab.

"Gimmmeh teehn," Tony says around the burger ('Give me ten'), as he disappears off to put in some concentration time.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha Romanoff would nod over at Pepper, "Thank you." She would glance over at Tony's snack and then shrug. "So long as he's entertained. I'm sorry for having interrupte dyour time together. How are you doing, Pepper?" She would inquire while going to lean back against the wall. Her own errand done. If Tony had any particular results to get back on, then he would return on them when he had them.

"I'm sorry for having not put in the time recently to stay in touch. We should head out and go shoping sometime. See if we can get ideas for things Janet can make better versions of."

Pepper Potts has posed:
It's true; neither of them look up, or around, or anywhere when talking to one of the AIs. They don't have to; it's a habit that'd been broken years ago. A nod to the fact that they're all around, and not in 'the sky', as it were. Pepper follows his journey with her eyes, and it's only when he's out of sight does she come back round to Natasha.

"Entertained isn't the word for it," the redhead rejoins, her tones holding that fond amusement. She exhales in a sigh and sets the coffee pot to the side of the sink. "He'll be working on that for a little while." Undoubtedly deep into the night(s).

Turning around, Pepper leans against the counter again, and offers up a smile, "Doing well," and her head bounces to underscore it. "Busy," and the word is given in something of an offhand tenor; helping run Stark Industries is a herculean task. 'Busy' doesn't even come close. "It's okay, though. You're," and Pepper waves a hand in gentle gesture, "running all over the world, doing your thing, which, by the way, is appreciated." While she's running all over the world doing 'her' thing. The pair are very much the same, but very, very different.

The smile broadens, and she nods once before turning to clean the coffee pot, throw away the grounds, and set the not-really-drank coffee cup into the dishwasher. "I'd like that. I think Janet would too. I'm feeling like," and her words drop off for a second before she picks them up again, "something with an island print would help bring in the late spring, early summer feel."

Turning back around, Pepper looks apologetic, "I don't mean to take up your time, and I should get back as well." With Tony having work, it means she's got more than a little to make sure the Avenger can work without concerns. "We're mid quarter, and I have to start collating the data for the FTC to meet deadlines."

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha Romanoff would shake her head over, "YOu're a friend, Pepper. And you're Tony's stability. You're allowed to take some time to reorient yourself and breathe." She doesn't define Pepper purely by her association with Tony. But the two do mean the world to one another and are soulmates as far as Natasha is concerned.

"Do remember that you're just as much a aprt of his success as he is." THe two are amazing, so totally in sync. "And you're not taking up my time." She would cluck her tongue. "I'm merely shifting to my turn on monitor duty, you're hardly interrupting me while I review all the consoles until the shift change." She took being on alert duties much the same as anyone might a job. "And yes, I think you could very well do with a bit of time getting some things from Janet." The back and forth of 'we', 'you', and 'I' always being so specifically chosen.

Pepper Potts has posed:
They've been a team since she came onboard, clicking almost immediately, keying on on what Tony's needed vs what Tony's wanted. Doing things apart? Pepper has her projects, those things that keep her busy when not actively taking a hand in helping run the company. Of course, all the other things she does comes back around to Stark Industries, after a fashion. Her charity work, the sitting on the board of the MOMA, and the heading of the Maria Stark Foundation all have their roots in the company.

And the company is Tony Stark; one is the other.

She smiles, the expression warm and genuine. "Thank you, Natasha." It's heartfelt, and really does cover all the bases. Pepper chuckles, and her voice lowers in one of those confidential tones, "You know JARVIS would do it. Make sure you apply facial and pattern recognition. Add a couple spectra, and you can take the night off." As if Natasha didn't know that?

"I think Janet would benefit from such an excursion too." It's an honest evaluation. "But, I should go." As she takes her jacket to shrug it on lightly, Pepper turns, reminded, "Oh, I picked up a few things for you all. Little specialty items from my trips. Something for everyone. They're put away in the cabinets."

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha Romanoff would glance over at Pepper, evaluating the woman by her body language. Facial expression, posture. Attention. Smile. She was in good spirits. Not stressed beyond the usual. Seemingly content and happy as far as Natasha's body reading could tell her. She and Tony were joined at the hip. Emotionally and mentally. Two halves of the same whole.

Smiling conspiratorily over at Pepper, "I'm aware. But that would make it far too easy. If I'm going to show off by not being present, I'm going to show off over it." She would whisper bcak playfully. Perhpas Yelena had taken her edge off. Or perhpas she had just learned the way to banter a bit more over the years from Clint.

But even slacking off had to be competitive in some form or another. Or maybe that was the point from Natasha. There were no times to slack off and work on some skills. "I'm sure that we'll all appreciate them. I take it also there's been nothing particularly aggressive behind the scenes in the boardroom?" Because even the internaional spy and assassin thought the cloak and dagger of the modern industrial world was quite crazed.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper laughs, the sound easy. "The sad part about JARVIS is that we can't actually boast about him." Him. There's obvious affection in her tones regarding the artificial intelligence. "But, I do understand." Competitiveness isn't a stranger to her, obviously.

It's probably the key personality in all the Avengers.

She walks towards the threshold, and she pauses, leaning against the side of the wall of the entrance. "There is a lot that goes on in the board rooms." A ghost of a smile creeps across her face, "A lot of backstabbing, a lot of negotiations, and a lot of headhunting." She's had many, many offers of various sorts. All, of course, rejected. "The parties?" Pepper shakes her head ever so slightly, "Like in everything, silence is best." Then, use information against them. She's actually a little more brutal than she, perhaps, seems.

Pepper is good in business.

"I'll send Happy out to pick Tony up when he's done. Be careful, Natasha, and be safe. You're very important to us."

Turning around again, Pepper *click*click* out to the front, and out. Work calls.