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Stark Industries, as always, is a hub of activity this afternoon. People are in and out of the building attending to meetings of various sorts. Susan Storm, in her red black and yellow mod dress, lingers in the line until it is effectively her turn. She shoots the secretary a warm smile and tugs on the bottom of her dress, "Hi. I have a 3 o'clock upstairs to discuss the science and tech conference in a few weeks — I was told we were all meeting here. Sue Storm." She presses up to her tiptoes to spy the receptionist's work while her fingers drum expectantly along the front of the desk.
The receptionist tilts her head slightly, "I'm sorry, I don't have a Sue Storm on the list."
Sue's lips turn downwards slightly. "Really? I called and confirmed yesterday…" Her lips twist to the side slightly. "Maybe.. is it under Seo Hyun?" her Korean name had come up in at least one conversation about the conference.
The secretary narrows her eyes, "Isn't that a man's name?"
Sue's expression flattens.
*
*BZZT* "Janice, have you seen Pepper?" *BZZT* There's a voice coming through the intercom. He doesn't wait to get an answer before there's another buzz, *BZZT* "I have a hankering for sushi and Pepper isn't there to bring it. Fetch someone for a boat, will you?" *BZZT*. There's only a brief pause before *BZZT* "So, how loud is this down there? I mean, can you hear it? I haven't heard back yet." *BZZT* *BZZT* *BZZT*
Sadly, it's not only Ms. Potts who gets Mr. Stark's attention.
*BZZT* "Just a simple acknowledgement would be nice. Even if you can't get the sushi." *BZZT* *BZZT* "But I'm really craving some tuna."*BZZT*
*
Janice looks exasperated at the buzzing that comes through. *BZZT* "Mister Stark, I haven't seen Miss Potts, but will see that you get sushi right away — " *BZZT*
Sue lifts a single finger, "I'll get it for you," and subsequent access to the tenth floor for the meeting she's bound to be ridiculously late for. She adds a saccharine smile, and diplomatically adds, "I'll even make sure it has tuna."
Conspiratorially, the receptionist agreed.
15 MINUTES LATER
*BZZT* "Your sushi is on it's way upstairs, Mister Stark."
With a sushi boat in hand, Sue is finally buzzed up several floors higher than she'd been looking to get to earlier. "Always left to be the bloody secretary. Makes a woman wonder why bother getting the doctorate…" she murmurs to herself. The door opens and she manages that same almost-too-sweet smile as she treads into the room to leave the sushi and get back to her destination of choice.
*
There's one sushi place in New York City and it's not cheap. Most don't know of it, but of course, Stark does — because it's rare and unusual. There are a couple of desks on the floor with the CEO's office, but they all seem to be quite busy with Ms. Potts' desk currently empty of Ms. Potts. One of the secretaries looks over and blinks, "Hey, who are you?"
An answer doesn't need to be given because Tony opens the door to the office, looks around, and then points to Sue…or rather, her sushi boat. "There you are! I'm famished. In here…bring it in here…" he gestures her to the office.
Was he supposed to be at the other meeting?
*
"I'm the delivery girl, apparently," Sue states flatly as she passes the secretary's desk with her sushi in hand. "Sometimes I wonder about myself," she mutters under her breath. But within moments she's being called into Tony's office, or rather, the sushi is being called into Tony's office.
With an unceremonious roll of her eyes, Sue treads into Tony's office and sets the sushi boat on the desk. "Mister Stark, I'm pretty sure you're late for a meeting — " her eyes narrow at him.
But even as she says the words, she's stepping back towards the door. While the Fantastic Four are well-known, Sue is one of the few that sometimes manages to get around rather unnoticed. "Anyways," she turns on her heel, "enjoy your sushi!" her hand extends in the air to issue a wave from the coolness of her back.
*
She isn't one of the ones he knows. Interesting. Stark actually looks up and takes a moment to quickly look over the 'delivery girl', "Do you like sushi?" He gestures for her to join him in the seating area to eat. "Uhm. It's fish. Often raw, and rice. Really good if you ask me. Come on, there's another set of chopsticks." He even waves them at her.
"Are you new? I don't think I've met you…and wait, a meeting? I am? Pepper didn't tell me…" because Pepper is away from her desk.
*
Sue's eyes narrow into feline slits as she turns back on her heel towards Tony. "I'm not your secretary," she counters with that same too-sweet smile. "Scratch that, I'm not a secretary at all despite popular opinion." There's a long pause, however, as she observes, "But you didn't assume I was Japanese, so kudos to you." Pause. "And I've never had sushi. The idea of eating something raw — " her nose wrinkles.
