Hey everyone! Thank you so much for taking your time to read, fav and review. It means a lot =) I know this comes kinda late, life sucks. But I'm not giving up on this anytime soon. Are you excited for Infinity War? I most certainly am! It's so close! Anyway, I'll respond to your reviews and just let you to read. Let me know what you think! Also feel free to point out any mistakes on my part, English is not my first language and I don't have a beta, so it can happen.

bellaphant: Here it is! Sorry for the delay, hope it's worth the wait ^.^

Daydreamer003: Thank you, glad that you liked it =)
ChancellR: Hell yeah! We need more xD

amie94: Than you so much! Here's a little something! =D

Rbenham2: Wish granted! Hope you like it =)
Corvus Black: Boy this is gonna be long… XD
I find that lack of Tony/OC stories weird, considering the character he is, but maybe we are sold to the Pepperony army xd. Anyway, about the age… I always thought it was a shame the MCU didn't start before it did, so they could pick their actors slightly younger. I think 40 is too late to realize you're an asshole XD And characters like Thor or Cap, who are supposed to barely age are hard to sell sometimes. Luckily they nailed whatever technic they used with Hank Pym in Ant Man and Tony in CW, I wish they did back when we got Tony's flashbacks, or even in the original Iron Man. In my humble opinion he looks older there than in Avengers XD Also, recently I read some interviews with people like Feige that kinda shit on the timeline… So, overall, I decided to be loose with ages and details like that that don't really affect the story. Imogen… We could be pronouncing it the same way, who knows, it's the problem with writing, especially in a language like English. I only know one Imogen, from the UK, I try to pronounce it the way she does.
PhD's and Pym… Another loose thing… As a comic reader I know Tony, Bruce, Hank and blahblahblah have multiple degrees and PhD's, but there's never a definite list. Just depends on the universe or the story, because the writers need that open door. Immy's PhD is in Biotechnology, I want her character more focused on certain things for story purposes. Also, she doesn't know Hank Pym personally. We already know the Stark-Pym relationship isn't the best, and I don't want Immy to be the magical link between characters. I hope to hear more nitpicking of yours along the way XD

"What are we doing here, Banner?"

They were in New York City, waiting by the river like fools. As promised, Bruce called him first thing in the morning. Tony wasn't even awake, which was weird in itself. Bruce told him they were meant to meet for brunch in New York, and ''don't dress up''. Suddenly he had to cross the country for brunch, that left him without time to even take a morning shower, but he figured he'd be alright since he showered the night before. He dressed in a hurry with the first things he took from the drawer: white t-shirt, black cargo pants and a hoodie. All the while instructing JARVIS to have his private jet ready and make him one of those green shakes to carry out.

Flashback

He arrived to the airport, driving his Audi R8 like a madman and drinking from a straw. Once inside the jet he made himself comfortable and googled this Immy chick. Yes, he already knew her credentials, but he was about to meet her personally, he was supposed to tell her things about Iron Man, and while he trusted Bruce's judgement, he preferred to see for himself what kind of person she was. And boy, it was fun to discover. He read a bunch of articles about her private life, where reporters tried to dig into her past talking to fellow classmates, teachers and even the nuns at the foundation's hospice. They all described her as quiet and shy. Some went as far as to talk about unhealthy shyness. As he watched her playing games and being funny in TV shows during her tours in Europe and Asia, after reading those articles, her personality came into place before his eyes. Yes, he was pretty sure that she used to be extremely shy, and despite growing out of it through the years, there were remnants of it in her mannerisms. Like the way she covered her face whenever she did or said something extremely silly, or how she pushed her hair forward to try to hide the redness in her ears when someone complimented her. All in all, that fish out of the water vibe she projected sometimes in public added to her liking. And what was there not to like? She had a straight flush in her hands: a single woman of humble origins that started a growing empire by her own merits in a male-dominated field. Additionally, she was a kind person that went about her life buying coffee for random people because she felt bad that she had stepped on their toes while in the queue. Of course people liked her –and posted about it-.

