Pointe Shoes and Spider Webs

14. Vitals

Daphne walks out of the subway near Avengers Tower and curses at herself when she sees the heavy rain falling down. She rushes towards the tall building, but finds she can't wait outside for Peter without getting absolutely soaked. She makes her way inside and assesses herself. She got a bit wet, but nothing that won't dry within the hour. She wipes the screen of her phone on a part of her shirt that's still dry and takes a second to look around.

The reception area is almost eerily clean, like a new hospital. People are walking in and out, not really caring about the dripping teen that's leaning her weight from one foot to the other. It's somehow busier than she thought it would be. She sniffs and wipes the rain off her face with her sleeve. Someone next to her clears his throat.
"Excuse me, miss?" Daphne turns to the voice and is met with a tall man, towering over her. He's got black hair, slicked back and he's wearing a uniform of sorts. Security? He honestly seems too lean for that, but who knows. He seems familiar to her somehow. "What are you doing here?" His British accent throws her off a little.

"Oh!" Daphne exclaims. "I'm here to meet with Peter Parker, the intern?" She shuffles in her spot, fidgeting with her phone and trying to not seem suspicious. Not that she's got any reason to be suspicious. There's totally nothing suspicious about her. Right?
"Ah, Mr. Stark knows you're coming." He smiles, but there's a hint of mischief in there that makes Daphne uneasy.
"Mr...-" She blinks a few times. "Right, right, he told us we could use the lab for tests." She clears her throat. "Am I okay to wait here for Peter?"

The receptionist apparently caught wind of the conversation and walks up to them, stopping next to the security guard.
"Daphne, right?" The receptionist smiles kindly and Daphne swallows. Do all of them already know about her?
"Right."
"Daphne," the guard repeats, like he's lost in thought. He's staring intently at her. His bright blue eyes seem to be piercing through her.
"Uh, yes." All of this is turning super awkward and the receptionist takes a small step forward so the attention shifts to her again.
"Right this way, miss." She gestures to the reception desk and they make their way over to it.

Daphne swiftly brushes past the security guard, leaving him behind, but she can feel him looking at her. What's up with him? "We're going to have to hook you up to the system to get you a visitor's pass."
"Okay..." Daphne is trying to focus her attention on the receptionist and not the pair of eyes that are still on her for some reason. The receptionist asks for Daphne's ID and puts a tablet in front of Daphne. She instructs Daphne to fill in the gaps while she checks the ID. The questions are simple and fair. Full name, date of birth, gender and a reason for the visit.

After she fills in all of the information, she hands the tablet back to the receptionist who transfers the information to a card. Daphne takes her ID and the card and the receptionist gestures at one of the elevators.
"The card gives you clearance to floor 44 only. Security will be notified if you go to any other floor, but you shouldn't be able to as the elevators only take you to levels that you have clearance to and you need to verify your card when you use the stairs to get to other floors," she explains.
"Makes sense." Daphne studies the card. It has her ID photo printed on it as well.
"Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner are waiting for you upstairs in lab 26, I'll let them know you're coming."

Daphne's eyes shoot up to meet those of the receptionist. It feels like her heart just stopped.
"...Dr. Banner?"
"Whatever you are testing, it's caught his attention, so it must be big," the receptionist laughs. "Especially if Mr. Stark is there himself as well." Daphne chokes and laughs nervously, but only out of courtesy. Daphne thanks the receptionist and quickly makes her way to the elevator. She keeps her head down, trying not to look at the security guard who still watches her. The doors open right as she approaches and she rushes in before they close again. She's finally freed from the guard's stare.