Heroes Assemble!

Testing Times

Tony cast one last eye over the plans for the redesign of the Tower. Really, it wasn't a lot, but still, Avengers Tower seemed to be undergoing a reconstruction every other month.

This time, the changes were minimal. The floor above Candy Land – the ten levels of the R&D division of Stark Industries in the Tower was being retrofitted to become an additional lab. This would tie it in to the ones below and also to the three above, specially purposed for himself, Bruce, Peter and Doctor Cho when she was around.

Hopefully, that would keep Jane Foster and Eric Selvig happy with their specialised research. Not to mention keeping Darcy out of the way – the Tower really only had enough room for a certain number of smart-mouthed individuals and, with Peter added to the mix these days, that number was fast approaching critical mass.

The next part of the redesign was more cosmetic, altering the super-reinforced floor for Bruce and the Hulk so that it could sleep two. Jennifer may be a much more tame version of her cousin, but she was still super strong and weighed a tonne – not that he'd ever say that to her, for some reason, girls tended to be sensitive about their weight and he liked his head where it was, thank you very much.

The last part, since he had the construction crew in anyway, was to change up the training floors some. Harry particularly, backed up by Pepper of all people, seemed adamant that their newbies needed training. The web-head and rodent girl were one thing, but if Tony's instincts told him anything, it was that there'd be a big, green addition to that group before too long.

"Approved," Tony said, swiping the plans away.

"Yes, Sir, "Jarvis replied. "I shall forward the schematics to the contractors."

Tony swivelled his seat around to a combination of three screens clustered together and rubbed his hands together.

"Right. Time for something fun," he remarked. "Give me some thinking music."

In response, some Black Sabbath began playing at a volume that made talking only just possible.

"Hmm, not quite right," Tony said, shaking his head. "Switch it up to something funky, something really out there."

The music being played changed mid-tune to something that had Tony bobbing his head.

"Perfect. A little David Bowie sets the mood perfectly," Tony grinned. "Alright Jarvis, new file: Iron Man Armour Mark XLVII."

"Of course, Sir," Jarvis replied. "Does this suit have a particular function?"

"Yes," Tony replied seriously. "Capable of independent space flight."

"File created. Are you ready to begin?" Jarvis asked.

"In a minute," Tony replied. "Second new file. Put this one in the Quinjet files. Label it: Mark V, specialising in independent space flight."

"File created. Is there a reason for this type of project?" Jarvis asked.

Tony frowned. "Let's just say that I'd rather we not get caught with our asses hanging out again."

"Always a good sentiment, Sir," Jarvis replied.

"Right. Throw up the Mark XLIII armour on the left monitor and the Quinjet Mark III schematics on the right monitor," Tony instructed. "There's going to be a fair bit of overlap in these projects, so I'll be primarily using the middle monitor."

"Yes, Sir," Jarvis replied as both schematics appeared.

"Right," Tony said, interlocking his fingers and flexing his arms to crack his knuckles. "Let's get to work.