She had her own social media that she managed herself, and then there were the fans: video compilations of her funniest moments, fan accounts, forums, blogs… And Manfredi seemed to interact with all of them pretty often. The only shade thrown at her that he found was coming from a bunch of noisy reporters that crossed the line trying to get info about her love life and got burned publicly for it. Now, her smiles looked real, Tony didn't feel the Romanov vibe from her, but watching her lash out at those reporters settled his nerves. He didn't trust people without a dark side. And talking about her love life: it wasn't extensive. There were pictures of her on vacations and parties with a couple of guys years ago, but nothing serious besides Jim, her executive assistant, who she had dated for a couple of years before splitting in good terms a few months ago. According to the paparazzi "Immy and Jim remain good friends and professional partners after mutually deciding to put an end to their romantic relationship." He closed those articles, they hit too close to home, and went back to her social media. He scrolled through the pictures. Some of them were just silly photos of her stuffing a whole filled doughnut inside her mouth, saying hi to her fans from a balcony, shaking hands with tv hosts… He only stopped for a moment in the most recent ones. They were from last night, in New York, having fun with Jane, Thor's girlfriend, and her very annoying assistant, Darcy.

"Hey, JAR, what's the connection between Manfredi and Jane Foster?"

"Miss Manfredi provided secure location for Doctor Foster and Miss Lewis in her observatory in Norway during the Battle of new York, sir."

"I thought that was SHIELD…"

"It was. Miss Manfredi owns the observatory and was the one that hired Doctor Foster as a consultant at the request of SHIELD."

"Uhm…"

He didn't like that. Fucking SHIELD, they were everywhere.

"Anything else between SHIELD and her from the archives you hacked from the helicarrier?"

If a more profound bound existed between the agency and Manfredi it would be there, just as phase two.

"Miss Manfredi's name is in the list of potential threats. They approached her after her graduation with unsuccessful results."

"Approach her about what?"

"Unclear."

And yet another question to the list, although he had a feeling they were interested in her technology.

When the jet finally landed in NYC, a big guy he didn't know was waiting for him. Tony couldn't remember the fella's name, but he said he was there on behalf of Miss Manfredi, so he followed him to an amphibian aircraft full of more big guys. He went with the flow, but once the door closed behind him he felt uneasy. He'd been abducted before, what was stopping these men from doing it again? That was one of the many reasons why he needed his armors up and ready at any moment. He never wanted to feel vulnerable again. For a moment he thought he was about to have another attack, but he managed to keep his shit together, although not without earning a couple of weird looks. Ten minutes later he was dropped off in one of the skyports by the east side of the Hudson, where Bruce was already waiting for him.

End Flashback

"Patience is a virtue, Tony"- was the only response he got from Bruce.

The scientist was leaning on the street railing, with his ankles crossed and his hands inside his pockets.

"Not one of mine."- Tony muttered-."I didn't know you owned any sweats."

It was strange to see Bruce in sportswear.

"Yeah, I don't use them very often anymore."

"Not good for your skin tone?"

Tony couldn't help himself. He was always joking about the other guy around Bruce, poking him and looking at him expectantly like he really wanted to trigger the gamma side. And Bruce allowed it to happen because, in time, he learnt that Tony meant no harm. He didn't mean to remind him how much of a weirdo he was. It was just Tony's way of normalizing something that wasn't normal.

"Tony, I need to know that you'll behave."

"Oh, come on… You sound like my old man."

"You're my friend, "–Bruce carried on like he hadn't heard Tony-"but she's my friend too. I don't want to be in a weird position."

"Alright, alright! Scout's honor. What did you tell her, anyway? Last night you didn't sound so sure she'd agree to meet."

"I told her you wanted to consult her about a private project."

"And?"

"And here we are…"

As Tony was about to open his mouth again, a navy car pulled up to the curb. The driver's window rolled down to reveal a chick with dark sunglasses that she slid onto her head.

"Need a lift?" – Was all she said motioning for them to get in the car.

