CHAPTER 12: A CHEAP SECRET

Remnant, System Unknown

City of Vale

Stark Residence

July 18th, 56 AGW

Tony knew that this would happen sooner or later and up until this point, he hadn't given much thought to it, but now he decided to take a look at it on a whim. He didn't think that it mattered all that much, but he was curious.

As the first CEO of this world's Stark Industries, he was bound to get some attention and his actions were going to be observed by the media and by society at large. That was just the life he led. Additionally, some of his more personal actions were going to be scrutinized and even criticized by everyone, especially his playboy habits. Basically, everyone was going to be measuring him by normal standards, but it hardly made any sense to measure a man like himself by conventional means.

Still, public perception of him was important in a way because it could directly affect how he conducted business and who would do so. Certainly most business partners knew to keep professional and personal lives separate, but there was always going to be that one CEO that would refuse him on account of the things he did outside the board rooms. It could be an unimportant potential partner or it could not be. In any case, he needed to play the game very carefully.

Tony had been skimming through some newspapers regarding himself and the one thing that was unsurprising was how much the media was looking into his history. It made sense for them to do so. His rapid success, though not unheard of, was highly unusual, hence the many news outlets trying to get whatever information they could on him. For now, he wasn't concerned about them getting something they shouldn't. He had ways of keeping secrets and one one person knew the full truth.

In the event that people started suspecting his origins, he would have to start making bribes and deals under the table. It wasn't something that particularly appealed to him, but he did have to keep his priorities in order. It was all well and good for him to be as squeaky-clean as possible when it came to doing business, but he had his bottom lines to fulfill not to mention his other ambitions. Being the nice guy didn't mean much in a world of fierce competition, even if common knowledge said otherwise.

On a side note, he would need to make certain that there weren't people who were going to be spying on the inside of his company in order to obtain information about what was going on in here. None of what he was doing was illegal, but when it came to his most highly-prized assets, be they physical or otherwise, he didn't want anyone to get a hold of them yet. If he didn't introduce new technology the right way, it could have disastrous consequences. For this reason, they weren't even open ideas yet.

Tony would have to talk more with his current staff regarding how to proceed forward, but he didn't anticipate serious problems on that front.

Moving on, the genius had already begun drafting up a plan regarding expansion and opening up headquarters in all of the kingdoms. Although he was years off from being able to implement this plan, his reasoning for thinking ahead about this was simple. While the main headquarters for Stark Industries was located in Vale, his reach was going to extend to all parts of this world. Just one headquarter was going to leave his choices limited. In order to reach other markets more directly, he needed a palpable presence.

Of course, should his plan go through, he would need to have very qualified people head these branches. Whoever these individuals were, they would need to be on the same wavelength as him. His vision for Remnant all came down to the people who worked for him. While he had a considerable engineering team as well as a pretty good management team, he would need to step up his game to eleven going forward.

Yes, he would even put a headquarter in the sandpit that was Vacuo. Despite his reservations about the "kingdom," there was one thing that it did have that the other kingdoms were lacking: isolation. Vacuo would make an ideal place to house a secret testing facility for all sorts of concepts and ideas that needed to be hidden away from the public eye. It could become Area 51 in a way, a skunk works for Stark Industries to conduct their work away from the prying eyes of the world.

There was one major problem with this little idea. Vacuo was basically the equivalent of the wild west. The people there were rough by nature and lived mostly in small-sized villages, having little respect for any authority of any kind. If Stark Industries was to set up its own facilities for all to see, there was a possibility of people raising a fuss. Business demanded hierarchy and structure and authority, something that the locals would despise by and large.

In order to secure a location in Vacuo, a proper relationship with Shade Academy would be required seeing as the huntsman academy was the only form of authority recognized by the kingdom of sand. Of course, that would be no walk in the park either seeing as the Grimm killers from this institution were of a more aggressive and prideful lot. They would need a lot of convincing enough to accept any sort of proposal from an outsider.

