4114/Janet's little Helpers

Janet's little Helpers
Date of Scene:	20 March 2018
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Janet briefs Tony on the attempts made on her life.
Cast of Characters:	Iron Man, Wasp (van Dyne)

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Iron Man has posed:
With all that has been going on with Janet and Dane-- well, Tony hasn't been in the loop. Though Tony himself was trapped in medical for a while just before that, and had to save the Internet, and the other problems flowing like a tide over the Avengers' desks lately: all of that kept that loop from including him. But not today.

A meeting request was sent to Janet from Tony himself, to please meet him Tuesday morning in the medical lab. The note adds that he wants to get the full story from her, firsthand.

And while Tony is technically early for the 'meeting', it's more that he's hauling one of the medical bots out of the wall and exchanging it with a new one. So yes, he is there early, but really was overseeing several drones at the work. He's dressed for mechanical work, casually, with his bright orange tech glasses on, some heavy gloves, from doing some moderate hauling of machinery.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet van Dyne arrives on time for the meeting, not that it should come as a surprise. For her part, she's dressed casually today in jeans and boots over what could be her costume bodysuit. This is the mansion, not the boardroom, but since when did Janet start wearing jeans?

Booted heels cluck softly on her way into the lab, and she smiles wryly when she spots Tony already at work. "I wasn't expecting you to be in the midst of surgery." she offers.

Iron Man has posed:
"THIS patient is in good hands. No need to scrub up," Tony answers with a flash of grin to her as she arrives. He sheds a glove to cross and greet her. "Janet. Feels like it's been years. Years in Avenger time, at least. Which is its own special continuum." He lifts the glasses to perch them on his head, to more clearly give her full attention that doesn't have various little holograms moving in the bottom of his vision.

He does withdraw physically though back to his 'patient', glove slid back on. "I wanted to check in. And get more of the ...full story on what's going on with you two. And to remind you that help's available--" he pauses to pull out part of the machine's housing... "...and that I'm nosy." A smile.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Of course Tony doesn't need to ask Janet about her daily commute aboard Dane's winged horse, Strider, to guess where she goes when she's off the grid. And she's BEEN off the grid pretty much since the initial assassination attempt.

"About us two? Well if you mean me and Strider, I can honestly tell you that we're just friends. Although he IS fond of my apples." She smiles, and with the pixie-cut the petite woman almost manages to pull of 'demure'.

Iron Man has posed:
"Just friends? That's it? Good, wouldn't want Dane to feel like a third wheel. How IS Strider, lately, then?" Tony asks flippantly. "Enjoying the yard and roof?" Tony questions, with a liquid little smile, pausing in what he's doing and leaning a forearm on the top of the unit.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet van Dyne laughs at that, raising a cup to her lips. Apparently she and Strider made a stop by Starbucks on the way into work this morning. "The yard, actually." she replies. "I only put him on the roof when I'm downtown." Stepping closer, she carefully leans against something that looks innocuous. "Tell me you're not jealous of a winged stallion, Mister Stark. It was very sweet of Dane to let me borrow him for the commute."

Iron Man has posed:
"Tony, please," Tony corrects in an offhand manner about his name. "Sometimes when I go somewhere, I forget which sports car I drove to get there. I'll survive," Tony answers with a half-smirk. If it's not innocuous, the item she's leaning on, Tony doesn't bother to warn her. Tony clicks his tongue once against the inside of his teeth, eyes turning to his project momentarily. More serious stuff coming.

"Since you're still with us, no complaints at all from me, anyway. But Dane seems a bit more worse for wear. Can you give me the run down?"

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
"Sure. Someone is trying to kill me." Janet offers, a bit dryly. "But let me be more specific. The attempts haven't been exactly what I'd call 'professional', by any stretch of the imagination. The first was a small flight of drones who wouldn't have exactly scored high marks on standardized tests. They seemed more interested in destroying my car and a designer dress."

She sniffs at the last.

