Chapter 10) – Why Can’t We Be Friends?

After sleeping away the early morning, Mara and I had a discussion after she had woken up about what to do while waiting for the next event, which was Tony's birthday, in just under a week.

<So, what do we in the meantime while wait for birthday party, Mara? Do hang around Tony's house, or go and explore Los Angeles?>

[I mean we could look around yeah, but I think it would be best if we somehow used these days to join S.H.I.E.L.D. Since nothing happens in the movie during this time hopefully that means Natasha isn't busy acting as Tony's attendant and is free to recruit us.] she replied. Still prone on the sofa she had slept on after leaving Tony and Rhodey to their heart-to-heart.

Continuing the conversation, I asked, <How should we go about getting her to do that exactly? Asking is the same as telling know she's a spy, which what you wanted avoid. Maybe ask if she has any recommendations for places visit around city? That way knows roughly where we'll be and could organise non-undercover agent come meet us.>

[That's a really good idea El! First, we'll go check if Tony is still in his garage and if he has a phone or other communication device for us. It doesn't really matter for now, but after Tony's party we'll probably be expected to leave, since we can't just crash here forever. Him not giving us a way to communicate would suck as we NEED to be involved with the Iron Man 3 story.}

Sensing the necessity in her tone I questioned, <Why is that dear? I know it would be fun for you to involved with everything, but why a need and not want?>

Getting up off the sofa she was lying on, the blanket she had used as covering for her slumber slipped off her buxom curves and onto the marble floor. Mara began her morning stretches, which got shorter every day as her subconscious mind slowly caught up with her improved body, knowing stretching did nothing for her. We had decided not to use my form as a blanket when she was sleeping and instead just changed into pyjamas whilst we borrowed a blanket from elsewhere in the house. I could have changed into a blanket as well, but it would have been pointless as it was only for appearances – the pyjamas alone would allow for optimal sleeping conditions as my form can regulate the temperature for my host perfectly.

[As part of Iron Man 3's story, some guy called Killian creates something called Extremis and that's what we need. A good 75% of Extremis isn't very important to us but the 25% that is useful, is… extremely useful… See what I did there? Hehehe.]

<Yes, I did. Very punny dear. What's is this Extremis, and how it useful to us?>

Mara was done with her stretching, so I started the transformation of her pyjamas into some casual clothing for our city outing. It was a simple pair of dark skinny jeans, pure white t-shirt, and leather jacket, open at the front, finishing off with some matching black converse shoes.

[Wow you really are becoming more human, or more human-like at least, never thought I'd hear you say punny! As I was saying, Extremis is a type of genetic altering serum created by Killian and his partner Morgan? Maya? Melissa? Something starting with M. Regardless, it was designed to enhance the human body to superhuman levels. On top of that, it gives someone an insane healing ability, like strong enough to regrow limbs in a very short time span. It increases strength, reflexes, and resilience to superhuman degrees, but most importantly it gives someone the ability to generate extreme amounts of heat, like upwards of several thousand degrees Celsius!]

With her explanation slowly allowing me to fill in the blanks as to why Mara was so adamant we got some Extremis. I animatedly asked, <Are you thinking we could use it to make me immune fire?! Mara you're a genius! I'm not sure if would have be injected with it, or whether I directly injected, but definitely see the potential in your theory. If worked, both my known weaknesses!>

Dousing my excitement slightly, she quickly clarified, [Hold your horses handsome, I'm not guaranteeing it'll make us immune to fire, but it should definitely give us a rather sizable resistance to it, a few thousands of degrees at the minimum. I'm hopeful that your adaptability can improve upon the serum, just like it does with human cells, to increase its potency. But if we anticipate it not improving it, we still have a lot to gain just from the base serum.]

<True. The other abilities of the serum are definitely lacking as once I bond with your bones, should also be able to regrow limbs at a rather quick speed and superhuman aspect won't strong my increases are. However, produce new blood until heart which is very long time away, meaning all lost dismembered limb replaced will leave us weakened. So, if production, then it would big increase in our regenerative capabilities for foreseeable future.>

With her stretching and the clothing transformation done, Mara made her way towards the stairs leading to the entrance of Tony's garage. [Don't get too excited though babe. It'll be a few years yet until the serum is developed and stable enough to actually have successes. In theory, yes, we could trust your adaptation to get it early, but I still want to take as few risks with it as possible, so we'll wait until it has some proven passable results before using it.]