Bruce didn't hesitate, going directly for the back door. He did his best over the phone, reassuring her about the nature of their meeting. Now it was up to Tony to convince her to help him. She turned around in her seat to greet him as Tony walked around the hood of the car to get to the co-pilot seat. He put the seat belt on and took a good look at her as she finished talking with Bruce. She looked as casual as they did, wearing black leggings and a grey oversized sweater.

"Pleasure to meet you Mr. Stark. And thank you for saving us from alien invasions and the electric power industry."- She kept her promise of a thank you as she put her glasses back down.-"And for paying for my studies and putting a roof over my head and food on my table. Sorry,"-she laughed out loud- "am I babbling?"

"It's ok to be grateful, Immy."- Bruce reassured her from the back seat.

"Yeah, sure, the foundation was my parent's thing, anyway."
Tony dismissed her comment. He knew how to deal with bootlickers, but this kind of genuine gratitude made him uncomfortable. She pulled back into traffic in silence, and he was glad she didn't push it after his unceremonious dismissal. Still he opened his mouth before giving her a chance.

"So, where are we going? Is this a thing you do often? Rushing people across the country for brunch?"

Tony made a conscious effort to avoid Banner in the rear-view mirror, he could imagine his 'really? right after promising me?' face, and that was enough. Immy, on the other hand, observed the chagrin in her former professor/current friend's face with a big smile of her own.

"Only the ones with a private jet"- she responded stopping by a red light and taking the opportunity to take a good look at him.

Despite the seatbelt he was almost leaning with his back against the door. He looked all casual and his eyes were fixed on her face.

"I can't see you"- he motioned over his own face, clearly referencing her glasses-. "It's rude. You should take them off."

Did she take them off? No. In fact she took a couple of seconds that felt way longer just to observe him. And then she fucking smirked like he was the funniest shit on earth. No, really, Tony saw her tongue poking inside her cheeks like she was trying her hardest not to laugh in his face. He almost wanted to slap her.

"You should hope I don't."-She finally said putting her eyes back on the road and driving once again as the car behind them honked-. "I'm as short-sighted as they come."

"Stop embarrassing yourself, Tony."

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I embarrassing you in front of your girlfriend?"
"No one is embarrassing nobody." – She elevated her voice over the science bro's bickering-. "But I do detect some animosity, Mr. Stark."

"It's Tony"- he corrected her-. "And of course I'm on the defensive here. I was dragged by men in black inside a car with a hooded stranger. Should I smile and hand you over a copy of my patents?"

"Dramatic much…" –Bruce mumbled from the backs seat making her laugh.

"We all like Burger King, don't we? I feel like killing myself from the inside..." She deadpanned rolling down her window. – "Cheeseburgers?"

She had stopped at a drive thru.

''No pickles."- Tony told her as someone asked for their order from the other side of the com, forgetting all about his own tantrum at the idea of cheeseburgers.

"Six cheeseburgers. No pickles. And three large French fries"- she ordered.

"Would you like to add drinks?"

She turned back to them and asked.

"Shake?"

"Oreo."- Tony nodded.

"Just water for me." –Was Banner's boring response that earned him a couple of raised eyebrows.

"Two large Oreo shakes and a bottle of water. Nothing else."- She finished

"It'll be $25.78. Just pull around and thank you."

As she did pull over she asked Tony to hand her her wallet from the glove compartment, which he did. He also took it to himself to rummage around said wallet while she paid and passed the bags full of calories back to Bruce.

"Tony…" – Bruce warned him feeling mortified.

"It's ok, Bruce, it's just a wallet"- she reassured him.

Her lack of response to his blatant privacy violation did the trick, as he put the wallet back where it belonged. It was a pretty boring wallet, anyway, no gym card, no potential booty call number, no pictures, not even condoms…

"Are you as boring as your wallet?"

She laughed again. He was starting to think it was impossible to offend her.

"You could say I've become so."

He had no idea what she meant by that, but now she had a kind of sad smirk on her face, and Bruce was looking out the window with his jaw twitching, so he decided to shut the hell up, he knew when he had pushed a button, even if he wasn't in on the joke.

