Ch48. Trouble with Extremis

"So, what's your problem?" Tony asked. "I guess you didn't come here to offer me a blowjob." He chuckled.

"Huh? ... Ah! N-No! Of course not! I..." Hannah stuttered, completely flustered and almost affronted at the mere idea of that before realizing what Stark was doing and not wanting to give him the satisfaction, she took a deep breath, calming herself down. "I had enough of you two decades ago. You are quite a mouthful." She deadpanned.

That was the best compliment mixed with an insult she was willing to give him.

"It is totally surprising with his average height but that he is." Natasha suddenly quipped, surprising Hannah at how brutal that jab at Tony's height was. The woman just finished sucking him off and now she was insulting him like this?

Was Tony Stark a masochist?

In reply, Tony harrumphed and rolled his eyes at the redhead draped over his shoulders, "You have no right to diss the D with how much attention you show it as of late, missy!"

"Damn, this would have been a prime opportunity for some passive-aggressive play, suggesting we can stop having oral sex because of what you just said but sadly, you are totally right. I love the emotions it gives me too much to punish myself like that." Natasha dispassionately uttered with a hint of disappointment in her tone.

"But you do deserve punishment for the stunt you just pulled, Nat." Tony spoke with a catlike glee and Hannah could see Natasha's body slightly shaking in anticipation.

'Ah, apparently not. Stark is just his usual sadistic ass.' Hannah's doubts cleared.

"Then punish me." Natasha purred into Tony's ear. "You know I am waiting for you." She playfully bit his earlobe and Hannah suddenly felt a bit awkward being left out.

Tony had to take a deep breath to calm himself. He and Natasha did not go all the way yet but it was made completely obvious to him that Natasha was ready and eager to advance their relationship.

He would have happily obliged but as of late, he was too busy. He didn't want a quickie to be his first time with Natasha. At the very least, he wanted to spend an entire day with her in their bed! He didn't go through the awkward experience of asking the Kamar Taj's librarian about sex magics to not make their first time so enjoyable for her that she would never forget it.

Tony had a reputation to uphold, after all!

"In that case, you are sleeping on the couch from now on, dear." Tony grinned and Natasha's suggestive expression instantly turned blank as she processed what she just heard.

Even Hannah's jaw dropped at that. Weren't the roles kinda reversed here?

"You wouldn't. That's blatant cruelty! Domestic abuse!" Natasha spoke in a feigned horrified voice full of mock-betrayal and disbelief.

Despite her outburst being just her playing along in their mutual banter, Natasha's heart skipped a beat at the threat.

She loved Tony. These past few months they started to sleep in one bed just made the fact that much more obvious to her. She often woke up in the morning, baffled at the fact she had no nightmares, and found herself clutching at him for her dear life.

Tony became her lifeline and comfort zone and just thinking about giving it up now made her feel dread. Even if it was meant as a joke.

"Hmm~," Tony ponderingly hummed and Hannah noticed Natasha's embrace tightening as if trying to quietly make him change his mind, "I guess I really wouldn't." He relented with an almost sad expression and patted Natasha's right hand, "You are too cuddly for that."

"Mhm. I knew my subtle super villainous plan would work when I decided to be extremely cuddly. Now you are firmly in my grasp." She giggled and pecked Tony's cheek.

It was these exchanges that made Tony able to drop his guard around the super-spy seductress. The woman probably knew more ways of controlling men through their lust and affection than she knew how to kill them.

It had its upsides, as she demonstrated with her tongue, but the downsides were even more damning.

It was a little sad but Tony would definitely not be able to trust her further than he could throw her without his Iron Man suit if not for the soul contract between them. Her completely relaxed behavior and the casual banter between them were really disarming and Tony would have always wondered what was her goal.

Even if she didn't have one, Tony would always wonder...

With the contract, he could trust her and both were happier for it.

"You would have made an excellent villain. World domination through cuddles sounds like a great plan. Don't forget to conscript some teddy bears while you are at it and you could have made a career out of it." Tony quipped.

