December 3, 2012

Stark Mansion, Malibu

Tony Stark turned around, the parts of his armour hitting his arms and legs. He winced slightly when the chest plate hit him, expanding over his stomach. He was only missing the faceplate, which flew over his shoulder to slam into the ground. He raised an eyebrow at it and the metal rose in the air, upside down. He jumped as it flew at him, landing perfectly with his armour all in place. He smirked under the faceplate.

'I'm the best.'

Something hit his back, sending him falling forward and the pieces of armour flying off. He groaned slightly, even as a laugh filled the room. Tony looked up, glaring at the twelve year old.

'Yeah, dad, you're fantastic.'

Howard Stark II grinned at his dad, holding a stylus between his teeth. On his lap were several STARKpads, showing notes for all the meetings he had to attend throughout the month. Despite being in just a t-shirt and shorts, his light brown hair had been perfect styled, gelled back so it was out of his eyes and just touched the top of his shoulders. A pair of wire framed glasses were in front of his dark green eyes, information flashing up on the right lens as he looked around. Although 5'5" when standing, he seemed a bit smaller sat as he was, hunched in on himself. His skin had tiny patches of purple, like bruises, scattered around, mainly on his face and knuckles.

'As always sir, a great pleasure watching you work.'

The boy laughed again, filling some notes out on the pad on his left knee. Said knee, and the entirety of the leg it was attached to, was pure metal, wires and cogs allowing him to control it like he did his other, flesh and blood, leg. It disconnected at his hip, which was similarly metal but permanent. His right hand and lower arm was similarly robotic and connect to his elbow. A series of wires and metals were imbedded in his chest, an exoskeleton that kept everything running smoothly, connecting his prosthetics to arc reactor power.

'Shut up, Howie.' Tony said, throwing the armour's shoulder at his son. Howie caught it easily, setting it down as he researched the person he was meeting that afternoon. As Pepper Potts' new secretary, he had to attend practically every meeting she did, and then some, knowing everything he could about the people they were meeting and there ideas. 'And put the work away, it's Christmas.'

Howie rolled his eyes, pushing his glasses further up his nose. He only needed them for reading but he did like the information they gave him. 'It's three weeks until Christmas and that actually means I have more work to do.'

'Ordering presents?' Tony said, patting Dummy's neck as the bot starting clearing things away. 'Do I pay you for that?'

'When they're from you, you do.' He said, running his left hand over his face. 'Do you realise how many things I have to buy? I have to purchase yours, Pepper's and mine plus I'm buying for the Avengers, kids and adults, and a whole bunch of your staff, plus business partners and-'

'I get it How. Breathe.'

Howie glared at his dad, putting one of the pads to the side. He had finished ordering the gifts from Pepper's list and now had to go through Tony's very vague ideas for presents. He stared down at the list, his eyes widening in annoyance.

'Tony, why have you just written "modern" next to Steve's name.' He said, tilting his head and pulling a face.

'I want to get him something modern. Come on, Howie, you're supposed to be intelligent.'

'That's it? Something modern? Pepper gave me a comprehensive list, she knew exactly what she wanted. Don't you want to put thought into the gifts?'

Tony shrugged, standing up and wiping his hands. 'I've barely known them a year, no need to be weird. I put thought into yours, Lizzie's and Pepper's. Let's go upstairs.'

Howie looked upwards, brow furrowing. 'I have to get this done before this afternoon.'

Tony snorted, grabbing the pads off his sons lap and swinging his son over his shoulder. Howie yelped, trying to squirm out of his father's grip but Tony was unperturbed, carrying his son upstairs and dumping him on the sofa. Howie stuck his tongue out when Tony sat down next to him. As Tony turned on the television, Howie lifted his legs onto Tony's lap, turning his head to watch the news.

'Some people call me a terrorist.'

The Starks glanced at each other, Howie propping himself up on an elbow.

'I consider myself a teacher. America, ready for another lesson?'

Tony clicked a button on the remote, the footage beginning to record. His hands, resting on Howie's shins, tensed, keeping his son where he was.

'In 1864 in Sand Creek, Colorado, the U.S. military waited until the friendly Cheyenne Braves had all gone hunting. Waited to attack and slaughter the families left behind and claim their land.'

Howie looked up. 'Who is this guy?'

'Shh.' Tony said, pinching his leg. 'They'll probably explain later.'