He looked outside. They were in Upper Manhattan, past Harlem and Sugar Hill. She took 177th Street before Hudson Heights and headed west through New York State Route 9A and continued north all the way to Fort Tryon Park, where she parked by a rocky wall and got out without a word. Tony closed the car's door and looked around, almost expecting to see more men in black among the bushes.

"Tony"- Bruce called him over his shoulder.

While he was being paranoid, the other two had started walking, so the billionaire had to take a few quick steps to get to them. Banner was placidly strolling with his hands in his pockets, she was holding his arm. Both smiling at each other and talking quietly. God, he was feeling like a third wheel. And they kept walking and walking, under tunnels, up stairs… The place was silent as the grave, they barely crossed a couple of runners, and he had no idea where they were going.

"Guys,"- he called-"benches, we can sit and actually eat."

"Just a little further" – she called back not even turning.

And she was right. A few steps later he could see their path seemed to end in a gazebo. They walked into the structure. Banner sat onto one of the eight half walls handing Immy out some of the fast food as she sat next to him while Tony kept looking around.

"What are you looking for?" – She asked Tony handing him two burgers.

"More men in black?" – He answered reaching for the food.

"My own private security detail. Anvil, you've heard of them?"

Tony nodded.

"I'm not a fan,"-she went on-"but I'm sensible enough to know it's necessary."

If Tony could sympathize with something it was the need of security. There was a time when he thought himself untouchable, only to end a prisoner in an afghan cave.

"Yet I was surrounded by airmen when I was abducted."

He finally took a seat on the same wall as them, keeping his distance, but facing her.

"Oh, I know." – She said handing him his shake and fries. - "It was everywhere, every hour of the day."

They ate in a comfortable silence for a while. Tony even allowed himself to rest his back against the pillar behind him and close his eyes as he chewed the last bite of his second burger. Maybe he should find time to escape to places like this more often. He was a big city kind of guy all his life, but it didn't seem to click very well with him lately. The noise, and the people… For the first time in a long time stress wasn't at the forefront of his mind waiting to rear its ugly head. The birds chirped, the trees smelled good…

"That's disgusting…"

Banner's voice and Immy's laugher brought him back to the present. He opened his eyes and saw Bruce cringing at her for dipping fries in her shake, which, to Bruce's chagrin, only encouraged her to do it more and more exaggeratedly. He smiled watching Bruce interact with her. He had joked about them dating, and it could look like that, certainly, the way she took his arm and all. But right now they were bickering like siblings. Anyway, watching her munch on her concoction made him crave the same, and so he dipped a couple of fries in. His father used to cringe at him too whenever he did this…

"So… Bruce tells me you want my expert opinion about something."
"Yeah, about that... I have a personal question first."

"Shoot."
"Why did you refuse that job offer Stark Industries made you years ago?"

"I had my own project in mind."

"Did your project require you to flee the country the very day your internship contract expired?"

"You've done your homework, haven't you?"

The sudden bitterness in her voice took him by surprise, but before he could think much of it she started talking again.

"The first Wednesday of every month we used to put together this think tanks where we talked about side projects or any crazy idea we came up with. By we I mean the interns in Stark Industries. Most of the time it was more sci-fi than actual science." –She half laughed half scoffed-. "Hyped nerds having a good time, you know?" – she finally looked at him.

Tony nodded lightly, urging her to go on.

"Anyway, back then I was already developing a first draft for Galilei in my free time. It was finally coming together. So, it was the first Wednesday of the month again, and I decided to talk about Galilei and its potential applications with my fellow nerds. Of course nothing detailed, this was my baby."

She stopped talking for a few seconds and started retrieving their junk inside the Burger King bag.

"When I was done Obadiah Stane was at the end of the room clapping. He came over me, put his arm around my shoulders and smiled like we were family or something. I didn't know the guy! He told everyone how this was the future. Weapons in orbit, kinetic bombardment, no margin of error. I wanted to vomit."

She looked like she wanted to vomit now.