"Ah, smart as always Tony. They would have made an excellent infantry, wouldn't they? Maybe I could even get some unicorns for cavalry or fairies as my magical units now that we are clearly in the fantasy genre, no?" Natasha cheerily spoke with a hint of mockery in her tone.

They both had kicks from the fact Hannah thought they were joking but walking teddy bears, unicorns, and fairies did not sound so farfetched considering what they knew about the world so far.

Hannah had had enough of their antics though. "Can we get back to the matter at hand or are you going to flirt for a long time yet?" She asked, quite fed-up, feeling as if her previous teasing of Stark was now turned against her as she was forced to witness them blatantly flirting in front of her.

"For a long time yet." They both instantly chorused together in a deadpan voice at Hannah.

"You are unbelievable." Hannah exasperatedly exclaimed.

"Yeah, I have heard something like that in the past." Tony nonchalantly nodded, "So? What's the problem? Do tell."

"You finally decided to give me some of your precious time, esteemed Mr. Stark?" Hannah snarkily asked, "And here I thought I would have to suck you off for it."

"I am sorry to reject your advances, Hannah," Tony started with a soft, sad, and placating expression, and Hannah instantly knew where this was going and she didn't like it one bit. Before she could protest, Tony continued. "I know you would love nothing more than that but I have barely time for Natasha as it is. As such..." Here Tony's voice and expression turned flippant, "No D for you. You deserve the horny jail."

He had such a self-righteous expression while he said it that Hannah had to put her face in her hands and groan, wondering where he was getting his confidence from.

Despite that, she was involuntarily smiling.

"Okay, enough jokes. What's the matter?" Tony asked her.

Understanding that this was now as serious discussion as Tony Stark's behavior disorder allowed for, Hannah huffed, "Extremis is unstable no matter what I do and it is driving me crazy!"

"Ah, that." Tony's smile suddenly became forced and his mood worsened.

"Yes tha-, wait, what!? You knew this would happen!?" Hannah exclaimed in shock.

"Yes. Why do you think I said I have other things to do? I am working on it. Just... do the following tests and forget about making it stable for now. You won't succeed." Tony helplessly shrugged.

It was the truth. No matter how much science she tried, there would be no progress in this regard. He noticed Extremis was doing something... mystical. How or why, Tony had no idea but it was happening.

When he first noticed it, he instantly knew he stumbled upon something way above his paygrade. Something ground-breaking.

That's why he didn't help Maya with the research anymore. He was devouring one book after another in Kamar Taj and finally found out what it was the Extremis was doing. It somehow created a connection, a very small one, to one specific dimension.

It was no science from the get-go. Extremis was magic.

In hindsight, Tony should have suspected it. Getting a body to heat up to the temperature capable of melting his suit was not exactly a normal human feat.

Tony had no idea how Maya created it. The woman must have been as mad as they come to even think about it but in the world with Erskine and other scientists capable of making extraordinary things, Pyms particles being just one example, Tony could not be sure if it were the people who were mad or the world itself.

After he found out that Extremis served as a connector to a dimension, capable of drawing a very, very, very small amount of power from it and using it to heal the body... which also caused the overheating as the dimensional energy worked its magic, hence no amount of science could get rid of it... Tony started learning about various dimensions but it was a slow-going process.

"Are you sure there is nothing we can do?" Maya worriedly asked.

Usually, she would have not believed him but Tony showed her he understood Extremis even more than her at times. While he clearly did not have as much interest in it as her, his opinion could be trusted.

"Yes." Tony wryly smiled, "I will have to develop a new device or something to make stabilizing it possible. It will take time though. Despite the popular belief, I can't do miracles." He nonchalantly lied.

He doubted Extremis would have significant results anytime soon. As incredible as this new discovery was, it was a total stop-gag for Extremis' development. At least until Tony learned more about dimensions and their respective energies. Maybe then he could do something about this little problem.

Hannah could only mutely nod before she stood up and resignedly walked away with slouched shoulders. This was not the answer she expected when she decided to pay Stark a visit.

This was a hard blow to her lifelong efforts but at least there were a lot of other tests she could do first and Stark seemed to believe he could do something about it. She could only put her trust in his hands.