Tony wouldn't bother with Vacuo too much for at least a few years seeing as he had his hand in Vale, Mistral and Atlas already and he didn't have enough hired help he trusted enough to contend with the big issues that he was currently handling.

He really ought to be focusing on making sure that the Yaegers Mark I for the Council of Vale made it through and were of great use. Test runs and simulations were nothing compared to live usage and practical application.

And speaking of business he needed to get done in Vale, Ozpin had called him recently and invited him back to Beacon Academy for the express purpose of revealing something really secretive. The young man suspected that it had something to do with the maidens. Recent calls from the premiere huntsman academy pointed to the magical women being the main source of interesting conversation.

It was easy enough to go in knowing about the almost-confirmed existence of four women with magical power. The next step was determining what exactly these women existed for. More often than not, things had a reason for existing, especially if said things were influenced directly or indirectly by humans.

Tony had wanted to figure out the entire mystery by himself, but his main problem was all of his research amounted to scraps of information that would only get him to the truth partially, which was hardly what he wanted.

The only conceivable way to get everything he wanted in a timely fashion was to go to someone who knew about this stuff on a deeper level and unfortunately, that meant Ozpin and his group.

The CEO weighed his options carefully. If he chose to accept this deal, then he would be further tangling himself up in the Wizard of Oz's business. It wasn't clear what exactly the headmaster was doing, but one thing was clear: the man was trying to recruit pawns in whatever form he could find them in. That didn't sit well with the spirit of the Stark name, which demanded respect and autonomy.

But there would always come a time where pride would ultimately get in the way of what was most logical and as much as he didn't wish to admit it to himself, Tony wanted to know more about all of this. It was more than just his own curiosity at play here. It was potentially a chance to see something truly unique and outside the realm of conventional science. He might be able to glean something that he would never be able to think of otherwise.

It all came down to one question. What was more important? Pride or knowledge? Which did he value more?

The answer ultimately came to him rather quickly. He had discovered the existence of magic accidentally, but now that he had, it was impossible for him to not think about it. He could sense something big coming from all of this and he wanted to be in on the know. While being under Ozpin's thumb was demeaning, it wasn't world-ending when all was said and done. Such a situation could be worked with. It might even have its own advantages.

With a sigh and running a hand through his hair, Mister Stark grabbed his scroll and made a call to the first person he came into contact with upon arriving on Remnant. He was already in deep just by being here and doing what he did best.

He might as well be a supreme daredevil and take it a step further.

Iron Man - - - RWBY

Beacon Academy

July 25th, 56 AGW

Ozpin was surprised that Tony had accepted his offer and had come of his own accord. That certainly made matters easier, but it also made him wonder about the inventor's logic. The brilliant young man was one of the most intelligent individuals that he had ever known and people of high intellect often had plenty of time to think about their place in the world and their relationships with their friends and allies.

It might be fair to say that the CEO of Stark Industries was probably well aware that he was about to become part of something that he couldn't easily escape from. Those that had become aware of the Four Maidens had a secret that they would forever keep a secret until they reached their grave. The fairy tale that everyone told to their children was merely the end result of hundred of years of transforming fact into fiction and hopefully, it would stay that way until the Grimm were finally eradicated.

Whether Mister Stark would easily accept something as fantastic and illogical as magic was another story, but in order to facilitate the process, Ozpin was prepared to bring as much proof as was possibly needed. Bringing an actual maiden would be saved for another day. The most available candidate for that purpose would be Fria.

Although she was no longer young, she was still very much capable of engaging in combat and she had decades of experience under her belt. She had mastered the power of the Winter Maiden, making her capable of showing the full extent of power that a maiden was capable of. If that wasn't sufficient proof, then nothing would be.

