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You've reached Dr. Jonathan Reid. Please leave me a message.

[It's rather late for most humans to be awake and Jonathan rarely hears from Tony, so he pauses in his own work down in the Haven basement and replies.]

Of course, Mr. Stark. Is this a medical emergency?

Maybe.
No, no, it's not an emergency, but it's important.

What seems to be the problem, then, sir? You're being very mysterious.

I want to know if I'm being drugged.

[Tony, that sounds like an emergency.]

Where are you, Mr. Stark? I'll be over to examine you at once? Have you eaten or drunk anything unusual recently? What are your current symptoms? Is there anyone else with you?

[There are too many options for him to pin down drugs, but he can't rule it out either. It's something to eliminate if he can. Which... he's not sure if he can, because if it is a drug that works on him, he has some serious problems.]

I'm at home. I haven't been eating anything recently. Just water.

I'm alone.

[Jonathan knows there's something in the water. Maybe that...? Regardless, he's getting up and fetching a medkit so that he can hurry off. He switches to voice as it's easier while moving.]

I'll be there presently, Mr. Stark. Please do not close the line. Could you describe for me what it is you're feeling?

[Tony will hear faint bursts of static every few seconds as Jonathan turns to mist to carry himself along faster after casting his shadow veil to cloak his movements.]

No.

[ A passing moment of frustration hits him where he wants to tell Jonathan that it isn't that. He feels fine. Except it isn't fine and he doesn't know what he's dealing with after all. ]

Nothing. I just- I might be having hallucinations? I'm not sure.

You're uncertain if you're having hallucinations? What are they of?

They might be. I don't know. I- I've been talking to someone, but in this place it is hard to tell what is really happening.

[What are they of? Well, he's not sure how to answer that.]

If this is real, then I'm seeing ghosts.

[That definitely sounds like a hallucination to his skeptic's mind.]

I assume these are people you know, Mr. Stark? Are they currently in the room with you? Perhaps you could turn on the video and I could at least confirm there is not a physical presence for you.

[He's reporting it sensibly enough because he does hallucinate. One of the side effects of changing his biology, and it's definitely a possibility to Tony. He mumbles into the phone, dejected.]

No, it was... just a voice. They've been in the room before, but not this time. I don't know, doctor. I- I've heard him, but this time he should really be here.

[It's beginning to sound more and more like Tony needs Hannibal's assistance over Jonathan's.]

Tell me, Mr. Stark, how would you describe your mood of late? Melancholy, perhaps?

[He would have thought that, but it turned out last time that the hallucinations actually had an external cause and Tony assumes this is just another incident he can fix. It's not his shattered mental state, surely.]

No. No, I'm fine! I feel fine. I just- I'm upset, but that's because he said- He told me-

It's not my mood. I'm not crazy.

You're upset, but you're fine? Mr. Stark, I don't believe you've been overtaken by madness, but that does not preclude some emotionally compromised state due to what sounds like stress. What did this person tell you? Perhaps it might offer some insight into your state of mind.

It's not stress!

[Well, so much for being convincing on that one. Good job, Tony.]

I- Look, can you just run some tests for me? I'd ask for a programmer, but I don't have that option.

I'll be there in a few minutes, Mr. Stark. Please try to relax. [I can help you with that, Jonathan thinks, but doesn't offer. He's not certain his mesmerism would work across a network screen.] When did you start hearing this man?

You say you've heard him before, but the most recent bout of it.

[This is touching on medical information that Tony knows he probably shouldn't just share, but he's desperate and scared and short on options. He has to share if he wants to be sure it's not another episode.]

I... About a year ago now. It's not- I did an experiment a while ago, before I came here. Hearing things is- a side effect. It's getting better.

[Except having that talk with Steve is way too close to home. He isn't sure he can trust that.]

I haven't had an episode since I got here.

[Because he hasn't had to think of Steve in that much detail.]

What precisely did you do to yourself, Mr. Stark? It may be relevant for my tests to know if there is something that should be unusual about you.

[He laughs a short, aborted laugh, which comes out shakily in his shaken state.]

I don't think it'll be something your tests will pick up on. It- If that's the reason this is happening, I'll handle it. I just want to know if this is anything else.

If it's real.

It would seem to be real enough, sir. Whether it's some physical manifestation, psychosis, or another medical condition would seem to be the question. It's best not to discount the importance of any of those.

I'm just stepping out of the main lift to the Up. I'll be there in five minutes. What tests were you interested in having me run? I can, of course, check your blood for any abnormalities.

Just- just my blood. Armor scans say that my brain is functioning normally, but I don't know that I'm not sick. I shouldn't be.

[And the most likely issue would be his body trying to process a bunch of new information, but he can't guarantee that either.]

I don't know. He said- He said it was fine. That it wasn't my fault. But he's wrong.

Why do you say that? Is he objectively incorrect? Or are you subjectively guilty about something you had no control over?

[Tony would probably have a better time with an actual therapist.]

[Tony needs an actual therapist, but he left his back home and has given up on that for the time being. Which means he's making a lot of reckless, stupid choices.]

No. I- I was the one he was fighting when it happened. We were in the middle of a conflict that- It's hard to explain. A lot of people got involved and we didn't agree on how to deal with that.

I should have known. I was supposed to know.

'Should have' and 'supposed to,' meaning you did not have the appropriate information at your disposal to make some sort of decision? Or do something? Was this information readily available to you? Was it communicated to you in a timely manner? Were there barriers of any kind to it reaching you appropriately?

Reflecting on one's actions can be useful in determining how to better face challenges in the future, sir. But look kindly upon the man you were who did not have the information or the particular mental space that you do now. It's pointless to agonize over things you cannot change.

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Jonathan Reid, MD