A/N: Hi everyone! I'm back with the first OFFICIAL instalment of Avengers: Generations! This chapter is the first to take place in the future and I hope everyone enjoys the family it's centered around...*drum roll* the Starks! You'll find much has changed but not too much. Snarky humor and family feels await. I know it's not much, but it's vital and necessary to the storyline. Hopefully everyone will enjoy this chapter as much as I do, and hopefully it'll excite you for what's next.
A thank you—again—to my Beta for her help and suggestions. And of course her encouragement. She liked this chapter, so I hope you guys do as well! Please enjoy.
Disclaimer: Do I have to do this every chapter?
Chapter 1: "When You're Ready"
Upper West Side, New York City, New York. Saturday, September 6th, 2042. 08:42 am. 26 years later.
The first thing that hits him is the smell of Sharpie. Antonio Stark has once again fallen asleep working.
"Ughh," he groans as he wrinkles his nose. The young Stark's eyes open to meet the blinding morning light spilling through the high windows of his garage. Antonio groggily lifts his head from the work table that's become his temporary bed and notices the marker he left open all night. He rolls his eyes to himself and runs a hand through his messy, black hair, waiting for his foggy mind to clear.
The young man scans the garage, noting every loose piece of unfinished gray armor lying around. The gauntlet he fell asleep wiring last night is spread out across the work table in front of him along with the half-drawn blueprint under his chest. The rest of his armor hangs on a stand completely put together save for one gauntlet and the helmet. He can't wait to see the day when he finishes the suit, but wonders where the helmet got off to since he doesn't seem to remember much of yesterday.
"Oh good, you're awake, sir," chimes Jarvis throughout the garage. Darn, cheeky computer, Antonio thinks.
"Morning, Jarvis," he replies, searching his mind for an ounce of tolerance to combat the AI's good mood. Antonio will never understand why his dad decided to upgrade Jarvis' AI technology with an alternating mood program.
"What time is it?" Antonio asks. He stretches his arms overhead in hopes of loosening his stiff back muscles. Leaning over a table all night isn't exactly the best posture practice, not to mention how uncomfortable his metal work stool is.
"It is eight-forty-five, sir."
Antonio blinks his electric blue eyes, frozen in his chair, hoping Jarvis is taking a swing at joking. "What did you say?" he asks with a raised brow.
"The time is eight-forty-five, sir. I tried to wake you an hour ago as you requested, but you were fast asleep," the computer explains.
And so, panic ensues. Antonio gracefully topples out of his chair and hits the concrete floor, sending a jolt rattling through his bones. "I'm late!" he yells. Hastily, he gets back on his feet and hurries towards the steps that lead into the young man's home. Antonio grabs the doorknob at the top of the stairs and swings it open to find his house in a mess. Pizza boxes are strewn across the coffee table, various t-shirts littering his couch, and the disembodied helmet of his half-built armor staring at him from across the room on the kitchen counter. There it is, he thinks, noticing just creepy it looks without the rest of the armor. He tries to move his eyes away from the unsettling stare of Iron Man and takes a sharp turn up the stairs to the right.
Practically jumping up the carpeted steps, Antonio speeds towards the master bedroom that the "master" never uses, which is as equally messy as the living room. Immediately, he trips over one of his worn, red sneakers. Thankfully, this time, he doesn't fall flat on his face but instead, rams his knee into the corner of the bed. The Stark bites down a curse and scrambles towards his closet in search of a clean outfit. He quickly snatches a red button-up shirt off of a hanger, along with a pair of black jeans and a black and white stripe necktie.
"Gotta…mmph, dress quickly!" he mutters while pulling off his shirt, almost strangling himself in the process. He flings his vintage print Avengers t-shirt across the room, not caring where it lands and runs into the bathroom.
He brushes his teeth in a hurry and slips in his contacts. And for the first time this morning, Antonio actually looks at himself in the mirror. The young Stark slowly evaluates the dark circles that take away from his bright blue eyes, the noticeable stubble growing around his usually well-trimmed goatee, and the unruliness of his short, black hair. Antonio sighs sadly as he realizes just how tired he looks. More tired than any twenty-three-year-old should. When he was a kid with four eyes and an inhaler, he imagined he'd look better as an adult. But boy was he misled.
He splashes some cold water on his face in hopes of washing the thoughts away. His tiredness and sleep depravity haven't been for not. In fact, he may be spending all his time on one of the most important things he'll ever do in his life. At least, that's what he tells himself.
Antonio continues to dress in a rushed fashion, pulling off his work jeans and replacing them with his black, dress jeans. He slips his red collared shirt on and finishes tucking it in when he starts on his tie. A few minutes later, he runs back down the stairs, dressed and ready, looking for his messenger bag. He wades through garbage and clothes in his search, then hears a climactic crunch underfoot.