The headmaster had yet to inform the other members of the brotherhood about his decision to initiate Tony. Of course many of its members were well aware of the fact that the weapons developer was being considered. What they were still unaware of was that their newest candidate was from another world and for the time being, it would remain that way. Who knew what sort of damage could be done if the wrong people knew.

The other thing for Ozpin to contemplate was how his choice here might affect the future ten years down the line, maybe even twenty or thirty years. It was easy to keep track of everyone in his circle because they were all predictable in one manner or another. The same mentality could not be applied to Tony. The rising star had already proven his brazen attitude to life, approaching everything as if it was a challenge. Perhaps the young man thrived on the thrill of danger and exploration. Whatever the case, getting his compliance would be an unstable prospect at best and his ability to keep secrets needed further scrutinization.

The man with many souls glanced at his watch again. Just a few more minutes before the official agreed-upon meeting time would be upon him. He was prepared to deal with whatever came forward.

A familiar chime sounded as the elevator reached the office. A few seconds later, the doors opened to reveal the guest of the hour dressed as if he was going into a serious business meeting, a respectable disposition. The immortal stood in front of his desk and presented himself accordingly.

"Ozpin." Tony offered a handshake. "I was hoping to not see you again for a while."

"But here you are." Ozpin accepted the hand with a firm grip. "So what compelled you to return?"

"Don't play coy with me, man." Tony placed his hand back at his side. "We both know why I'm here. Let's just skip the eloquent speeches and all that and get to the good part. We'd be saving ourselves some time."

"As you wish." Ozpin granted. "Take a seat."

This should have been expected; with everything going on regarding the name Stark, it might have been a miracle that the CEO even had the time to have a one-on-meeting in the first place. Or did his disliking of this place really extend that far?

"I'm sure you've figured out that your meetings with certain individuals weren't just to increase your network of allies." Ozpin started off. "Do you know why that is?"

"I might have an idea or two." Tony casually grabbed his scroll. "Crazy question, but do you think magic is real? Personally, I think it's all total BS. I mean, there's no scientific proof of it existing and yet we've got generations telling kids all about it."

"So you know about them." Ozpin saw no reason to pretend. "The Maidens."

"Yeah, I know about them." Tony leaned in closer. "I also know that you seem to have a particular interest in them and if I can read you as well as I think I can, which I can do extremely well, then I would say you think they're very real."

"Because they are." Ozpin replied in kind. "But however unfounded and unrealistic it is, magic does exist and so too do the Maidens that possess such power."

"So what's the point of them?" Tony moved the conversation along. "Nothing against four badass women with some sweet kickass power, but why bother? I mean, their purpose just seems pointless to begin with."

"They're guardians." Ozpin decided on a truth that omitted some details. "They're the protectors of the world."

"So are huntsmen," Tony clearly wasn't satisfied. "More power never hurts a guy and I get that, but there's more to it. There has to be, otherwise what's stopping bad guys from trying to get the power for themselves? Or is it bad girls? That sounds kind of hot."

"...only women can inherit the power of a Maiden." Ozpin clarified, ignoring that last part. "And to answer your question, their purpose isn't just to fight, although it is one of their main reasons."

It would undoubtedly be much easier to just do away with the very long segway and just cut to the chase, but this wasn't information to be revealed lightly, although it appeared that the businessman wasn't leaving this place until his questions were answered. That was the attitude on display here.

"Then what are they for?" Tony sat up and made direct eye contact. "If they are guardians as you said, then they must be watching over some really valuable."

"More valuable than anything this world knows about." Ozpin interlocked his fingers together. "The power granted to each other gives them access to a vault underneath each of the found huntsman academies. Inside these vaults are artifacts created by the gods that once lived on this world."

"Now the Brother Gods exist?" Tony shook his head. "Jesus Christ, this is turning into some really cheesy fantasy story. What next? Are there lizard men? Minataurs? Maybe Alice in Wonderland?"

"Movie references?" Ozpin took a guess.

