System Error: Identity Manager (Part X)

[madimpossibledreamer]

Main Points:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Iron Man Crossover (Self-Made Hero)
Summary: Despite how it might look, the transition isn't easy. There's only so long the destabilized situation can continue before something's gotta give...
Iron Man Armored Adventures
Word Count: 655
Rating: Teen

        “You know, I’m the one Mom’s gonna yell at if you don’t get sleep,” Rhodey announces as he walks into the secret lab.  Tony smirks as he realizes his friend didn’t even wait to look around to make sure he was there, because he was so sure Tony was going to be here.  It’s nice to have friends who know you that well.
        “Sorry, I’m just…”  He sighs, shoulders slumping.  “I’ve been seeing and hearing things for weeks, Rhodey.  Weeks.”  All of Rhodey’s skepticism disappears, and he looks appropriately concerned.  “None of my sensors have picked anything up.  I’ve done a few brain scans, too, just in case, and so far nothing.  Apparently I’m seeing and hearing something that doesn’t exist, but I’m also not hallucinating.  Probably.”
        “And you were planning on telling us when?” Sarcasm.  He knows how to deal with that.
        “I didn’t want to worry you or Pepper without more of an idea of what I was dealing with,” he answers honestly, sheepish expression showing exactly how well that plan went down.
        “Good thinking, genius.”  He’s still worried, though, which is nice.  “So, what are you guessing?”
        “Uhh, magic?”  He winces.  It’s a guess at best.  He’s still not too cool with the idea of magic, not least because he has absolutely no idea what to do if it does turn out to be magic.  He’s kind of out of his area of expertise when it comes to that.  But it’s not like he can just pretend it doesn’t exist, either.  They’d all seen the statues come to life and try to kill them based on reading a book and then a sword.  “Barring that…ghosts?”  Not that he really likes that idea any better, but it’s a possibility and it’s not like he can really rule it out either.  He doesn’t know how to rule it out, either, but he can figure out something.
        Ghosts have to be made of some kind of energy, right?  He can probably figure out some configuration for his sensors he hasn’t tried yet.
        “What about the Living Laser?”  And—well, that’s a thought.  Not like he really likes it, but then—it’s not like he knows for sure what happened to the guy.  He’s presumed dead, sure, which makes Tony’s already wounded heart hurt every time he thinks about it, but it’s not like anyone actually confirmed it or anything.
        “Well, that should be easy to check.”  His fingers are flying over the keys, already reprogramming to look for that signature.  “In theory.  Assuming his signature hasn’t changed.  Again.”
        Rhodey sighs, but he’s smiling.  “I’m going to set the alarm.  If you don’t figure it out by the time it goes off, please promise me that you’ll at least go to bed and not fall asleep in class?  Again?”
        It’s going to keep nagging at him if he doesn’t figure it out, Tony knows, and sleep might be hard to come by, if his brain decides to keep racing like it normally would when faced with a problem like this.  But the realistic part of him says that he’s been working on this for days now, and if he hasn’t figured it out in this amount of time, it’s not going to be an easy problem to solve.  He’s just going to have to be patient.  As much as he hates being patient.
        “Yeah, yeah, I think I can manage that.  Thanks.”  He bothers to look at his friend when he says that, mostly because he’s noticed no one tends to believe him if he doesn’t.
        “You got it, Tony.”  His friend yawns and stumbles off in his pajamas.  “Lemme know if—”  The rest of his sentence is lost in another yawn, but his sentiment gets through.
        “Sweet dreams, Rhodey.”  Sometimes it’s annoying to have two people nagging at him, but sometimes it’s just a nice reminder that the Rhodes family does care about him.