She takes a few steps back into the office and reaches out her hand for the chopsticks, evidently, despite her initial reaction, she's game. "Sue Storm," she finally introduces herself. "I'm here to meet about the Science and tech conference coming up in Austria at the middle of the month. And I'm fairly sure you're supposed to be in that meeting. Probably."
She clucks her tongue and offers, "I suspect Pepper(?)," because Sue hasn't had the pleasure, "isn't currently at her desk. Probably attending to something else. Somewhere else." She shrugs.
*
Pepper might actually be at that meeting, honestly. She probably knows more about it than Tony does. He sits, poised, with chopsticks in his hand and just sort of blinks at the woman. "Was I supposed to assume? I'm sorry. I tend to be the rebellious type." When she offers her name, he offers his, "Tony Stark. There, introductions are done." He'll then explain what all the sushi is and warn about the wasabi.
"So, tell me about this conference meeting I'm supposed to be at. Am I sponsoring it? Or just going?"
*
"No, you weren't. But everyone assumes I'm a secretary despite the fact that I'm nearly finished my doctorate," Sue's eyebrows lift to punctuate her point. "And that I'm a member of the Fantastic Four. Believe me, no one would mistake Johnny, Reed, or Ben for the office staff." Her eyes turn up to the ceiling, "The Invisible Woman is just that much more invisible." She shrugs and smirks as her head shakes.
She's incredibly adept at using the chopsticks thanks to her upbringing. The sushi is easily plucked in between the chopsticks, brought closer to Sue's face for inspection, and then consumed in one single whole bite. At first blush, the sushi produces an expression of disconcertion, but after chewing and swallowing, Tony is given a nod of appreciation, "Better than expected."
Back to the conference discussion, Sue shakes her head, "Not sponsoring. Definitely attending. At least… you're listed on the presenters list. I assume you have something you want to present — "
*
"Well, you -are- a woman," Tony points out. No wonder people assume. "What's the Fantastic Four?" Maybe he hasn't been keeping up with the papers or news reports. "Is that a band?"
He takes some sushi himself and also nods, "Right? I'm surprised more people don't know about it." He works on his mid-day snack as he listens, "Presenting, huh? Well, I'm sure something will come to me. When did you say this was and where?" It's probably on his calendar and he'll probably be reminded about it shortly before he has to board the flight.
"So, why were you coming to the meeting? For your PhD research? What's your focus?"
*
"Your powers of observation are amazing," the flatness of Sue's tone indicates she's clearly not impressed. Her eyebrows lift and an incredulous smile draws over her features at the question, "Oh Mister Stark, you do not want to hear me sing. And while I played clarinet in high school it was badly and made my brother's ears bleed." She whistles sharply and crosses her arms over her chest. "No, if we were a band, I'd be a groupie. We have our own groupies instead." She tilts her head to the side, "We were in a vessel in space conducting an experiment when things went wonky and we ended up with.. abilities." She doesn't explain anymore besides. "There's four of us. My brother Johnny Storm and our friends Reed Richards and Ben Grimm."
She has another bite of sushi. "Near the end of the month. In Austria. It's an East mets West thing. The first global one since the Iron Curtain divided Europe." Her eyebrows lift. "Today's meeting was a touchable over potential security issues. Evidently, conference organizers suspect there could be trouble and want presenters to discuss concerns. It was an open meeting. My people," not Sue in particular, "are presenting a piece of tech we use regularly."
Stark is shot a broader grin when he asks about her research. Sue doesn't get to nerd-out often, despite living with Reed Richards, "I'm in organic chemistry and the influence of radiation on genetic cellular evolution and," her head tilts, "the potentiality of cellular degeneration." With a tick of her head, she gives the Coles' notes motivation behind her research, "I want to find a route to reverse what happened to my friends and I. The work is mostly theoretical at this point."
*
"Define 'wonky'?" Stark requests. Every now and then he actually reveals that he is, in fact, a scientist and a brilliant mind. "And wait, you went to space? Do the Russians know? Because we totally need to throw that in their faces. How did you get to space? Do you still have your specs? Hide them from my Dad…he wants to build a rocket and believe me, it's better off out of his hands. Mine, now…" he trails off by popping another maki roll in his mouth.
He does listen as he chews, "Of course there's going to be security issues. You have some of the greatest minds in the world going to that convention, namely me, and anyone who knows about it is going to try and do something. I'll have to remember to pack my suit. Just for funsies, you know."
"What tech do you use regularly?"
At the mention of the research, he cants his head, "Isn't radiation pretty, you know, bad for cellular degeneration? I mean…like, horribly bad?"