'The Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait was attacked.' The voice continued, showing flashes of the base, completely destroyed. 'I did that. A quaint military church, filled with wives and children of course. The soldiers were out on manoeuvres. The "Braves" were away.'

The man on the screen looked up, glaring at the camera. The Starks both set their jaws, as if the person was talking to them.

'President Ellis.' He said, making the Starks glance quickly at each other. 'You continue to resist my attempts to educate you, sir. And now, you've missed me again. You know who I am. You don't know where I am. And you'll never see me coming.'

Howie laid back down, running a hand through his hair as the news returned to the reporters.

The lady on screen, who looked shaken, nodded to herself as she spoke, trying to calm her nerves.

'...and now that we seem to be back, let's recap some of the frightening developments in this story. American airways were hijacked. The nation remains on high alert.'

'Why weren't we told about this?' Tony muttered.

'All attempts to find the Mandarin have so far proved unsuccessful.'

Howie jerked upwards, jumping to his feet and staring at the screen. Tony stared at him, ignoring the President introducing Rhodey in a new suit.

'How?' The older Stark said, brushing his fingers against his son's arm. 'What's wrong?'

'Play the clip again.' He said, voice shaking. His eyes were wide, and Tony could feel his pulse quickening.

Confused, Tony clicked a few buttons on the remote, bringing the Mandarin up again. He handed the remote to Howie, who held it like a lifeline.

'Some people call me a terrorist.'

Howie paused the video, slumping back down in his seat. 'That's not the Mandarin.'

Tony turned the television off, raising his eyebrow. 'And you know this, how?'

Howie's eyes widened slightly and a small blush formed over his cheeks. 'Doesn't matter. I've got to go change.'

'Howie.' Tony said, trying to sound stern.

'I have a meeting at four. Well, Pepper has a meeting, but I have to be there.' Howie almost tripped over trying to get to the stairs. 'I've got to change.'

Watching his son run off, Tony pursed his lips. He turned the television back on, watching people discussing Rhodey's new outfit. He ran a hand over his face, trying to figure out what was wrong.

'JARVIS, got anything for me? How does Howie know the Mandarin?'

'I'm afraid that information has been classified, sir.'

'By who?'

'By young master Howard, sir. Just now.'

Tony buried his face in his hands, resisting the urge to scream.

'It tested well with focus groups, alright.'

Rhodey tried to stare down the two laughing Starks but it just seemed to entertain them more. Howie raised an eyebrow, making his voice grow low.

'I am Iron Patriot.'

'Yeah, and what do they call you?'

Howie shrugged, a bit of his bravado fading. 'Titanium, which I did hate, but its still better than Iron Patriot.'

'Listen. War Machine was a little too aggressive, alright. This sends a better message.'

'Yeah and god forbid a guy going round beating up terrorists seem aggressive.'

Tony hit his son's side, making him grow quiet. Howie raised an eyebrow, taking a sip of his drink, non-alcoholic of course. He smoothed out his clothes, tightening his tie and fiddling with his cufflinks.

'So what's really going on? With the Mandarin.' Rhodey rolled his eyes but Tony kept going. 'Seriously, can we talk about this guy?

'It's classified information, Tony.' He said, eyes flicking to Howie. The boy shrugged, brushing crumbs off his waistcoat. He brought his right hand up to scratch his face, not so subtly reminding Rhodey he wasn't an innocent bystander. The colonel sighed, nodding. 'Okay, there've been nine bombings.'

'Nine?' Tony and Howie said together.

'The public only knows about three.' Rhodey said, leaning back in his seat. 'But here's the thing, no one can ID a device. There's no bomb casings-'

'You know I can help. Just ask.' Tony started, causing Howie to roll his eyes. 'I got a ton of new tech. I got a prehensile suit. I got bomb disposal catches explosions mid-air.'

'When's the last time you got a good night's sleep?' Rhodey said, leaning forward. Howie raised his hands in agreement, pulling a face at Tony.

'Einstein slept three hours a year. Look what he did.'

'People are concerned about you, Tony. I'm concerned about you.'

'I am also concerned.' Howie said, staring at his dad.

'You don't sleep either, idiot.' He said, before turning back to Rhodey 'You gonna come at me like that?'

'No, look, I'm not trying to be a dic-'

Howie stepped on Rhodey's foot as two kids appeared at Tony's elbow.