"Just that last one. Those other ones are mythological creatures, but you already knew that." Tony looked down at his scroll. "So suppose I believe you. What are these artifacts and what do they do?"

"They create the fundamental rules of this world." Ozpin laid out. "Creation, Destruction, Knowledge, and Choice. These are the four unknown fundamentals that all of Mankind has followed from the moment that the first human came into the world."

That statement was partially misleading, but that wasn't important at this juncture. All that mattered was explaining everything related to the Maidens and nothing more. Take backs were no longer an option.

"So let me get this straight." Tony looked very skeptical. "Four women with magical power have access to the very items that dictate how people live in this world?"

"That is correct." Ozpin affirmed. "You seem disappointed."

"Oh, I'm disappointed, all right." Tony looked to his side. "I'm also amazed at the sheer stupidity of it all. Actually, scratch that, I don't even know how much of this is believable in the first place. You could be pulling one over me."

"I have nothing to gain by blindsiding you." Ozpin retorted calmly. "Besides, If I wanted to manipulate you, I would have already done so."

"What a funny thing to say, you sly dog." Tony snorted as he turned his head back. "What are you doing if not trying to manipulate me into your chess game? For that matter, what about the students that come and go from this academy? You've basically turned the huntsman academies into impenetrable fortresses with all the kids acting as unknowing bodyguards. That is, IF your story is true."

"You make it sound like I am some evil mastermind." Ozpin didn't appreciate the implication, but remained calm. "These students are doing exactly what they came here hoping to do. Their presence simply acts as a deterrent for would-be attackers."

"And the Maidens?" Tony questioned in return. "What if they get compromised? Or lose their power to the enemy."

"The Maidens are ordered to kill anyone who attempts them harm or otherwise attempt to draw out the power." Ozpin stated clearly. "They know what having this power means for them."

"So are you just going to offer me words?" Tony once again looked to the side. "Because all of this means nothing if there's no proof."

RWBY - - - Iron Man

Stark Industries Headquarter

July 30th, 56 AGW

Penny was disappointed that at first, Mister Stark wouldn't allow her to start interning for him immediately. As his friend, she felt that she needed to pay back everything he had done for her thus far, otherwise she would feel ungrateful.

His reason for testing her like this was easy to understand, at least from a logical point of view. He wanted to see what she was capable of. Stark Industries demanded individuals who were not only motivated but also able to think creatively and independently. The inventor specifically stated that her being his friend and vice versa wasn't enough. In order to leave out bias, she had to prove worthy of her situation.

The ginger-haired girl understood the reasoning behind it all, but that didn't make it any easier for her to accept. The only reason that she didn't put up an even greater attitude was that for one thing, it wasn't her style and for another, she liked working on technology now that she had been exposed to it. Her growth was phenomenal and even she was amazed at her own progress.

Penny's trials would take place over the next month and each week would test her on knowledge she had learned thus far and how to apply them into a practical setting. Over the course of the week, she would be given material to study as well as guidance from Mister Stark when she needed it. At the end of the week, he would give her some tools and something for her to work on and she would have until the end of the day to solve whatever problem there was.

This week, she was dealing with a circuit-based problem. To be more precise, she was pouring over every detail of a very complex parallel circuit and trying to figure out how to solve each individual failure in the pathways. Electric current was flowing from four of the six paths and it was her job to fix the remaining two. It looked like the devices and resistors were functioning properly, so the natural conclusion was that the wiring itself was faulty.

The green-eyed teenager reached her hand out to carefully unhook the battery from the circuit and then she began inspecting the wiring very closely, looking for any signs of damage or burnt parts. It took her a minute, but she soon found where the wiring had failed. Once she determined the location, she retrieved the proper wiring from a nearby spare parts box and began to work on replacing the wire.

Penny's rhythm was steady yet swift. She had practiced this enough times so that she could do this without having to give much thought to it. Her goal was to be as natural as Tony when it came to working. His movements were instinctual like breathing. She was certain that his level was so high that even the most advanced technology wouldn't so much as phase him. Maybe that was an overestimation of his full capability, but she had seen enough to make her conjure such an image.

