Author's Note: Hey guys. I was feeling a bit burned out so I decided to go a bit whimsical. Hope you enjoy. Special thanks once again to my cranky Muse, Fluffle.

Iron Man: Kindergarten Adventures

Tony Stark bounced excitedly in his seat, eagerly looking out of the window. "Are we there yet, Mommy?"

In the front seat Maria Stark smiled into the rear view mirror. "Just another couple of blocks, sweetie. We're almost there."

It was the boy's first day of kindergarten and he was excited. His mommy insisted on driving him herself in her Volvo rather than having a driver do it. Daddy was supposed to be here too, but he had to go to a boring old meeting with Whitney's daddy. Yuck.

The tires slowed to a halt, grinding the gravel beneath them. Maria put the car in park and came around to the passenger door to help her son with his seat belt. The boy had managed to unbuckle the buckle yet caught his arm in the shoulder strap. She hid a smile as she helped him untangle it and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before handing him his lunch.

He leaned forward and whispered in his ear. "Why do I have to go to school, Mommy? I'm smarter than any of those kids. I can do...math and science and stuff. What else do I have to know?"

She smiled down at his earnest expression. "You need to have friends too, sweetie. Friends who aren't grown ups. Friends who can play and finger paint and have music class with."

The future hero looked down at his hands. "But...what if they don't like me?"

The uncertainty and self doubt in her son's voice made Maria's heart ache. "They'll love you. Just let them get to know you. Besides, you won't be alone. Rhodey will be here too."

Tony perked up at hearing his best friend's name and instantly felt reassured. He gave his mommy a big loving hug and sauntered his way towards his classroom.

"There's nothing to be worried about, James. All you have to do is listen to your teacher and be on your best behavior. The kids will like you once they get to know you. But your number one priority is to get a good education. Can't get into West Point with bad grades, can you?"

Little James "Rhodey" Rhodes nodded solemnly up at his hero, his dad, David. David Rhodes was a decorated Navy pilot, one of the youngest to earn the Congressional Medal of Honor and well-respected by all who knew him. Rhodey wanted to grow up to be a hero like his dad. To protect everything and everyone he cared about from bad people and serve his country.

Rhodey slung his bag over his shoulder. His father had had it made for him so it looked like a miniature duffel bag. It contained his school supplies, his lunch and a medical kit. Couldn't be to careful.

David Rhodes stood up straight and barked. "Ten-HUT!"

Rhodey snapped to attention and saluted his father, who saluted back.

Fighting a grin, David gave his son a high five and said, "Listen to your teacher and make sure you look out for Tony Stark. He doesn't make friends as easily as you do, son. Take care of him."

Rhodey nodded, accepting protecting Tony Stark as his solemn duty. "I will, Dad."

"Dismissed."

Rhodey turned smartly on his heel and walked towards the school. David watched proudly until his son was out of sight, ignoring his mixed emotions as he started the car.

"Do I have to search your bag for handcuffs, young lady?"

"No, ma'am."

Virginia Potts sighed and reached for her daughter's bag anyway. It was hard enough to get leave to see her daughter off to school. General Fury was a tough boss and it was only that an assignment she was working on wrapped up ahead of schedule that she managed.

She reached into her daughter's bag and pulled out a night vision scope and a few listening devices but as promised, no handcuffs. She sighed and handed the device-free bag back to her disappointed daughter.

"Patricia..."

"Yes, Mommy?"

Virginia gave her only child a stern glare. "I don't want to receive a call saying you were expelled on your first day for trying to arrest anyone, understand?"

The red haired girl shook her head quickly and changed the subject. "Where's Daddy?"

"He's on assignment. He told me to tell you if he told you, he'd have to kill you." Virginia told her daughter with mock seriousness.

Patricia "Pepper" Potts' eyes goggled for a minute then she broke out into giggles. "Silly Daddy."

Virginia's mouth twitched as she fought to suppress a smile. "Yeah. Silly Daddy. Now get to class, young lady."

Pepper hugged her mother and raced inside. "Bye, Mommy! I love you!"

Virginia waved back and then fired up her jet pack and was on her way back to work.

The little girl watched her mother's departure with proud, shining eyes. "That's gonna be ME someday," she whispered.

Temugin Khan sat up straight in his seat, posture perfect as he arrived at his new school. He did not react as his limo driver put the vehicle into park and came around to his side to open the door. He slid out gracefully without assistance. The young heir to his ancestor's legacy did not see the point of his attending Tomorrow Elementary. He could continue his education with the help of private tutors. His stepfather decided it was important he learn to interact with children his age; Temugin interpreted this to mean Zhang wanted him to make important contacts with the children of important business leaders. This would keep him out from underfoot and benefit the false Mandarin's interests. It filled him with shame to admit the cleverness of his enemy's plan but the boy vowed not to appear rebellious lest he incur his stepfather's-he refused to think of the usurper as The Mandarin-'s considerable wrath. He kept his expression blank; he did not know what the driver would report back to her employer.