"From then on I started to bump on him way too often. He did a good job acting casual at first, but soon he started making questions about this little project of mine, giving me ideas… He knew too many details. Details he shouldn't know. Two weeks before my contract expired I received that job offer from the Missile Program. That very same day I started to fill applications for jobs over Europe."

SLURRRRRP-

Bruce broke their gaze slurping noisily on her shake.

"Sorry…"- He reddened.

"It's good, huh?" – She laughed pinching his cheeks.

Tony spaced out, thinking about what she just told him. His stomach churned hearing Obadiah's name. And yeah, he believed her. How could he not after his own experience with the man. Acting all fatherly after trying to have Tony killed, and then stealing the only thing that kept him alive to make a new generation of weapons with it. There was no doubt in his mind that the very moment Obadiah Stane took a whiff of the potential of her project he had broken all kinds of laws to know more. Hell, he was surprised she was alive after catching his attention. Definitely there had to be more to the story. No way had she made it out of the States without Stane trying something… But that was a conversation for another time. He had poked around enough for one day.

"I'm working on an autonomous system for the Iron Man armors."- He blurted.

Her head whipped around instantly. She wasn't expecting him to want to talk about the armors, that's for sure. Tony shifted his gaze towards Banner for a second. Not that he didn't trust him, he certainly did, but her reaction confirmed that Bruce didn't give her any details about the nature of their meeting. On that note he couldn't blame her for trying to be as discreet as possible. None of them needed the paparazzi coming up with crazy theories.

"That's always been the problem with the Iron Man gig."– He continued-. "It's cumbersome. I tried carrying it in a case, but that's still ineffective, and heavy even when I make it lighter than the regular armor, and someone could steal it."- He listed some of the most obvious suitcase cons-."Then I tried the whole autonomous thing with an undersuit, also very inconvenient, not to mention unflattering. Right now I'm working on telepresence. I have this device" – he gestured around his head- "that allows me to operate the suit remotely, but-"

"You want the armor to come to you whenever you need it." – She interrupted him catching up with his reasoning. - "So what's the problem, exactly?"

"Precision, for starters. I have the bruises to prove it."

"What else?"

That question he didn't answer that easily. It was still hard to think about what could have happened. It was harder to voice it.

"One of the armors attacked Pepper when he was having a nightmare" – Bruce barged into the conversation watching the strain in Tony's face.

"Well, we can't have the armor smashing you to death or hurting people every time you stub your toe…" – she deadpanned.

"I'm working on it. I'm recalibrating the interface-"–Tony rushed to explain only for her to turn towards Bruce and completely ignore him.

"The nightmares, punctual or recurrent?"

"Recurrent, definitely."

"I'd really appreciate it if you stopped airing my issues, thank you."

"How exactly are you working on it?" – She asked him with a sarcastic tone he didn't like.

"I was trying to tell you. I'm recalibrating the interface to ignore theta and hi-beta brainwaves-"

"That would make it worse. You just need to stop ignoring infra-low."

"What?"

"Infra-low brainwaves. They are very slow, difficult to detect. Under five hertz. Luckily for you I have a little something, a very very sensitive electrode merger. You can have it. Use it in a day to day basis with your headset, that way we should be able to map properly your brain activity."

"And that's it?" – He asked half surprised half excited.

"No, that's not it. It's a prototype. I never finished it. It should be a start, but to properly link you to the suits we'll need to go invasive."
"Invasive brain-computer interface."
"Yes. Oscillatory activity can be reliably detected through the scalp, but it weakens the electric signal, and we don't won't any lag, do we?"

"No we don't." – Tony leaned forward. She had his full attention now.
"Correct me if I'm wrong,"- Bruce inferred- "but are you seriously considering the idea of implanting electrodes in your brain?"

"Actually we could do it from the base of the skull. Still invasive, but no major surgery needed." – She added on making Tony smirk and Bruce shake his head no.

It's so on…

How did you like it? It was actually longer, but I cut this part here, to try and make the chapters the same, so I guess I have the next one started and it shouldn't take me long. And yeah, we'll get some references to the TV side of the MCU here and there, did you catch this one?. Let me know your thoughts!