Masks

The Observatory was just outside town, and the sky was happily clear, as they entered the building. Catrin waved at the staff. She'd been a frequent visitor for the past several years.
Several of them waved back, grinning at her. The director, an astronomer herself, came over to wish her a happy birthday.

Tony, though respecting Alexandra's wishes not to go "TOO crazy", had booked the facility for their family alone for tonight. Jim O'Keefe had met them at the door, looking a little tired but happy. He gave Bruce a quirked eyebrow, not recognizing the man at first. A quick hair dye job overseen by Alexandra and Catrin--with a great deal of giggling on the latter's part--and some stage makeup, had come close to restoring his disguise. JARVIS had been unable to reactivate the veil, and he and Tony had had to assume it was some sort of mechanical problem that they'd need the equipment at the Tower to fix.

"Ready to see some stars?" Alexandra asked rhetorically, as they were led on a short historical tour of the building that ended at an indoor telescope.

Jim put an arm around his wife's shoulders. They watched Catrin proudly as she peered through the telescope, showing her fathers where to look for different stars, planets and constellations. Bruce wondered aloud if any of the stars they could see might have inhabited worlds, too. Tony grimaced, but hid it with a practiced smile. It was a natural sort of question to ask. He looked at the wonder and simple joy on Catrin's face, and resolved to shove the worry into a box for one night.

"The Orionids are peaking tonight and tomorrow," the astronomer told them. "Shall we head outdoors?"

They strolled outside, taking seats on a grassy field that held another big telescope, as well as tables holding food and drink. Fallen leaves crunched under Tony's feet as he trailed behind the rest. The meteor shower could be glimpsed through the naked eye, their guide told them, but the Observatory had provided night-vision binoculars as well.

A full moon lit the sky. Catrin sat unselfconsciously on the grass, gazing up at a shooting star. Bruce sat on one side of her, Tony on the other. She wrapped an arm around each of them.

"...Mr. Stark? Is that you?"

Catrin stiffened, as did Bruce. All three of them turned unfriendly stares on the woman who'd approached.

"It is you!" she babbled. "It's such an honor to meet you, sir--"

She didn't look threatening; ordinary, human and middle-aged--but she was holding up a phone--

"How did you get in here?" Bruce hissed, now on his feet.

Catrin also rose, and moved to block the woman from snapping a picture. The woman tried to step around her.
Catrin snarled at her, doing an excellent imitation of a predator about to bite someone's hand off. Or an Alpha guarding a family member, Bruce realized with mingled pride and amusement. The intruder flinched slightly, but stood her ground.

"I work at the ticket office," she said defensively. "I have as much business here as anyone--"

"Not in the amphitheatre, you don't. " The director had joined them. "Out! "

She firmly escorted the other woman off the premises.

Catrin looked stricken. Tony hugged her. "I'll handle it, Cay. No worries tonight. " He gave her a thumbs up. "Nicely done, though I'll have to show you a trick or two about warning off unfriendly Alphas without being that loud. Later. Let's get some cake and bad beer, shall we? Root beer for you. "

She seemed uncertain, but allowed herself to be distracted by cake, further star-gazing, and birthday toasts.

* * *

"Mr. Pennyworth, do you have a moment?"

Alfred looked up from his coffeemaker in surprise. While his phone was often noisy, having it address him without ringing was a first.

"JARVIS?"

He'd spoken with Tony's AI a few times over the years, but the AI rarely initiated conversations without Tony present.

"We have a slight problem at the Tower. Sir is absent, and Mr. Rhodes is unavailable. As I'd need to discuss sir's recent activities to explain the issue, I need to address someone who is cleared for that information."

"What's wrong?"

Agent Romanoff and Captain Rogers are attempting to determine Bruce's identity. They aren't authorized to view any files I have, including camera footage of his visit today, but...they are attempting to intimidate or entice one of the Tower employees to furnish them with more information."

Alfred's jaw tightened. "Are any of the employees in immediate physical danger from them?"

"I don't believe so."

He thought quickly. "The next time they go into a room that you can lock to confine them, I'd suggest you do so if you can. Only Romanoff and Rogers," he clarified. "And notify Tony's security people, as well as he and Bruce. You don't need to mention anything kept hidden, just that they're trying to invade Tony's privacy and harassing the staff. If they have half a working brain, that should be enough."

JARVIS sighed. "I'll do so. I'd hoped they would at least show him enough respect to take 'no' for an answer this time."

"This time? Have they pulled this sort of stunt before?"

"They seem to lack any trust in Mr. Stark, despite having agreed to work as his teammates."

"Hmmph. Perhaps they need a taste of their own medicine. What else have they been up to lately? There haven't been any more alien incursions or the like, so...now I'm curious what, exactly, is occupying these heroes' time that they don't want Tony to know about. This behavior sounds rather like that of a man with a guilty conscience."

" An excellent point." JARVIS sounded thoughtful. "I'll look into this. Thank you. "

"You're welcome. If you need physical assistance to deal with Rogers, there are a couple of Bruce's colleagues here at the moment. I believe they'd be willing to help without needing to be told anything Tony and Bruce want held in confidence."

"You believe correctly, Alfred," a man's voice spoke up from behind him. He jumped.

"Master Grayson," he said stiffly.

Dick smiled, showing teeth. "What's the sitch?"