The driver handed him his belongings and bowed, whispering as she did so. "Master Khan. We of the Tong wish you great success in your education and are at your disposal should you need assistance. Tread cautiously, shao zhu. Outsiders are not to be trusted."

Temugin grasped the secret message she was attempting to convey; he had allies even among the Tong who wished him well and warned him to tread carefully. He nodded at her.

"Understood. You may go."

She bowed again and closed the door behind him before sliding behind the wheel and departing. He trudged his way towards the school, easily following the gaudy signs.

This is idiotic. What does that old fool think he's doing? There is nothing for me to learn among the bak gwai..."

A flash of color caught his eye and he noticed the little girl in front of him had hair as red as the dragons that once decorated the robes of emperors.

I will tolerate this. For now.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Hey, it's Winnie! Hi, Winnie!"

Whitney Stane, "Winnie" to her friends was already sitting at a quad, a set of four desks pushed together to form a square and beckoned to Tony Stark. Tony smiled down at her and indicated Rhodey. "This is my other friend, James Rhodes. You can call him Rhodey."

"Hi, Rhodey." Winnie grinned at Rhodey, who smiled shyly at her. She held out a hand toward the empty desks. "Sit with me."

The two boys smiled and sat down, putting their school things away.

Temugin looked around for the quad with the least amount of other children and found one occupied by only two others; the pretty girl with red hair and a husky rectangle of a boy dressed in green.

The girl smiled and it was like the sun itself shone through her. "Hi! I'm Pepper Potts! What's your name?"

Temugin hesitated. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask if she were named for the spice or the soda. "I'm...Temugin."

She had the audacity to giggle at him. "Tiny Gene? That's a weird name. It's kinda neat though, Tiny Gene."

The Chinese boy bristled. He should have known she was too dumb to pronounce his name. Zhang said all Western women had heads stuffed with cotton and the desire for decadent shoes. He could see his stepfather was not completely wrong.

"That's not my name!" he yelled at her a little louder than he intended. The whole class turned and stared at him. So much for not being noticed.

The girl's eyes filled with tears and she got up and grabbed her still full book bag, stalking off. Rhodey grabbed her arm and told her she could sit across from him. Winnie seemed pleased to have another girl to talk to in case the boys started talking about cars and stuff.

Temugin slunk into his seat, feeling disgusted with himself. He was glad he didn't hit her; that was evil and Zhang was evil, not him. Still, he felt bad for making her cry.

The other boy stared at him. "You yell real loud for a girl. You're pretty. Will you marry me?"

The Chinese boy glared and was glad to see the big stupid boy back away. "I am a boy, not a girl," he said through clenched teeth."

The other boy blinked and then continued talking. "That's okay. Some girls have cooties anyway. We're gonna be friends!"

Temugin slunk lower, sure he was being punished. "Wonderful."

"Nice to meet ya, Tammy Jean! I'm Happy!"

"I'm sure you are."

"No that's my name. It's really Harold, but I don't like it."

"Fine."

"If you're a boy, why do you have girl's name?"

"I don't!"

"Tammy Jean is a girl's name."

"My name is not," Temugin caught himself and stopped before he could say anything else he'd regret. "I'm not talking to you."

"Why?"

"I don't like you."

Before Happy could respond, (or worse, cry), the teacher came into the room. She was young and tall and pretty, with light brown hair pulled into a bun and kind blue eyes. She smiled at the class and half of them fell in love immediately. Most of the other half thought she seemed nice and were reassured. Temugin Khan remained undecided.

"Good morning, class. I'm Tricia Shoicet." She told them as she wrote her name on the board. "Some people have a little trouble pronouncing my name so you can call me Miss Trish. Is that okay?"

The class nodded as one. She smiled and erased the board. "The first thing I'm going to do is take role. Please answer 'here!' when I call your name. Andrew Adair?"

"Here!"

"Cynthia Barker?"

The role went on until it came to the quiet Chinese boy. "Temugin Khan?"

He started. "Yes, Teacher?"

Trish smiled, proud that she'd spent thirty minutes practicing to get the boy's name right and had succeeded. "Are you here, Temugin Khan?"

"Oh! Yes. Here!"

The teacher continued until she reached the last name on her list. "Anthony Stark?"

She was met with silence because the boy was using his new writing tablet to sketch a robotic dog.

"Anthony Stark?"

Rhodey nudged him and he looked up at his exasperated teacher, who had noticed he was inattentive. "Here! But I'm Tony. Tony Stark. Mommy and Daddy only call me Anthony when I'm in trouble."

