Iron Maiden || Age of Ultron

Two || Land of the Living

||

An hour after the truth was learned, Pepper knocked twice on Macy's door. "It's Pepper, Macy." Opening it slowly, Macy was perched at the cushioned window seat overlooking the ocean.

Macy glanced over, her eyes leaving the flock of sea gulls she was watching. She leaned back more against the wall as she saw it was only Pepper. "Sorry about bailing on shopping," she quietly said, returning her gaze to the cloud covered ocean.

"Don't worry about it," Pepper told her, walking across the large space. "I'm sorry we had to start this way, I really am. It's a lot to take in at once, but maybe a distraction could help." Holding out a hand to Macy, she smiled kindly. "Tony had something put in for you."

Macy hesitantly took Pepper's hand, standing up from the window bench. Without a word, she followed Pepper up to the top floor of the Stark mansion that was built in Huntington Beach after the Malibu one was destroyed.

"Tony's noticed all the things you've done, more or less greater than his own work. Personally, I think he's just jealous you've achieved more than he has and you're not even an adult yet," Pepper said, unlocking the glass room with a password. "You can change it so it's just for you."

As the doors opened, Macy's eyes were already wide set. "A laboratory?" She stepped into the room brought down to a chilled, stabilized temperature to keep the chemicals from acting up.

"It's all yours, Macy. Not to mention," Pepper waved a finger from across the room. "Your own J.A.R.V.I.S."

Macy narrowed from her eyes, "How good are your holographic peripherals?" She walked closer, receiving a less than desirable answer. "I can fix that," she waved a hand absently. "How many times have you been overridden?"

"Twice, Lady Moore." J.A.R.V.I.S. replied, the accent seeming to have a calming affect on Macy.

"I can fix that, too." Finding J.A.R.V.I.S.'s control panel, everything else fell away.

"I'll leave you to it, then," Pepper said, smiling as she backed away and went into the elevator.

Macy over J.A.R.V.I.S.'s initial wiring, "Tell me everything, beautiful."

||

"How long has she been up there?" Tony looked at Pepper over his holotab, reviewing blueprints.

Pepper checked her watch as she ran through Stark Industries paperwork. "About four hours."

Tony set down his tech, "Do you know what happens when you leave me in my lab for four hours?" He whistled for J.A.R.V.I.S. to come over and looked back to Pepper again. "Do you have any idea what she could do?"

"What do you need, Sir?" J.A.R.V.I.S. asked.

"What is Macy up to?" Tony asked, waiting for the holographic view to appear. "Show me."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, but Lady Moore has blocked your receptor. You don't have access to see into her lab unless she allows it."

Pepper bit her lip, stifling a laugh.

"Override it," Tony commanded, growing flustered.

"I cant," J.A.R.V.I.S. said in a near sarcastic drip. "She removed the coding you hid within my programming."

Tony groaned, "Damn." Pulling himself up from the white couch, he walked across the room. Jogging up to the lift, he took it up to Macy's lab. Poking in the original password, he was denied entrance. "Oh, come on," he muttered, rapping on the glass. "Macy."

Using the thump of Beware the Dog by The Griswolds, Macy pretended not to know he was there. Placing a metal cup on a large black table in her lab, she hit a clenched fist in a series of places.