I'm dreadfully late, I know. All that I can do is apologise. Please enjoy.


Chapter 7

Alternate Universe

The Present Day

Stark Industries High Security Research and Development Compound


Every scientist, technician and engineer in the vast lab ducked for cover as another tremendous rumble thundered around the room. It reverberated through the thick walls and down through the floor and gradually dissipated, leaving a gentle hum in its wake. They peeked up over the worktops and benches towards the instigator.

Howard himself appeared more invigorated than shaken. He pushed back his (admittedly stylish) goggles and wandered over to the objects in question, no longer bothering to check if his hair was singed. He and the team currently surrounding him had been at it for months, running test after test and conducting one experiment after another. Each slight... mishap simply brought him closer to the desired result.

The harmonious coupling of the Arc Reactor and the mysterious blue box from beneath the sea.

He peered through thick glass into the chamber. The blue box flashed in rebellion, as did Howard's Arc. He brought his hand to his chin and rubbed his lower lip thoughtfully. This time there had been less resistance, it seemed; gradually the energy between the two sources was flowing more smoothly. He turned away from the chamber and headed up the metal steps towards the control panel, manned by several apprehensive technicians.

"Alright. That'll do for today. We'll continue with the trials tomorrow morning, at nine," he projected around the lab, "Make sure you're chipper and ready to go."

He left through a tightly sealed air lock door and made his way up to a large room one floor up, with large windows overlooking the lab. The chamber occupied the centre and focus of the lab. It was disproportionately large when compared to the size of the objects within, and had dozens of tubes and leads emerging from its solid steel reinforced base. Howard collapsed into a large padded desk chair and loosened his tie. Even after roughly twenty years since his son graduated from MIT (he'd never been prouder) Howard's intellectual thirst hadn't waned. Since finding the mysterious box during refreshed efforts to retrieve the wreckage of Steve's plane, it had been sitting deep in the holding vaults of S.H.I.E.L.D. Two months prior, Howard had an epiphany and ordered its transfer to a more remote and guarded facility at Stark Industries. At that point, The Alliance Project was born, and only the most highly skilled scientists had been drafted in from all over Stark Industries and around the world. All were bound by a secrecy contract.

The progress so far was slow and steady. Starks by nature didn't do 'slow and steady'. This fact was further proven as Howard's sole son waltzed through the door, with a trailing Miss. Potts behind him.

"Tony! Miss. Potts," he nodded gallantly towards his long suffering assistant.

"Dad." Tony grinned, flopping down into a sleek black leather chair.

"Mr. Stark." Pepper greeted, ever the professional, choosing to remain standing.

"So how did the meeting go with Haussmann Corp?"

Tony had flown to Germany early that morning to negotiate a large sale to the company, and the possibility of further sales each year. Haussmann Corp was a giant in raw material extraction in Germany, and such deals formed the foundations of useful business relationships. Tony now took care of all international relations, as the company had ballooned over the years since Tony had joined and it was a load off of his father's shoulders. That, and Howard was getting on in his years and worked best at home in New York while Tony flew around the globe promoting and upholding the business.

"Great – managed to squeeze an extra two shipments into the deal."

"Good, good." Howard commended as he pulled up his email account on a hand held screen.

When Tony hit his twenties Howard officially made him his second in command. There had been some fear niggling at the corner of his mind up until then. What if Tony didn't want to simply fall into the family business? What if wanted more freedom? ...What if he wanted to leave? Howard could barely contain his relief when he realised that the passion he held for his work and his company was reflected in his son. Tony loved to build, invent and explore, just like his father. But not only that, Tony had joined him at S.H.I.E.L.D a little while later, stating that he 'couldn't possibly not get involved in this totally badass spy gig'. He had been particularly eager during his teens, the idea of daring escapades and worldwide espionage more alluring than meetings and paperwork.

It went without saying that Howard had been just a little apprehensive about Tony even knowing about S.H.I.E.L.D's existence, let alone being a part of it. Especially since his son was a prime target for those in S.H.I.E.L.D's bad books. Nevertheless, he ensured Tony was fully adept in a decent level of self defence and fire arms control, and had him made a member of the organisation albeit not an active one. He was now, actually, a valuable asset to its day to day running, helping to keep in contact with the active supervisors and planning courses of action with the more serious cases, of which thankfully there had not been many.

