A Complicated Web

Chapter Twenty-Five: Dangerous Territory

Morning came like a slowly leaking faucet, a trickle of light at a time. The change was so gradual that Wasabi almost didn't realize it was morning until he saw the clock on the far dresser stating the time. When he looked over to Hiro's borrowed bed, however, he was surprised to see not one occupant, but two. Sort of.

Hiro and Kally had both fallen asleep on top of the disheveled covers. Hiro lay with one leg draped over the side of the bed, his arms falling over the other side. Meanwhile both of Kally's legs hung over the other, near his arms, their heads meeting near the middle of the double mattress. Wasabi couldn't help but stare at them, wondering just when the two had ended up in that way and why. But from both of their current positions, he doubted they'd be waking up any time soon.

Feeling more refreshed than he had in a long time, the physics student got out of bed and headed in search of the nearest bathroom. It took him a moment to remember this wasn't Fred's mansion back in San Fransokyo so he had to look around a bit. They hadn't exactly gotten in much of a tour the night before. It had seemed kind of rude without Fred there. He also had no idea what time the other group had gotten in, though he was more curious as to why Kally was asleep in the room he'd been given to share with Hiro, instead of in a room with one of the girls.

The daily necessities taken care of, including a nice hot shower that helped sooth aching muscles, Wasabi headed down to the ground level. The place seemed just as grand as it had the night before, just in an understated way. (Fred's place in San Fransokyo was decidedly the more overdone of the two.) He found Tony lounging in the room they'd used to wait for Fred and the others the night before. "Hey," he greeted with a sort of nod of his head.

Tony looked up from the newspaper he was reading. It was just the local rag, nothing too exciting. He had JARVIS running scans of Stark Tower while he read -pretended to read- the articles in front of him. "Morning," he greeted from under dark sunglasses. He had one leg crossed over the other, his odd briefcase containing the Iron Man suit sitting next to the couch he occupied. "Sleep well?" He quickly turned his gaze back down to the paper in front of him.

"Something like that," Wasabi replied. He had the partial suspicion they'd drugged him again, though he had no way of proving it. Well, he'd eventually catch them at it and then they'd get it. Okay, maybe they wouldn't, but he'd at least drive home the principle of the matter. They couldn't keep doing that to him. It wasn't nice. After all, society had rules for a reason.

Well, this was awkward, the blade wielding hero thought as he sat down next to Stark, done with his little mental tirade. Maybe it wasn't really that awkward. They could sit in companionable silence. Except there was still the question of what was really going on and why. He'd heard the hurried explanations. But if he was going to make any kind of plans, he needed to know more. They had to have something in place, which wasn't going to happen if they were all in the dark. But then again, would it be better for him to wait for the others? He wasn't sure.

"If you've got something to say, you should just spit it out," Tony stated as he folded the paper. He turned to look at the burly man sitting next to him. "I won't bite. Promise."

Like a deer caught in headlights, Wasabi froze. Then he forced himself to relax. "I know I should probably wait for the others, but I have to know. What exactly is going on? And why are people targeting us?"

Tony sighed as he moved so he could face the student more comfortably. He removed his sunglasses so he could look the young man in the eye. "I honestly don't know," he admitted. "But we're working on it. Agent Coulson should be joining us soon. Maybe he has a better idea. I've had JARVIS running scans of my place non-stop since we had to vacate. Other than a few minor bombs, he hasn't found anything."