"Tell him I'm busy," Tony Stark said dismissively to Jarvis. He had other, more important plans for today—the evening promised to be romantic.
Entering Stark Tower, he saw Pepper waiting for him. She smiled at his arrival, looking incredibly attractive in a white shirt and short jeans, the unbuttoned top button hinting at playfulness and seduction.
"The energy is stable, you did it," Pepper said, standing barefoot in front of a table, looking at a holographic projection of the tower.
"Of course, I did it myself," Tony declared confidently, approaching her from behind. "You know, I keep asking myself, what's it like to be a genius?"
Stark was full of self-admiration—his tower was now the most technologically advanced building in all of New York, and he was incredibly proud of himself.
"Well, mere mortals like me can't comprehend it," Pepper said teasingly, turning to face him.
After a brief exchange of banter, they went out onto the balcony, where Pepper retrieved a bottle of champagne from the bar and poured two glasses, one for herself and one for Tony.
"Call your mom and ask if you can stay the night," Tony quipped, clearly hinting at the evening's continuation.
Pepper, smiling and slightly blushing, raised her glass, about to reply, when Jarvis interrupted them.
"Sir, you have an incoming call. My programming has been... altered, uh..." At that moment, Jarvis's voice was interrupted by the unexpected intrusion of another voice.
"Stark, I have an urgent matter." It was Agent Coulson, whom Tony had just brushed off.
Stark grabbed his transparent phone from the table—Coulson had somehow bypassed his system and connected directly.
"There's no Tony Stark here. Leave a message after the beep," Tony said with mock seriousness, eliciting a smile from Pepper.
"This is urgent," Coulson's voice remained calm and serious, ignoring Stark's joke.
"Then make it quick."
He barely finished speaking when the elevator doors opened. Tony and Pepper simultaneously turned towards the sound and saw the doors slide open, revealing Agent Coulson himself, phone in hand and a smile on his face.
Tony sighed with undisguised annoyance, while Pepper, on the contrary, greeted him with a smile.
"Phil, come in," she invited warmly.
"Why are you so familiar with him?" Tony muttered, following Pepper, who went to greet their guest.
"Coulson, you're just in time. We're celebrating," Pepper said, offering him to join them.
"I can't stay long," the agent replied softly, understanding he had no time for leisure—chaos reigned within S.H.I.E.L.D. due to the threat of an alien invasion.
He handed Tony a tablet bearing the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo, indicating the matter was indeed important.
"You need to see this. The sooner, the better."
"Um, I'm not a fan of being handed things," Tony responded, looking at the offered tablet.
"No problem. I, on the other hand, enjoy being handed things," Pepper added cheerfully, handing her champagne glass to Coulson and taking the tablet from him with her other hand.
Taking the tablet, she took Tony's glass and placed the tablet in his hands.
"Officially, I take consultations on Thursdays from 8 am to 5 pm," Tony declared with displeasure, still irritated by the interruption to his romantic evening with Pepper.
"This isn't a consultation, Mr. Stark."
Tony took the tablet and went to the table, while Pepper exchanged a few words with Coulson, then joined Tony.
"Coulson looks serious. You should pay attention to this," Pepper advised, noticing that the tension on the agent's face didn't bode well.
"And how do you know that? And why are you calling him Phil?" Tony looked at her questioningly, a hint of jealousy in his voice.
"What is this?" Pepper asked, smiling helplessly, peering at the tablet's screen, which displayed strange, clearly non-human images.
Tony had already connected the tablet to his system and swiped his finger across the screen to project the device's contents as a hologram.
Numerous files appeared before them. Among them was data on Nick Fury's chosen members for the Avengers team and information about the Tesseract.
"It seems I should fly to Washington tomorrow," Pepper muttered, seeing the seriousness of the information. She understood that Tony had important matters to attend to today and decided to excuse herself.
"Yes, tomorrow," Tony agreed, turning to her.
"You have a lot of information to review here," she said, looking into his eyes. Then she leaned closer and whispered something intriguing in his ear. Judging by how Tony's mouth dropped open, it was safe to assume she had said something quite suggestive.
Coulson almost laughed but managed to restrain himself, looking away. Pepper, finishing her whisper, smiled faintly.
"Agreed. Have a good trip."
Pepper chuckled, nodded in response, and, giving him a parting kiss, headed towards the elevator, giving him time to work.
"Are you passing by LaGuardia Airport?" Pepper asked Coulson as she walked towards the elevator.
"I can give you a ride."
When Tony was left alone, he turned his attention back to the hologram. His gaze caught on a video recording marked with a red tag. Intrigued, he touched the screen and started the video.
A fully equipped scientific laboratory, filmed by a security camera installed in the corner, appeared on the screen. Tony saw Nick Fury there, as well as a glowing blue object that caught his attention. Then, this object began to change its state: a powerful beam erupted from it, opening a portal.
The video then showed the events that transpired in the laboratory: Noah's arrival, the emergence of several aliens through the portal, and their subsequent escape with the blue cube. Tony, watching the screen, thoughtfully rubbed his chin. Now he understood what had caused Coulson such alarm.
He reached out towards the holographic projection of the Tesseract, as if trying to grasp it, and examined it carefully.
"What is that thing?"
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