Spectrum ⇒ Avengers [ 1 ]

Mr Stark

"What?" Me and Bruce chorus together incredulously.
"So much for low stress-"
"Fury, this is a bad idea-"
"You do know I turn into a big, green thing, don't you?"
Fury's face is impassive. "It will allow you to be with Doctor Banner 24/7, and since he has... Experience with these abilities, it's best to keep him close to you."
"And if I end up trashing Stark's already-damaged tower?" I demand. "Oh wait, I know-"
"Q1." Fury confirms.
"Speaking of Stark, you're telling me Tony's fine with this?" Bruce asks. Glancing at me, he continues. "No offence, but I doubt that he'll let some random teenager stay in his tower because S.H.I.E.L.D ordered him to."
I point at Bruce. "He's got a point!"
"Stark already knows." That silences me. "He hacked our system fifteen minutes ago to find out where you were going, Doctor Banner. I believe you probably have a few texts from him." Unwillingly, Bruce pulls his phone out of his pocket. The screen lights up, and sure enough, it's covered in messages.
"Tony won't be able to resist meeting you." Natasha tells me. "And if he can deal with one hulk, why not two?"
"This," I say. "Is a bad idea." But unfortunately, I can't come up with a strong enough argument as to why.

Stark tower is huge, I already know that. Most of the floors are offices and work spaces, but the top forty floors are dedicated to the tower's owner. Why anyone needs so much space is, quite frankly, beyond me.
The only bright point is that I've been told by Fury that I can keep my job, as long as I stay up to date on everything else. I leave a very confused Kiara and Flash in my wake, with a hurried promise that I'll be back as soon as I can. Hopefully, they don't hate me.

The foyer of the building just makes me feel even shabbier than I already do, as it's filled with people in suits and dresses. Everywhere I turn, there's the golden click of high-heels and black masses of security guards. As I watch, one turns away a crazed-looking middle aged woman in a shirt decorated with Iron Man, whose forehead reads 'MARRY ME TONY' in black pen. She bursts into hysterical fuchsia tears as I follow Bruce into a glass elevator.
"Is it always like this?" I ask. He nods, pushing his hands into his pockets.
"More or less." Natasha and Fury have both taken their leave of us. Smart move- if I freak out, I don't want to end up throwing someone out of a window a hundred floors above the city.
"Wonderful." The doors slide closed, and with a soft ding, the elevator starts to rise.

My stomach swoops as I look out of the window, seeing flashes of the city as we rise higher and higher. I grip the rail tightly, praying my stomach will hold down the food in it, and hope the ride will end soon.
"Not a fan of heights?" Bruce asks. I shrug. Honestly, I've never encountered them before.
"Welcome home, Doctor Banner." A cool, English voice says above my head in a sand-coloured voice.
"Thanks, JARVIS." Bruce mumbles. "This is Brynn. She's going to be staying here a while."
"Welcome, Brynn."
"What is that?" I mouth. Bruce doesn't get the chance to answer.
"My name is JARVIS, Miss O'Donnell, Mr Stark's AI butler system. I run the tower smoothly and am here whenever you need me." Wow. He really does have it all.
"Wait, how do you know my name?" I ask suspiciously, straightening up.
"Mr Stark uploaded your files into my mainframe thirty minutes ago. I do hope you don't mind." The fact that a computer is worried about my opinion is enough to throw me. The fact that I have files is close to tipping me over the edge. The doors ding open.
"JARVIS, where's Tony?" Bruce asks as we step out into the elevator.
"Mr Stark is in his laboratory." We're in a huge room, with sunken sofas, a bar area, and a view over the city. Unfortunately, the latter is mainly blocked by scaffolding, but I can make out the Empire State Building between the slats of wood and metal poles.

In the middle of the room, in front of the sofas, there's a huge crater in the floor. Everything looks suspiciously new, so I guess that it's all been replaced.
"What did that?" I ask, pointing at the whole in the floor.
"That? That was our very own jolly green giant." A brilliant golden voice says.