<And am I right in thinking there will be plenty to distract us these 'few years'?>

[You know it! Between a literal thunder god, alien invasion and a man frozen in time, there should be enough to keep us entertained. But for now, let's see if Tony is asleep, or if he hasn't even slept yet.]

As Mara arrived at the bottom of the stairwell, we both immediately noticed that the entire garage was enshrouded in darkness. It didn't take a genius to realise that Tony was not there and was asleep either in the garage itself or in his bed. To save some time, Mara decided to see if the AI Tony had, known as J.A.R.V.I.S., would answer her questions.

"Hey AI, can you hear me? What's your name?"

{I can indeed hear you, and it is J.A.R.V.I.S. Miss Mara.}

"Oh, sweet you answered and you're British! Is Tony asleep in the garage or in his bed? Don't really want to walk into his room to check cause it'd be rude of me."

{Mr. Stark is asleep in the garage. Can I assist you with anything?}

Pleased she was receiving answers to her questions, she continued, "Good question, I like you J.A.R.V.I.S. Do you know if Tony sorted a phone or other communication method for me? I know it's only been a night but not sure how easy it is for him to knock one out, ya know?"

{He did not Miss Mara. Would you like me to organise one for you?}

Mara shook her head, more so out of habit than assuming the AI to be watching her actions, "Nah it's alright, I don't need one desperately but just figured I should ask before I head out for the day. If Tony asks, could you tell him I went sightseeing?"

{Certainly, Miss Mara.}

"Can you speak to me anywhere in the house J.A.R.V.I.S.?"

{I can.}

Grinning slightly, she starts walking back up the stairs telling the AI, "Walk with me J.A.R.V.I.S."

{I cannot walk Miss Mara.}

Almost missing a step being caught off-guard with the remark, she sighed, "Haaah it's a figure of speech, I thought you would be used to Tony's sarcasm. Just talk with me as I walk around then, better?"

{That was a joke, Miss Mara. I am indeed familiar with Mr. Stark's humour. And to answer your question, yes, that is within my capabilities.}

When she got to the top of the staircase, she decided to just wander around the ground and first floors of the mansion as to not stir Tony downstairs. 

"Well colour me impressed; you got me good. I guess that's my fault for not expecting deadpan humour from an AI, no offence of course. I'll be expecting it next time though J.A.R.V.I.S.! Anyways, you got any idea what time Natalie clocks into work?" 

With a voice that seemed to come from everywhere at the same time, the humanoid voice replied, {No offence taken Miss Mara. Miss Rushman starts at approximately 7am. She works at the Stark Industries headquarters and will only come to the mansion if Mr. Stark calls for her.}

Stopping in her tracks, Mara realised that waiting around for Natalie to just turn up isn't feasible.

"Huh. I guess I need to be proactive in getting her help then. Hey J.A.R.V.I.S. do I have permission to use your capabilities to give Natalie a bell?"

{Of course, Miss Mara. Mr. Stark informed me to treat you the same as Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes during your stay here on the premises. Would you like me to contact Miss Rushman now for you?}

After Mara looked at the clock hanging on the wall, and seeing that it was just about 8:30am, she decided that it would be a good time to set her plan into motion.

"Not like I have any way to contact her, so if you wouldn't mind, please Jarv. Can I call you Jarv? J.A.R.V.I.S. feels so formal."

{You can call me whatever you want Miss Mara.}

"You know, you sounded exactly like someone else I know right now. And just call me Mara. Since I don't have a last name, that I know of, it just sounds weird calling me Miss. Anyway, ring her up please!"

<Wow. Comparing me to an AI now, do you this all sentient non-human beings or just the emotionless ones?>

[Just the emotionless one's love~ And you have to admit, you basically said the same thing when we first bonded, makes me feel all nostalgic. Now you're slowly becoming more human and even getting sassy, *sniff*, they grow up so fast~]

After she wiped non-existent tears from her eyes, and I rolled my metaphorical eyes, imitating a gesture Mara had used many times during our time bonded, we waited for the phone call to connect with Natalie.