"The latest attempt was as complex as giving one of my temps a .38 and telling her to shoot me. Stupid girl mistook one of my staff for me, in all her haste. She's in a holding cell getting nice and frightened before interrogation. Dane threw himself in front of the target and took a few slugs in the process."

Iron Man has posed:
Tony listens, slowly tapping one of his tools against the inner gloved palm of other hand. The tapping stops when Dane gets shot. But yes, he knew that part. "Any likely culprits in mind? Almost insultingly amateur to go after an Avenger that way. What are you thinking so far?"

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet van Dyne shakes her head at the question. "That's what is really puzzling to me, Tony. It's not like I've actually attempted to hide that I'm the Wasp. Anyone with half a brain would know that, which means they'd know what I'm capable of doing. It's almost like..."

Her voice trails off for a moment, then she adds. "It's almost like the assassination was nothing more than a distraction."

Iron Man has posed:
Tony watches her, considering that. "Or to cause you to do something they want you to do. What's changed, since this started? Other than your commute?" Tony questions. He has some water down on the floor to the side in a bottle. He grabs it, takes a drink. His expression suggests it's not actually water, but something better.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet van Dyne's brows knit as she considers. "I... nothing obvious comes to mind, at least. That's the part that's got me puzzled, Tony. Everything else is status quo at the company. I still go into work, and I still... wait a minute." She pauses, going over something in her mind.

"The day of the second attempt, Heather came into my office to pitch me an idea. No, she was waiting for me. She wanted me to use 'my little helpers' in designs, to let them form and shape the wearer's figure. Since Heather's kind of a big girl, I passed it off as vain and selfish interest. But I wonder, now."

Iron Man has posed:
"If you need any equipment or surveillance from me, let me know," Tony offers, resuming his 'surgery' in the sense that he's just moving a few more things as they're talking, but she clearly still has plenty of his attention. The inventor can do several things at once right now.

"Are you suggesting she's trying to keep you out of the office more, to use your helpers without your knowledge?"

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet van Dyne smiles a little. "Perhaps. I wouldn't normally give Heather credit for being devious, honestly. But I wonder whether the gunshots were more of a diversion than a real attempt on my life. It -did- take her a little while to come out after the shooting stopped."

Jan looks thoughtful, then. "Would you mind setting up surveillance in my building? Perhaps something will flush out of the woodwork."

Iron Man has posed:
Tony chuckles and nods a little at the story of Heather. He's not meddling much further, looks to him like Janet can check that angle out on her own.

"Sure. I'll get some drones out there, you won't notice them at all," Tony promises. "Any particular zone, or the whole place?" Tony asks, pulling a small tablet from a pocket, expanding the screen into a series off little hologram panels, and idly sets into motion the request.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
"General surveillance around the office areas, but I'd like for you to focus on Heather specifically. Her request for access to Pym particles is really starting to bother me more and more." Janet replies, still looking thoughtful. "I can provide the layout for you."

After a moment she adds. "You like to think you can trust your own people, you know?"

Iron Man has posed:
"No need, I can grab the layout," Tony replies with a quick smile. In case she forgot: "I'm pretty good at this." A wink and tease. But he nods slightly at her statement about her people.

"I've had my share of interesting employees. Want a dig into Heather's background, as well?"

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet smiles at that, nodding. "Discretely, if you would. I don't know her motives or even how skilled she is. Not that I'm doubting you, of course. And I really do appreciate this, Tony. Especially with Dane on his back for a while."

Iron Man has posed:
"We'll try to keep him there a little longer. If /I/ wasn't allowed to go wandering around after my surgery, neither is he," Tony says, in a somewhat grumpy, but amused, tone.

"Discrete? Of course. You do know I saved the Internet recently, right?" Tony questions her, playful. "I'll put an AI on it. No problem, Janet."

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet van Dyne's smile becomes a smirk, and she steps up to kiss his cheek. "Oh. Yes. And I -may- have asked someone to siphon off a bit of bandwidth for my Label during the interim. Thanks for that, by the way." Taking another sip of coffee, she adds. "I owe you one, Tony."