Storm ≛ Tony Stark ≛

26.

'Johnny?' Sue's voice drew his attention from the news report. He turned to the kitchen and saw Sue grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. She was dressed in cotton shorts and a navy-blue t-shirt, undoubtably made to disappear with her abilities. The roots of her hair were growing the same blonde she naturally had before the Marvel-1 mission. Johnny's hair was beginning to do the same, and the two were yet to find out how.

The cosmic radiation altered their DNA. Their hair was just one of the changes they experienced. Their abilities were the most obvious, but the siblings' hair was something that was growing back to its original colour. It wasn't worth the research to find out why, so the two dealt with the blonde that was peaking through more by the day.

'Hey! Are you heading to Tony's?' Johnny asked as he put his beer down and shovelled more popcorn into his mouth.

'Yeah. Pepper's nearly given up on him. I don't think he's slept in days,' Sue said and put the water bottle down on the counter. She sighed and leaned her palms against the counter's edge. 'He's not been doing so well, lately.'

'Potts, hey?' Johnny grinned. 'Do you think she'd fancy me?'

'No. Now, pick up that popcorn you're spilling all over my sofa,' Sue headed for the elevator and looked at the TV that talked nonstop about her. 'And turn that crap off. If I hear one more rumour that I'm signing the company over because of Tony's wishes, I'll scream.'

'Remind me why you're signing it off again?'

'You try running a research company while babysitting Tony Stark and being 'The Invisible Woman',' Sue pressed the elevator button and waited for the doors open. 'I'll be back later. Don't burn anything.'

'No promises. And ask Tony about some clothes for me! I'm down to my last lot.'

---

'Miss Storm, it's great to see you, once again,' JARVIS was the one to greet Sue. The key she was given by Pepper was a life saver as Tony almost never ventured out of his workshop. With Pepper running the company, there was no one to man the Stark house. Sue was resistant against Pepper's advance to give her a key, but faltered when Pepper explained the current situation.

'I know that you can get through to him. Even if it's just a little,' Pepper had pleaded. 'I can't run the company while calling home to make sure he's eaten something in the last twenty-four hours. Please, Sue. He needs help.'

Sue closed the door behind her as she greeted JARVIS. The hallways were empty yet pristine thanks to the cleaner Pepper hired to come to the house. She made her way through to the kitchen and didn't bother to call out for Tony. She knew where he was.

Tony groaned as he pulled the helmet off his head. It was the last piece of the suit that hadn't flew off his body from the last piece he ordered to assemble around him. It sent him spinning and landed on his back, the lack of sleep not helping his strength to get up from the floor. He gave up in getting to his feet and forced his upper half to lean against the table leg behind him.

'As always, sir, a great pleasure watching you work,' JARVIS said. The workshop was covered in pieces of the Iron Man suit that answered to the micro-repeater implants in Tony's arm. Blood lined the circular incisions that dotted up the underside of his arm. The robot with a cone hat with 'DUNCE' written across it started mopping up the drops that made their way onto the workshop's floor.

Tony sighed and used the balls of his palms to rub his eyes. Although the Avengers were mighty and powerful, their fight to protect the Earth came with consequence. Tony couldn't close his eyes for a wink of sleep without being terrorised with the image of the Chitauri mothership. His experience through the portal that led to the other dimension of space haunted him daily. All he could do was busy himself with the thing he was best at, working.