Following the third ring of the tone, the call connected and with how she answered the phone, it was clear that Mara was not the one she was expecting to hear.

'Mr. Stark? How can I help?'

"Wrong super- Hmmm I guess I'm not exactly a hero. Super-person sounds lame. I'll have to settle with superhuman for now I suppose. Ahem, anyway it's Mara, Natalie. Tony is still asleep, but I don't really wanna stay cooped up in this mansion my whole stay. I was wondering if you had any sightseeing recommendations or anything for LA?"

There was silence on the other end of the line for a solid 5 seconds. Just long enough to infer that she was thinking about the question, but not long enough for the silence to be considered awkward or that the call had been disconnected.

'J.A.R.V.I.S. what time did Mr. Stark go to sleep?'

{Approximately 2 hours ago, Miss Rushman.}

'Thank you. Miss Mara, I will come to the manor and take you sightseeing myself if that is okay with you? Mr. Stark should be asleep until midday, so I may need to leave at any point after that time if he requires me.'

"That works fine for me Natalie. I'm already dressed and prepared for the day ahead, so whenever you arrive, we can get going. See you in a bit."

'See you shortly.'

------

Neither Mara nor I were sure about the distance between Tony's mansion and Stark Industries, where Natalie was travelling from. However, considering she made it to the house within half an hour, one could easily assume it to be a short distance of around 30 miles.

The red head drove her all-black Mercedes E-class sedan to a stop halfway around the circular roundabout out the front of the main manor door. The roundabout functioned as a temporary parking point, allowing easy drop-off and pick-up for visitors or guests.

Pre-empting Natalie rolling down the passenger side window, telling her to get in. Mara skipped her way to the car door and opened it, sitting down before Natalie could wind up the window she had only managed to get halfway down.

The undercover agent was wearing classic business women's attire according to Mara. She had black flared pants, a baby-blue office shirt and, surprisingly while driving, black heels.

"Yo Nat! Do you mind if I call you Nat? Full names make me feel so detached from people and Nat as a nickname sounds too good not to use."

"I would mind you calling me that actually, MISS Mara. We've only known each other for a couple of days, and I do not believe we are close enough to use nicknames." Putting emphasis on the 'miss' part of her sentence, it was clear the assistant did not want to allow Mara to get too close to her whilst she still harboured suspicions regarding my host's unknown identity. 

The refusal was nothing for my ever-optimistic host, however. She read between the lines of Natalie's refusal to expertly craft an understanding of her words, that Natalie clearly did not say at all, "So, you're saying you want to hang out more, right? That's fine with me Natalie~"

"Haah… I feel like you'll disregard whatever I say on the matter, so let's just get going."

Mara nodded her head profusely, not making it clear on which part of Natalie's statement she was agreeing to exactly. Although Natalie definitely felt it was the first half.

------

Unfortunately, for Natalie, the two got stuck in a typical big city traffic jam causing their travelling speed to halt to a snail's pace. The earlier discussion resulted in Mara constantly talking with her, over their currently 45-minute journey, about mundane things in an attempt to vault the hurdle Natalie had set for their 'friendship'. It was either that or she was trying to purposely aggravate her for whatever reason.

<Is the traffic always like this in big cities or are we just unlucky today?>

[It's usually pretty packed in cities to be honest. I sometimes wonder why anyone drives, since walking would take the same amount of time when considering the moving speeds essentially become the same.]

With slight confusion I asked, <Then was Natalie already on her way to Tony's mansion? Or is Stark Industries close by? How else she able make through this traffic in just half an hour?>

[C'mon El. Clearly, she used some secret agent or S.H.I.E.L.D. bullshit. Probably took a Quinjet, stored her car inside, made the jet invisible and parked it just out of sight near Tony's mansion. It wouldn't matter too much where she put it cause it's invisible, so out of sight wouldn't be accurate… I guess more like out of contact since even if it is invisible, it isn't intangible. Either that or the car itself can fly. Wouldn't be the first one… Currently, I think?]

Since Mara had stopped talking to Natalie, to communicate with me internally, she decided to continue annoying the driver as she rested her feet on the dashboard of the car. This earned her quite the silent scowl from the resident super spy. Pretending to be oblivious to the change in Natalie's facial expression, Mara crossed her legs, firmly making herself comfortable. Evidently, aggravation was the angle she was going for.