'-Tator.' He finished awkwardly, sharing a glance with Howie.

'Would you sign my drawing?'

Tony nodded, joking around with Rhodey before taking the crayon. Howie tilted his head to look at picture, grimacing at his dad flying through the wormhole.

'What's your name?'

'Erin.'

'By the way, I loved you in A Christmas Story.'

Howie sighed, turning back to Rhodey as he tried to get Tony's attention.

'Listen, the Pentagon is scared. After what happened in New York...aliens, come on. They need to look strong.'

Howie looked back at Tony, whose breathing was getting heavy. He placed a hand on his father's arm, trying to shake him out of his panic.

'Stopping the Mandarin is a priority, but it's not...it's not superhero business.'

'No, it's not, quite frankly.' Howie said, still staring at Tony. Rhodey finally looked up at him, eyes narrowing. 'It's American business.'

Rhodey put a hand on Tony's shoulder. 'Are you okay?'

'I broke the crayon.' Tony said, his voice shaking.

'Are you okay, Mr. Stark?' Erin said, stepping away. Howie patted her arm to calm her down.

'Take it easy. Tony...'

'Dad, calm down.'

The boy leant forward, whispering something in Tony's ear. Tony jerked away from him, eyes wide.

'Dad.'

'What'd you say?!' The boy tilted his head, clearly not knowing what he had done wrong. Tony stood up, stumbling to the door. 'Sorry, Have to check...on the suit...'

Tony stumbled out, Rhodey following him at a slower pace. Howie grabbed the boy, kneeling down to his height.

'What did you say to him?' He said, growing frantic. 'What did you say to Tony?'

The boy shrugged, tearing up. 'I asked him how he got out of the wormhole.'

Howie felt his heart stop and he took a few deep breaths, refusing to panic. He couldn't stop himself getting angry, sneering at the boy as he stood.

'Why don't I throw you into space, you can find out?!' The boy started crying and Howie rubbed his eyes, taking a small step back. 'I'm sorry, okay. I'm sorry. We got out through pure luck, okay.'

The boy nodded, Erin pulling him away. Howie stood, sighing and tapping a few buttons on his arm. His heart rate began to slow, and he headed outside again, leaving some money on the table before he went.

Rhodey was knelt down next to Tony, who was in the suit. Rhodey looked up and Howie with a exasperated expression, tapping on the faceplate.

'Come on man, this isn't a good look. Open up.'

'Sorry, I gotta split.' Tony said, flying into the air. Howie watched him go with a frown, stepping up to his own suit.

'You going as well?' Rhodey said.

'Yeah, I have a meeting.' He said, as the suit formed around him. 'I'll speak to him.'

Rhodey nodded, sighing as the younger Stark flew off, in the opposite direction to his dad.

Howie rushed through the corridors of Stark Industries, the other employees moving out of his way quickly. Being the boss' son and the CEO's assistant did have its perks. He made it upstairs to Pepper's office, walking past Happy to get inside.

'Badge, buddy.'

Howie skidded to a stop, staring at Happy. 'Really? You know who I am. You've known me since I was a toddler.'

'Need some sort of proof, bud.' Happy said with a shrug. 'Security is a priority.'

Howie looked down at his left leg, pulling up the material of his trousers. 'Proof enough for you?'

Happy's mouth thinned but he nodded Howie into the next room. Howie pressed the door open, smiling at Pepper as he walked in. She was sat with the guy they were meeting, eyebrows raised at him.

'Sorry, I'm late. Fangirls outside the building.' He rolled his eyes, sitting down next to Pepper and pulling his glasses out of his pocket. He blinked twice and the information he needed flashed up. 'Happy's so concerned about internal security, he hasn't even looked outside.'

Pepper smiled and the man beside her held out his hand.

'Aldrich Killian.'

'Howard Stark Jr. Nice to meet you.'

'And you. Nice glasses.'

Howie grinned, grabbing the STARKpad on the table and opening up the notes. He nodded at Killian to continue and the man smiled.

'After years dodging the president's ban on "immoral biotech research", my think tank now has a little something in the pipeline.'

Despite his glasses recording everything, Howie frantically made notes on the pad, making sure he didn't miss anything.

'It's an idea we like to call "Extremis". I'm gonna turn your lights down.'

Howie and Pepper glanced around as the room became dark. Howie's eye narrowed at the theatrics, knowing Tony was often criticised for them. Killian clicked a button and a huge light display filled the room.