Once she had finished replacing the wire, she carefully reattached the battery and brought the circuit to life. After confirming that this part was repaired, she moved onto the next item. Her knowledge of electrical devices was being tested thoroughly. Although none of these fixes could be considered extremely complicated, they were meant to test her in a wide variety of scenarios that she could be facing down the road.

The next problem involved dealing with resistors in a series circuit. One of the devices was inoperable, rendering this particular circuit inactive. Again, she went through the proper motions of removing the battery before getting to work on isolating the trouble device and then replacing it accordingly.

From the corner of her eyes, Penny could see Mister Stark as he oversaw her work. His arms were crossed and his eyes were watching what she did was much focus. She didn't focus on him any more than this. If she broke concentration, he would notice and this was a test after all. Distractions were not advisable.

The girl quietly shifted focus back to her current task. Each step that she had taken so far was leading up to a substantial build that would most likely be a culmination of everything she had done before. He was merely using these smaller tasks as a means of gauging whether or not she was capable of performing under less than ideal conditions.

One thing that she did notice about all of these electrical components was how much of it was not up-to-date technology. Although her history regarding component manufacturing dates was very basic, even she could tell on sight that what she was working with dated back more than a few years.

Furthermore, she was incorporating new components into old systems, not exactly an idea that made sense. It would be better to simply replace the entire system and start from scratch. She had to believe that she was being made to do this for a reason, although she couldn't quite see what that reason was.

Penny temporarily put down the soldering iron she was using in order to rest her hand for a minute. She needed to place some pieces on a motherboard very carefully, a task that was helped by her being able to keep her hands steady. She would have to do this several times before she could install any further components. After all of that was done, she would double-check her work for anything that she could have missed.

"We'll break for lunch." Tony informed her. "For a half-pint, you're not too shabby there."

"Thank you." Penny smiled. "But it's all thanks to you."

"Kid, I just jump started your battery." Tony regarded her with an amused look. "You've been doing more than your fair share of work. It's almost scary how fast you've been learning."

"I'm just really passionate about what you've been teaching me." Penny couldn't explain her exponential growth logically. "That's what I know."

"Passion is all well and good, but there's one undeniable fact about life: we're not all born equal." Tony appeared like that fact pained him. "Some of us have brilliant minds, some of us look good to other people, some of us are tough as nails, the list goes on."

"We might not be born equal, but don't we all deserve a chance?" Penny chimed in with her own opinion. "Isn't that what we're trying to do in society?"

"Equal opportunity doesn't translate into an equal outcome, ginger snap." Tony countered her. "Take dust for example. Lighting, fire, water, wind, all of them are dust and all of them can be used to kill Grimm, but I will say that fire dust doesn't do much good in water. Lightning dust, on the other hand, works like a charm in water."

"I see." Penny understood what he was saying. "But I fail to see why this is relevant to me."

"I'm convinced that you've got a talent for this sort of stuff." Tony explained to her. "Yes, it certainly helps that you've taken to electronics like a fish in water, but at a certain point, willpower runs out and it all comes down to competence and natural aptitude, but you've got all of that, so no worries."

"Oh." Penny took a moment to process his compliment. "Thank you, Tony."

It was strange to see this man acting somewhat normally. From what she could gather about his public persona, he was more flippant, arrogant, and playful. The news outlets certainly painted him that way, but when he talked to her, he seemed nice enough if not a little strange in his language and mannerisms.

"You look like I tried to explain rocket science." Tony chuckled at her tame response. "Actually, I could do that now, but then you'd be really confused."

"Rocket science?" Penny didn't know much about that. "You know about that?"

"Little lady, I'm a weapons developer." Tony patted her on the head. "I'd be out of a job if I didn't know."

