Working Title : Loki & Annie

69 Tony and the Science Ladys

Tony was in his workshop because it was the one place he could do exactly what he wanted when he wanted with no one trying to make him do stuff he didn't want to. Like sleep. Or eat. Or telling him to only connect the white wire to the gray one and not the green one.

"Damn it!" Tony jumped back and stuck his fingers into his mouth when the current sent sparks flying. Shaking it off because that's what you do when you've been shocked with electricity, Tony yelled out over the loud music pouring from the lab's hidden surround sound. "J! My main man! What's the word on the Science Ladies?"

J.A.R.V.I.S. faded the music down to a volume requiring less yelling so that he could answer, "I am still attempting to make contact with Doctor Foster and Ms. Lewis."

"Still being blocked by the tin man?" Tony picked up a screwdriver and flipped it restlessly. The coffee flowing through his veins was causing his muscles to twitch which partially led to his being slightly electrocuted.

The AI spoke with a decidedly prickly inflection, "Sir, the building's security servers have made it clear they will not drop their blocking protocols. The fact that the roof of the building is tin makes no difference."

"J, are you attempting to school me in radio waves?" Tony cocked his head to the side in false curiosity.

The beat of hesitation was obvious as was the dry tone J.A.R.V.I.S. answered with, "Of course not, Sir."

"Good because that would be rude." Tony tapped the screwdriver against the palm of his hand while staring off into the distance, the caffeine wearing off between heartbeats. Eyes wide open with his body swaying slightly Tony fell into microsleep with the screwdriver resting against his palm.

J.A.R.V.I.S. dimmed the lights in hopes that the nap would last longer than a few seconds. In the silence of the lab, the hum of computers and various pieces of equipment were the only noise. This lab was located in the interior of the Tower so there were no outside distractions, if Tony wanted to see what was happening outside he could simply have it projected on the walls.

Tony jerked with a quick inhale while rapidly blinking his eyes. "Whoa! Did I nap? Was I asleep J? How long was I asleep?" He shook his head like a wet dog as he attempted to wake up.

"Fifty-two seconds, Sir. A new record."

"No snark out of you young man." After waving the screwdriver around in the direction of the ceiling Tony ignored what he had just been working on to go to the thigh portion of his suit. He tapped the screwdriver on the metal then began using it to pry two plates apart that had been jammed together in his latest battle, "Does that count as sleep? That counts as sleep, yeah? Yeah, it counts. Make a note of the time J for when Pepper asks when the last time I slept was."

"I don't believe that is what Miss Potts means, Sir."

"Nuh-uh." Tony waved the screwdriver in the air as though trying to circle wagons. "Sleep is sleep. Besides, I wouldn't want to overdose on sleep. That would be bad." He leaned down to use his body weight to get the piece to pop up while he used his other hand to press down on the metal in the hopes of making room for the other piece to spring up. "Bad bad bad." He hummed under his breath.

"I don't believe sleep works that way, Sir."

"Are you a medically trained sleep expert, J?" He answered his own question, "Nope. No, you are not. When I want medical advice from a non-medical professional I'll ask myself." He rose up on tiptoe to try and get just a little bit more down putting more weight into his effort when the screwdriver slipped and scraped across the knuckles of one hand, gouging a ragged cut across three of them. Blood instantly flowed from the tears in his skin to splatter on the worktop. With a foul string of curses, Tony grabbed his hand, squeezing the fingers before wrapping them in the hem of his t-shirt.