Howard could not be less amazed at the maturity and intelligence with which Tony handled things. Then again, he couldn't be less amazed at how quickly his mature and intelligent child reverted to a snarky adolescent within the space of a few seconds.

Pepper narrowed her eyes at Tony, who simply smirked back. She pressed her lips into a thin line and rolled her eyes. "Want to explain how you squeezed them in...?" she muttered.

Howard glanced between them from behind his screen.

"Through delicate and charming negotiation, how else?" He responded coolly, as he scrolled through designs on his phone.

"So that's what you call it. Where I come from it's called shameless flirting. Not to mention that if the managing director hadn't taken it so well you could've completely destroyed relations between-"

"-Hey, I sealed the deal didn't I?"

"By telling her the 'gleam from the projector brought out the silver in her eyes'?" Pepper mocked him in a sarcastic voice.

Tony opened his mouth to object.

"Gambling a fifty million dollar deal for an extra twenty was a little risky, Tony." Howard cut in, still scanning his emails.

Tony's head snapped towards his father's. "...You know about-"

"Pepper dropped me an email during the meeting when she thought you were going to deliver Stark Industries to Hell in a hand basket."

Tony looked back at the red head, incredulous, "You told my Dad on me?"

She gave him a triumphant 'damn straight' look before picking her BlackBerry from her pocket to check the week's schedule. He looked back to his father.

"Well it was nowhere near as bad as she made out. You know how she can exaggerate. After all, she is your assistant. Come to that, why did you send her with me anyway? As an emergency wet blanket?" he said as he glanced at her, relishing the poorly hidden irritation on her features.

Howard put his tablet down. "Whether you agree or not, you two actually make a half decent team." They looked up at their boss.

"You're a smooth talker Tony, a good businessman, but with her organisation and advice you could be great. I've been sending her with you more often recently because her skills aren't really needed as much at the office – more out there on the front line to rein you in."

Pepper blushed at the compliment while Tony paused, a little taken by surprise at the honest gesture. Howard closed his email account, satisfied with what he had read as Tony murmured, "Right."

Howard sat a little straighter, as if to 'get down to business' and continued. "But if she really gets to you that much," Howard didn't miss the torn look on his son's face, "Then you'll be pleased to know that there's someone else you can spend your time with; you now have a partner at S.H.I.E.L.D."

He allowed them time to give themselves whiplash in their shock and for Tony to babble, "What!? Since when did I, the boss' son, have a partner?"

"As of right now. He's actually caused quite a bit of trouble and has been made a temporary agent so we can keep an eye on him and he can pay his debts to society – or whatever."

Tony shook his head in confusion, "And somehow your twisted logic decided that the best person to pair this criminal up with is me?"

Howard pursed his lips for a moment, "Pretty much. Like I said, this way we can keep an eye on him. Also, he's got some very... unique skills that could be put to a lot of good use. You never know, he might be helpful to you."

"Yeah, maybe he can do my tax returns whilst he's disembowelling me."

Howard shook his head fondly at his son's dramatics as Pepper quirked an eyebrow.

"Fine, whatever." Tony conceded, "So what do I call this whack-job?"

"Definitely not 'whack-job'. His name's Loki. Not quite sure of the surname yet, bit of a sore subject apparently."

Tony pulled a face, suddenly recalling a level seven case report from his S.H.I.E.L.D work. "Loki?! The nutcase that threw a tantrum and let an over sized fire-breathing chess piece loose on New Mexico? That Loki?"

"The very one. But don't worry, I won't let him go 'Dungeons and Dragons' on you... unless you almost destroy our company's reputation again."

"But I really don't need a partner."

"Sure you do. Who better to keep his eye on my wayward son than the God of Mischief himself?"


LOKI! Woop woop.

Anyway.

Like I said, I'm super late. All I can say in my defence is that the day after I got back from my summer school, fasting started. Seriously, not eating or drinking for almost eighteen hours makes fanfic writing a tad difficult.

Especially when you start fantasising about donuts instead of RDJ when you're watching Ironman 2...

However, reviews provide motivation, so lots of reviews mean quicker updates! Also, please let me know if you actually liked it or not.

Till next time, cool people,

Anxious Owl (^,^)