That comment gave Penny a question. "What would you do if you weren't a weapons developer?"

"What would I do if I weren't a weapons developer?" Tony looked her in the eye. "Yeah, that's not happening. Weapons are needed to keep the peace and if the day ever comes they aren't, I'll start making bricks and beams for baby hospitals."

"That sounds wonderful!" Penny liked that.

"That was sarcasm." Tony clarified.

"Oh." Penny deflated. "Which part."

"...you know what? Forget that I said that." Tony backtracked in the conversation. "That came out wrong and you don't need to think too much about it."

Her first friend was a confusing man.

Iron Man - - - RWBY

Team STRQ Dorm

"Ugh!" Summer groaned loudly.

"What is it now?" Raven sat across from her team leader, cleaning her weapon.

"I'm so bored." Summer responded, collapsing onto her bed with her legs hanging off the side. "It's Saturday. We should be having fun right now, but then it had to go and rain. Why can't we just go outside anyway?"

"Remember the last time we tried?" Taiyang put down his pencil and turned in his seat. "It took us three to clean the mess we made after tracking in so much mud."

"And the fact that Summer was so grumpy about her style getting cramped that she took it out on those assholes on Team FRBD."

"Hey, those guys had it coming!" Summer pouted. "It's not my fault that they couldn't keep their traps shut!"

"Let's not forget that we all got detention because of that little fight." Taiyang reminded his white-clad teammate. "We spent a week doing file maintenance in the library."

"I begged the teachers for a less strict punishment." Summer lamented that time. "I was just… less than successful."

"Remind me why this girl is our team leader?" Raven had resumed work on her weapon, but was still involved in the dialogue. "It's like Ozpin made her team leader just so that he could drive the rest of us insane."

"With Oz, who can say?" Qrow shrugged his shoulders. "He has his reasons."

"I'd like to hear some of those reasons." Taiyang threw in his two cents. "The more I hear that guy, the less I understand."

Someone's scroll buzzed indicating that a message had been received. The silver-eyed warrior once again groaned before lazily reaching for her device before holding it above her head to see who had contacted her. Once she saw the number and the name, she instantly rose and stood up from her bed.

"It must be from Stark." Raven took a guess as to who had messaged. "Who else gets the weapon maniac this excited?"

"That man really has her wrapped around his finger." Taiyang shook his head in amazement. "And he probably knows it too."

"Sly bastard." Qrow mumbled in agreement.

"Shush!" Summer silenced everyone. "I can't miss a single word of this!"

Another ten seconds of quiet filled the room as the fangirl carefully read through the text message sent to her. It looked like he was expected to begin the second wave of testing on some new experimental dust combinations and he was ready to collect their data in regards to their tests.

"More testing!" Summer hummed in excitement. "More killing stuff!"

Taiyang laughed nervously. "Should we be worried?"

"I wouldn't be." Raven wasn't the least bit concerned. "It's just a phase. It'll pass."

The white-cloaked leader of Team STRQ ignored the jab being made at her, only concentrating on what Mister Stark had sent her. It seemed like their relationship with the man wasn't over by a long shot.

That made her really happy.

Apologies for any grammar issues that may be present in this chapter, but recent events in real life have been grabbing most of my attention as of late, but I'm sure that's nothing new with a lot of us out there. Considering everything that's been going on in the world, I think we're all a little stressed out.

So I mentioned last chapter that I've become busy as of late and that it might affect my writing schedule, but I wasn't specific about what was going on, but now I can actually say it.

I've made the decision to enlist in the United States Army. No, this is NOT an April Fools joke in any way, shape, or form. This is a serious and legitimate decision that I've made for myself. If you want details about what to expect going forward, please refer to my note posted on my profile page.

Thoughts about this chapter? Feedback is always appreciated.

Thanks for reading and I hope you're all doing the best that you can in these times.

"Go for it now. The future is promised to no one."

Wayne Dyer