"And how often is that?" Tricia muttered under her breath. "Please put your tablet away until writing time, Tony." She told him and he complied, getting a poke in the ribs from his best friend.

Temugin shook his head. This Stark was looking to be a sad and sorry pupil. No Chinese teacher would put up with such insolence.

Miss Trish smiled at the class again. "I'm sure we're all going to be great friends as we learn a lot together this year. Now, we're going to review the alphabet."

Tony's hand shot up and the teacher was surprised. "Yes, Tony?"

"I already know my alphabet. And I can read and write too! So can Rhodey!" His friend wished the other boy hadn't drawn attention to them and sat lower in his chair.

Miss Trish beamed in approval. "That's wonderful, Tony! You two can help the rest of the class. Would you and Rhodey like to hand out the alphabet charts?"

The two boys were eager to be of help to the pretty teacher and handed out papers to each student. Pepper and Winnie rolled their eyes. Boys were weird.

Tony found himself enjoying Art Time. Being able to put your hands right in the colors was messy and therefore fun. He looked around to see what his classmates were painting. Most were bent over the large sheet of butcher paper Miss Trish had given them but Happy Hogan stared at his, confused. Finally he dipped his fingers in the paints and began drawing spirals. Tony thought the other boy was nice, but not smart. Which was okay.

Miss Trish strolled between the quads, hands behind her back and looked at all the paintings, offering advice and praise as she went. Finally she came to Tony and his friends' quad.

"And what did you do, Tony?"

Little Tony held up his painting proudly. On the paper was a red and yellow stick figure sailing through a blue sky. "I drew an armored superhero who flies around and helps people!"

"Wonderful! And you, James?"

Rhodey gave his teacher a shy smile. "You can call me 'Rhodey' if you want, Miss Trish. I don't mind."

Miss Trish smiled. "Sure thing, Rhodey. What's your painting about?"

The little boy displayed his picture proudly. "I drew a hero too! But silver!"

The teacher clapped her hands. "Great! You'll grow up to be heroes together! What about you, Patricia?"

"Pepper!"

"...Pepper."

The red head was bouncing up and down in her seat in her eagerness to show the teacher her drawing. Miss Trish privately thought it looked like two flying hunchbacks.

"I'm going to join SHIELD like my mommy! And we'll flying around wearing jet packs and fighting crime!"

Winnie spoke up before the teacher could ask. "I drew me, my mommy and my daddy happy and together for ever and ever!"

The young Stane was especially good at drawing hearts and rainbows and Tricia told her so. "That's so sweet!"

The teacher turned and asked Temugin the same question. He was so absorbed in his work she had to ask him twice before he noticed she was there.

Temugin Khan was obviously talented and she noticed he used a brush instead of his fingers and mixed the paint with water for a watercolor effect. He had even signed his name in Chinese calligraphy. His subject matter, however left much to be desired.

"I'm drawing a dragon eating a bad man." He told her solemnly.

Tricia's expression went from questioning to stern. "Temugin. It is not nice to draw people getting eaten."

The Chinese boy shook his head earnestly. "Oh, no, Teacher. He's not really a person. He's a demon in disguise. His blood is made of acid and bile."

Tricia wanted to argue with him further but he said, "It's the subject of a Chinese legend and and part of my culture."

Miss Trish decided she did not want to get into a culture debate with a five year old and walked away. Happy snickered and nudged the smaller boy. "Good one."

"Hmph."

Recess was the most wonderful time of day. The children could run screaming around the playground for forty minutes while the teachers could sneak a smoke break, grade papers or in Miss Trish's case, process the weirdness that was her new class. Temugin Khan seemed unnaturally self-aware for his age and Tony Stark...should go to Harvard where he belonged. She sighed and glanced at the schedule, then smiled. It was her turn for recess duty. This should prove interesting.

Pepper, Winnie, Tony, Rhodey, Temugin and Happy all reached the playground at the same time. Unfortunately, they also reached it after everyone else had so they were left with no playground equipment. They were left with their own imaginations, which was considerable.

"What should we play?" Winnie wanted to know.

Tony hopped up to a dirt mound and posed dramatically. "Let's be...superheroes!"

"Yeah!" Pepper raised a fist to the sky. "I'm going to be Jet Girl! And I'll fly around with a jet pack and fight crime!" She turned to Tony and told him, "You'll be Jet Boy!"

Tiny Tony nodded, caught up in the girl's enthusiasm. Temugin hung back and wondered why she didn't ask him.

Winnie dropped into a classic martial arts crouch. "I'll be...the Black Power Ranger! Fierce! And smart! Kiai!"

Rhodey raised a tentative hand. "Can I be the Red Ranger?"

