Radioactive | Bucky Barnes

IRON MAN 3: CHAPTER TWO

She didn't have time to knock. The soft click of the door unlocking made her roll her eyes.

"Thanks, Jarvis," Rhiley mumbled, stepping into the dark expanse of Tony Stark's residence.

"He's in the lab," Jarvis offered, his voice noticeably softer than usual.

Rhiley set her bags down by the door with a sigh and made a beeline for the lab, mentally bracing herself for what promised to be a deeply awkward reunion.

"Ow!"

Tony's voice echoed before she even saw him.

"Sir," Jarvis continued patiently, "may I request a few hours to calibrate—"

"No. Forty-eight," Tony interrupted, jabbing something into his arm. "Ah! Micro-repeater implanting sequence complete."

"As you wish, sir. I've also prepared a safety briefing for you to entirely ignore."

"Which I will. Right, let's do this."

"You look like shit," Rhiley announced, finally making her presence known.

Tony jumped, nearly dropping the device in his hand. "What the—Rhiley? What are you doing here?" He narrowed his eyes, suspicious. "Did Jarvis call you? That snitch is going into time-out again."

Rhiley ignored the accusation, her gaze falling on the robots. Each one sported a colorful party hat.

"Do I get one?" she asked, strolling through the lab like she owned the place.

That was the thing about her—she didn't just walk into rooms. She claimed them.

"No," Tony replied flatly. "You can leave."

He turned his attention back to the project, speaking to his bots. "Dummy. Hey, Dummy. How'd you get that cap on? You earned it, buddy." He glanced toward a bot sulking in the corner. "You? Yeah, you stay over there. You know what you did. Blood on my mat—unacceptable. Handle it."

Rhiley folded her arms. "When was the last time you slept?"

Jarvis answered before Tony could lie. "He's been awake for nearly seventy-two hours, Miss."

Rhiley bristled. "Still not a miss, Jarvis."

"If you're staying," Tony said, tossing a camera at her, which she caught without flinching, "you get to help."

He turned to the table of suits like a proud father. "Focus up, ladies. Good evening and welcome to the birthing suite. I'm pleased to announce the imminent arrival of your bouncing, bad-ass baby brother."

Rhiley glanced around at the other cameras already recording. She set the one in her hand aside.

"Start tight and go wide," Tony instructed, almost giddy. "Stamp in time. Mark 42 autonomous prehensile propulsion suit test. Initialize sequence."

"Tony—"

He raised a hand, cutting her off. "Jarvis, drop my needle."

Music filled the lab. Tony began to move with it, striking a dramatic pose as he pointed the arm he'd just injected. For a moment—nothing happened.

Rhiley sat in a nearby rolling chair and crossed her arms.

"Crap," Tony muttered, biting the injection site and smacking his arm. He pointed again.

A gauntlet flew across the room, snapping into place on his hand. Then the next piece. His grin widened.

"Alright, I think we got this. Send 'em all!"