"I think you can put it down for fifteen minutes, Tony," Bruce said. "Come on up to dinner."

"No, really, right in the middle of something, Brucie," Tony said. "I'll be up in a few minutes, I swear. Just gotta finish this bit."

Bruce sighed a bit and rolled his eyes at the reply. He would bring Tony down a plate later. Turning, he went back upstairs.

Tony didn't emerge for an hour, but when he did he looked very pleased. He sat at the table and grinned.

"Elaine, I need a name," he said, looking at her.

Elaine blinked.

"What for?" she asked. She paused. "You look pleased about something. What did you do?"

"Name first." Tony snapped impatiently.

"Names don't work that way, I need to know what I'm naming," Elaine replied. "Seriously, Tony. One word, rhymes with...?"

Tony gave her a Look. "You'll find out once you name it," he said firmly. "Seriously, just give me a name. Any name. Pick a name you like."

"No really, Tony. I would name a pet something very different than I would name a person," Elaine said, returning his Look with one of her own. "At least give me a hint."

"Alright, geeze, you don't need to be so damn pushy," Tony grumbled. "A person. Pretend you're naming a Sims character or something."

"A Sim?" Elaine blinked and thought about that. "Claudia." It was the first name that came to her that seemed good enough to name a character but not overly long and over-used. Nothing too elegant, just practical. "Now will you tell me what it's for?"

"Yup." Tony grinned and looked at the ceiling. "Got that, JARVIS?"

"Indeed, sir." The AI's voice was mild.

"Excellent!" Tony clapped once. "Elaine, meet Claudia. She'll be your personal assistant so you don't have to distract JARVIS anymore. Say hi, Claudia."

Elaine blinked, and jumped when a nondescript female voice answered, "Good evening."

"Christ, Tony," Elaine yelped. "What did you do? Did you play Portal one too many times or something?"

"You can never play Portal too many times," Tony replied promptly. "You kept stealing JARVIS, and I don't like sharing, so you get your own AI. She's not quite as advanced as JARVIS, but she's close enough." He shrugged.

"You linked me to JARVIS in the first place," Elaine pointed out. She sighed a bit and held up her hand. "Okay, so, what, you went ahead and created an entirely new AI? How is this going to work?"

"The same way JARVIS does," Tony said with a shrug. "I'll switch your link from JARVIS to Claudia. She'll take orders and requests and all that, and she'll have full access to your implants."

"Indeed," Claudia spoke up. "I have been uploaded with all of the information regarding your implants and their typical use, including the latest software updates. I am also authorized full access to the internet, and I have a preexisting list of your most recent inquiries."

"That's going to take some getting used-to," Elaine muttered as she jumped again.

"You've got time," Tony said with a grin. "Don't worry, she'll be coming back to New York with us, too." He looked at the nearest camera. "JARVIS, status?"

"She seems to be settling in well, sir," JARVIS reported dutifully.

"Great." Tony grabbed a plate and went to go get food, sitting down to eat. "Go spend some time getting to know your new best friend, Elaine."

"You made her an AI?" Bruce asked Tony quietly. "That's... impressive. On a few levels."

Tony looked at him and actually stopped to swallow his piece of beef before he answered. "Claudia isn't as advanced as JARVIS, really, so it wasn't a big deal. Besides," he pouted petulantly, "she kept stealing JARVIS and he actually took time to respond to me."

"You're the one who gave her access to JARVIS in the first place," Bruce pointed out. "Is this what you've been working on for the past few weeks?"

"Most of it," Tony agreed easily. "The rest of it isn't quite done yet. Another day or two and that will be done." He grinned at Bruce. "Everyone keeps forgetting that I am, in fact, a genius."

"But you're not usually a genius that just hands out his technology," Bruce replied. "That's the part that makes the difference."

Tony shrugged. "Claudia's not actually going anywhere," he pointed out. "Not her programming and coding. That is still mine. Besides, it's not like I'm giving it to Fury or anything like that."

"Tony, you know what I mean," Bruce said. He glanced at Elaine, who still looked a bit stunned, and then back to Tony. "So what exactly is Claudia capable of?"