*
The request to define wonky prompts a frown and a bit more explicit description, "Unexpected radiation storm that the vessel hadn't anticipated." Sue wrinkles her nose and stares at Tony for a few beats. "I'm pretty sure most of the world knows we were in space. All for an experiment. It's interesting you've never heard of us, Mister Stark."
Her eyes flit from the sushi boat back to Tony and she offers, "Reed still has all of the specs for what he's invented. You're welcome to go touch base with him at the Baxter Building. He's always keen to talk tech with anyone able to engage."
She squints at Tony and his smug response about security. "I'm more concerned about the delegate from Latveria. Of course, that's for personal reasons." Her lips purse lightly and she shrugs. "But then it would be foolish to have no worries about a convergence of this size right now."
"Reed is going to present on his invention the unstable molecule suit. It's quite possibly the most used piece of tech in our particular arsenal. It responds to the user's unique molecular structure and can ensure that it functions they way they need it to." Her head ticks to the side, "Of course, that's for relatively obvious — " her cheeks flush. That's right, Tony Stark has no idea who she is. With a small roll of her eyes, she bends the light around her, effectively causing her to disappear from view. Saver for her clothes, and the chopsticks she uses that pick up another roll seemingly by themselves, which disappears roughly where Sue's mouth had been moments before.
*
"I only read tabloids," Stark points out quickly. "Well, good to know that the Russians already know that we beat them. Yay us! Go Team USA!" he waves his chopsticks in the air before taking another bite. "Tell Reed to come by tomorrow. Two o'clock? And to bring his specs." Because Tony isn't used to having to seek out others. They always come to him…or Pepper seeks them out and he thinks they come to him.
"Unstable molecule…" is echoed as he tries to figure out the application of such a thing. When his lunch companion then becomes invisible, his eyebrows shoot up, "Huh. So radiation did this to you? That's…huh."
*
Tony pops another maki in his mouth.
*
When she turns visible again, Sue smirks, "So the Bugle then? What Jamison counts as news in that paper is abysmal." She sets the chopsticks down and shakes her head lightly, "Reed won't show, and as I said before I'm not a secretary. I don't schedule other people's meetings," except she does, "I don't manage the calendar," except she did so this morning, "and I definitely don't tell them where they need to — " her shoulders sink slightly with recognition that she IS indeed fulfilling secretarial roles. She forces a tight-lipped smile that doesn't meet her eyes.
Well this has been illuminating.
"Yeah," radiation did this to her, she says to the chopsticks, "Something like that."
*
"That's going to make it difficult to schedule meetings if this Reed never shows. I mean, I'm not going to just show up and wait. I'm kind of busy with…well…stuff." If neither are willing to actually take the time to meet, it's not going to be easy to talk shop. Stark gives a shrug, "Oh well."
"So you're going to be pitching this molecular suit…to the mutant-types? I mean, I'm not sure what good it would do for anyone else unless you're looking to start some sort of fashion trend."
*
"There are these things called phones, Mister Stark. Been around for years. They're incredible inventions. Have one of your people," Sue motions to the world beyond the office, "call our people," …Sue… "on the phone. Something will get set on the books. That's how these things happen. Typically."
Her arms cross over her chest and she takes a single step backwards before noting, "The suit regulates anything. Body temperature. Changes in size. Incredibly durable. Applications are vast, comparatively." A glance is given towards the door. "I should probably get to my meeting," she points towards the door. "Thank you for the sushi."
*
Tony mutters something about everything being made so difficult nowadays and 'whatever happened to face to face communication?' but he grabs another roll, "Fine. Fine. If you really have to go through all those steps." Maybe he'll rememember to call.
When Sue mentions that she needs to get to the meeting, Tony sets his chopsticks down and stands, politely. "How about you leave you card? You know, so that I'm calling the right place." Or something. Probably more 'something'.
*
There's the faintest tilt of Sue's head at the question, followed by a very simple, "Of course," as she reaches into her pocket and extracts a business card. She takes a few steps forward and holds it out for Tony.
"The number will reach our main line and from there you can access any of the four of us." She shoots him that same saccharine smile she'd worn to get into the building before extending her hand to shake Tony's, "Nice meeting you, Mister Stark."
*
Tony takes the card and takes the offered hand to shake. He might hold onto it a little longer than is deemed 'appropriate'. "I'll be sure to call then." The card is pocketed instead of being added to his rolodex. "Good luck in the meeting and you're welcome." For the sushi. "It's always nice sharing a meal with an attractive woman."
At least he didn't call her a secretary!