<Do you think Natalie has already organised a S.H.I.E.L.D. meeting for during this outing, or will she investigate us personally now? Or is that why are trying to get on her nerves?>

[As expected, you know me best El! However, you are only half right. I'm hoping that by annoying her so much she'll want to get a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent to either imprison us or recruit us as soon as possible to get us out of her hair. Obviously for either option I would need to be interviewed, so ideally, I'd pass with flying colours, and they wouldn't need to attempt to apprehend us which won't end the best for them to be honest hehe. Am I a genius or what?!]

As a result of her explaining her 'genius' plan to me, Mara's mood became slightly giddy, and she started tapping her foot. Naturally this wouldn't have mattered and would be pointless to mention. Except, due to her feet being on the dashboard, it resulted in her tapping on the front windscreen with said feet. This inevitably caused an even deeper scowl to appear on Natalie's face, a bulging vein becoming extremely prominent on her forehead and a slightly murderous glint to pass her eyes.

<Do you not think there could have been a better plan that doesn't involve getting in the bad books of mass murdering assassin?>

[I mean, sure I could think of a couple, but she wouldn't let me call her a nickname, so I wanted to be a bit vindictive, okay?]

<… >

[…]

<Haah, at least don't tell me this petty revenge was the other half of plan I only partially correct about?>

As soon as the words left my proverbial mouth, Mara's tapping feet came to a halt, and she turned her head to look out of the passenger side window as if she was trying to look away from me.

Obviously, I was again correct in my guesswork when I would have preferred to be wrong in this case.

[…]

<… >

[Okay, in my defence, I now realise that maybe, possibly, potentially, this wasn't the best plan. Nevertheless, since we've come so far with it, we may as well see it through to the end.]

<Why is it 'we' when I point out the questionable plan, and was 'I' while you were confident in it?>

[Now, now El, let's not get hung up on semantics and WE'LL put our heads together to dig us out of this hole WE'VE somehow mysteriously found ourselves in, hmm?]

If I had a body, I'm sure I would have performed what humans call a facepalm at the sheer shamelessness of Mara's actions. In spite of that, she was still my host and thus I endeavoured to do my best to fulfil her wishes and whims. After all, the host is a Klyntar's purpose in existence.

<Well first it would probably be a good idea to remove your legs from the dashboard. Looking at Natalie's eyes when you were tapping on windscreen, if don't soon, she'll them for you, and not dashboard know what I mean.>

As she registered the words that were transmitted into her head, through our telepathy, Mara immediately heeded my advice and promptly flopped her feet back into the footwell. Instead of the expected reaction from Natalie of her relaxing her facial structure, she actually scrutinised Mara harder! 

Looking at Natalie's reaction from the reflection in the window, she shouted through our connection, [AHHH! We should have just stuck to the original plan of being obliviously annoying! Now it looks like we did it on purpose and changed our minds, which is obviously suspicious!]

Feeling like it was an obvious solution, I asked, <Can't you just apologise and pretend like put your feet their subconsciously?>

Mara incredulously enquired, [Why does it feel like you understand human's better than me, who is actually human?]

<Less complaining, more apologising.>

[Yes mom.] Mara acknowledged, admitting she had well and truly lost… this round.

Mara stopped looking out the passenger window and turned to face Natalie who, unsurprisingly, perfectly hid the previous scowl plastered on her face.

"Ermm, sorry for putting my feet on the dash Natalie. I was in my own little world and wasn't paying attention to what I was doing."

"It's fine Mara, I don't mind at all."

Impressed at her ability to mask her feelings so well, I involuntarily stated, <Wow she's good. If I hadn't used your jacket buttons as eyes to watch her, wouldn't doubt her for a second.>

[Duhhh, you don't get a title like world's best spy just for looking good.] With the telepathic communication, our short exchange took a fraction of a second meaning Mara's reply to Natalie didn't skip a beat in the conversation.

"No, I really feel bad Natalie, it was disrespectful of me. Is there any way I can make it up to you?"

"It's alright, reall-… actually, there is one think you could do for me."

With visible happiness in her eyes, Mara leans closer to Natalie, nearly mounting the centre console of the car, "Anything! Just tell me!"

"Well, if it's not too much of a bother…"