Winnie smiled at him in approval. She was glad to meet another Power Ranger fan. "Yes you can! We'll be crime fighting partners!"

Meanwhile, Happy was trying to persuade Temugin into becoming a rather...interesting hero.

"But you'd be cute as-"

"No."

"My sister would lend you a tiara-"

"No."

"But-"

"NO! Stop asking me, rectangle boy! I don't want to be Wonder Woman!"

Happy's eyes filled with tears at the Chinese boy's harsh words but before he could rush off Pepper stopped him and promised that next time she would be Jean Grey and he could be Cyclops, her husband. He brightened immediately and decided to be Freakazoid.

Temugin was wondering if Pepper would play Robin to his Batman (for some reason he found the brooding, orphaned hero appealing), when Tony pounced on him and said, "You can be Wolverine!" Tony handed the other boy some twigs he had found. "These can be your claws!"

The Chinese boy didn't like putting dirty sticks in-between his fingers but the Stark boy was too convincing to refuse. He dutifully put his 'claws' between his fingers and growled as menacingly as he could.

"Darn." The children turned as they heard an adult voice. Miss Trish stood behind them, her lips drawn down in mock disappointment. "I wanted to be Freakazoid."

The children whispered furtively to each other then glanced up at their teacher. "You can be Freakazoid next recess, Miss Trish." Rhodey answered kindly.

Tricia thought about it for a moment and accepted. "In that case, you'll need a villain. Just call me...Doctor Doom!"

With a roar she began chasing her laughing charges around the playground until Temugin pointed out she was outnumbered and they chased her back. Shrieking with delight, the players enjoyed every minute of their play time and were disappointed when the bell rang to go back inside, Miss Trish most of all. Somewhere on the playground, Tony had picked up a caterpillar, which had spun a cocoon on his shoulder. Temugin made a caustic remark about the caterpillar resembling Happy's eyebrows and the big boy looked hurt.

"I'm gonna be like Mothman!" Tony exclaimed excitedly.

Tricia sighed to herself. Time to start being an adult again, I guess. "Put that cocoon outside, Tony. That's not how Mothman works."

Tony frowned. "You don't know that for sure, Miss Trish. I'm gonna get wings!"

The little Khan was confused with this topic of conversation. "Who or what is Mothman?"

Immediately he realized he had made a mistake in asking and was swarmed by a dozen of his classmates.

"Mothman is a legend!"

"He's not real!"

"He is so! He's half human and half moth!"

"The FBI is investigating-"

"-lives in West Virginia!"

"There's a statue!"

"Lots of people have seen it!"

"The aerodynamics involved-"

"He causes car crashes!" Happy burst out over everyone else. The class glared at him, teacher included. He became uneasy and quieted down, receiving a reassuring hug from Pepper.

Temugin paled. "He-He does!?" The one person alive he cared about and who cared about him spent most of her time driving. He didn't want to lose her. "I'll get him! When I grow up, I'm gonna hunt down Mothman and..and...defeat him!"

Pepper rewarded him with a smile while the rest of the class looked skeptical.

Tricia clapped her hands. "That's enough, guys, it's nap time."

Winnie and Rhodey were first to fall asleep, back to back. Winnie took Rhodey's blanket but he was too asleep to notice, sucking his thumb as he dreamed. Pepper fell asleep quickly too. Tony was wide awake, formulating how to make an alarm clock hover with just gum, a Play Skool screwdriver he snuck in, and his intellect. It worked, naturally, but the teacher confiscated it because such things were not allowed indoors. Tiny Tony pouted sadly for the rest of his nap.

The young Khan was finding it hard to get to sleep while visions of what he moth creature might do filled his head. Happy Hogan tried to sleep back to back with the boy he thought to be pretty with limited success. After figuring out what Hogan was trying to do, Temugin picked up his mat and blanket and moved to the other side of the room while Happy cuddled the pillow the future Mandarin left behind. Temugin shuddered.

He notice the space next to Pepper Potts was empty, as Tony Stark had snuck behind the teacher's desk and took some paper clips and dental floss. That boy was odd, even for an American. Quietly as possible, he laid down his mat and curled under the blanket. Feeling reassured that he was finally safe, he fell asleep.

Pepper woke up because she thought she heard someone talking to her and was surprised to see Temugin Khan beside her, talking in his sleep.

"Wo ai ni, niang," the boy whispered. Pepper froze, afraid she'd wake him and he said it again.

"Wo ai ni, niang. Wo xiang nian ni, niang."

Pepper didn't recognize the funny words but she knew a bad dream when she heard it. She cautiously leaned forward and smoothed Temugin's hair, whispering soothingly. "It's okay, Tiny Gene. You're okay."

Her words seemed to do the trick and he settled into a deep sleep. She decided she liked him. He was weird.