'Regard the human brain.' Howie almost opened his mouth to correct him when Killian continued. 'Uh wait, hold on, hold on. That's, that's the universe, my bad.'

Howie rolled his eyes, looking sideways at Pepper. She seemed genuinely amused by the display and not in a mocking way. Howie supposed she was used to Tony after all.

'But if I do that...' The image changed, a canopy of synapses and electrical charges. Howie's glasses instantly supplied him with information; what each section did, the differences in this brain compared to the average one, etc. 'That's the brain. Strangely memetic though, wouldn't you say?

'Wow that's amazing.' Pepper said, despite Howie's face suggesting the opposite.

'Thanks its mine.' Killian said and Howie resisted the urge to laugh. The guy was actually trying to flirt with a woman in one of the most heavily documented relationships of the last decade.

'What?'

'This...you're inside my head.' He tapped his ear. 'It's a live feed. Come on up I'll prove it to you'

He stood on the table, holding a hand out to Pepper. She followed him up, glancing back down at Howie, who shook his head quickly.

'Pinch my arm.'

Howie rolled his eyes as Killian took Pepper through his performance, finding the acting a bit lacking. Knowing there were about five different cameras recording, Howie flicked through the man's proposal and the history of his company. As he was reading, and Killian was flirting, he felt his glasses vibrate and, again, forced himself not to laugh. His dad was checking up on Pepper. He glanced through the window at Happy, who was staring at Killian almost evilly. He pointed the glasses at the STARKpad, typing very clearly on the screen.

Really? Spying on us now?

The reply appeared on the lens.

Shut up.

Pepper sat down again and Howie looked up with feigned interest. He, at least, could act. Killian grinned at both of them, clearly pleased with how everything was going.

'Imagine if you could hack into the hard drive of any living organism and recode its DNA.'

Pepper smiled. 'It would be incredible.'

Howie looked at her sharply, wondering where she was going. Tony would never approve this.

'Unfortunately, to my ears it also sounds highly weaponisable.' Pepper said, ignoring Howie's sigh of relief. 'As in enhanced soldiers, private armies, and Tony is not-'

'Tony, Tony.' Killian said, as if it was a joke. Howie sat up straighter, his eyes narrowing. 'You know, I invited Tony to join AIM. But something tells me now there is a new genius on the throne, who doesn't have to answer to Tony anymore and who has slightly less of an ego.'

Howie glared, leaning forward. 'You asked my dad to join you while at a New Year's Eve party, at which time your think tank was barely more than an idea.'

Killian's jaw set but he didn't say anything, so Howie continued.

'Also, while Pepper is the CEO and makes all the big decisions, Tony has, and I hope you don't take this the wrong way Pep, overarching control. Even if we accepted this now, he would veto it, putting you right back where you started.'

'I'm sorry, what was your job again?' Killian said, obviously trying to regain control of the situation.

'I'm secretary to the CEO.'

'A prestigious job, I'm sure.'

Howie's eyes narrowed. 'Considering my predecessors were Pepper Potts, the current CEO and Maria Stark, the richest woman in the world when she died, I would say so, yes.'

Pepper turned around, glaring at her boyfriend's son. Howie raised an eyebrow back and Pepper sighed, turning back to Killian.

'It's going to be a "no", Aldrich, as much as I'd like to help you.'

'I can't say that I'm not disappointed.' Killian said with a sigh. 'But as my father used to say "Failure is the fog through which we glimpse triumph".'

'It's very deep.' Pepper said, standing also. After a second, Howie followed, moving his hand behind his back when he caught Killian staring at it. 'And I have no idea what it means.'

'Well, he was kind of an idiot, my old man.' Killian said, walking out the door. 'I'm sure I'll see you again, Pepper. Mr Stark.'

Howie rolled his eyes, turning to look at Pepper, who seemed to be trying to kill him with her eyes.

'What?'

She rolled her eyes, grabbing her purse. 'Let's go home, Howie. Did you come in your suit?'

'Yeah, but its in the car.' He said, as her gaze stayed icy. 'Seriously, what I do?'

Pepper sighed, walking out with Happy. Howie smiled to himself, following her out.

A/N: Here's the next major story in the Small Heroes series. It's going to be about eleven chapters, which I will hopefully be updating weekly. However, as I am now at university, I obviously have other things to worry about. Hope you like it.