That better not have been my laptop...I do NOT have time to rebuild it again, Antonio thinks. He lifts his foot, relieved to find the squashed body of a huge, fuzzy brown spider. Wait, spider? In a panic, he jumps back and finds himself falling over the coffee table he didn't realize was directly behind him, landing painfully on his back. He smacks his forehead angrily.
"Today is not my day," he says aloud. He lays his head on the floor for a moment and covers his face with his hands. Antonio sighs heavily, peeking through his fingers up at the silvery metal ceiling fan that spins slowly overhead. He lazily flops his head to the side and notices his messenger bag hiding under an empty pizza box, with his laptop hidden safely inside.
"There you are!" He happily grabs it from under the garbage and flips his legs over his head in a backward somersault. Proud that he landed on his feet, he heads back down into the garage.
"Jarvis, send dad a message. Let him know I'm on my way," Antonio announces. "Oh, and lock the doors for me." The young Stark picks up his phone as he passes by his work table, tosses dried up Sharpie number forty-two in the trash and almost trips over a piece of armor plating lying on the floor. He snatches a pair of keys from a hooked wall-rack by the side door and heads for a sparkling, garnet 2008 Ford Mustang, the pride of his collection of classic cars. With the press of a button on the car's remote, the lights flash and the locks open. He hastily opens the driver door and sits down, tossing his messenger bag in the passenger's seat.
One lengthy ride through Midtown Manhattan later, and Antonio pulls his red Mustang into the parking garage under Stark Tower. He drives past the hundreds of other vehicles, surveying each one to see who's at work today. The perks of growing up around your father's employees are that, after a while, you learn all four hundred and twelve of their names.
The black-haired young man finds his usual parking spot and then proceeds to make his way towards the elevator that will lead him to his father's office. Assuming Tony allows him in. Antonio nervously taps the cloth messenger bag hanging beside him and hopes that his dad isn't angry at him for missing one of the most important meetings he'll ever be included in.
Ever since Antonio got back from college a few months ago, he's been diligently working to prove to his dad and mom that he has the ability to run his father's company one day. With a Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering and a minor in Computer Programing, and excelling at engineering of all types, Antonio feels he's more than capable. But, as the Stark is lifted through the building he calls home, he runs down the list of all the possible reactions his father might have for his being late. The one and only time Antonio has ever been late. There's the "silent judgment," or the "angry outburst," but it'll more than likely be the oh-so-famous "gentle let down."
Pick your poison, Howie, he thinks, mentally chastising himself with his middle name.
Antonio's electric eyes dart towards the digital number screen above his head, and suddenly he feels a lump in his throat as he approaches the ninety-second floor. Of all the days he could've been late it had to happen today. The young Stark feels the unsettling chill of death approach as the elevator doors open just in time for him to see all of his father's clients leave the main meeting room and walk towards him. He missed the meeting entirely.
Great.
He exhales deeply and steps past the men and women as they crowd the elevator. Antonio spots his father standing in the doorway. Their eyes meet, and he knows he's in for it. Guilt train arriving at the station.
The two meet at the door, and Antonio shamefully drops his eyes to the floor as he walks past his seemingly disappointed father. Tony closes the door behind them and offers his son a seat at the large, rectangular table littered with spreadsheets, pencils, and sticky notes left behind. The young man sits quietly in one of the many chairs surrounding the table, and waits for his dad to stop circling him like a vulture.
"Dad, I—" Antonio begins. He's silenced by Tony raising a hand, wordlessly asking for a minute to think. The longer Tony is quiet the more nervous Antonio becomes. The boy's foot begins to tap as his father paces in front of him. Antonio's foot stills when his dad stops.
"How long have you been in the family business, Antonio?" Tony asks.
Antonio, dumbfounded, mumbles an answer. "Pretty much as long as I've been alive." Tony simply nods.
"And out of those twenty-three some odd years, how much have you learned about the company?"
"Hopefully enough to run it one day," Antonio answers honestly. He watches as his father eyes him, probably mentally judging him for wearing too much red. Antonio looks down at himself to wonder if he actually is wearing too much red when his father jars the young man from his insecurities.
"Am I ever late for work?" Tony asks rhetorically. Antonio shakes his head. Next stop on the guilt train, disappointmentville.
"Dad, you can stop right now. I know where you're going with this. I was late, and it's not because I felt like sleeping in. I know how important this meeting was, but I was working all night and I swear I set my alarm for seven-thirty sharp. Jarvis tried to wake me, but I was so tired…I didn't hear him," Antonio explains. He wants so badly for his father to understand that it does matter to him about being on time, the young Stark simply allowed time to escape him the night before on his personal project.
Tony's serious expression relaxes and he takes a seat in front of his son. "It's okay."
"And I rushed to get here. I'll probably end up getting a bunch of tickets mailed to my house for speeding," Antonio continues.
Tony slides the rolling-chair closer to Antonio. "I understand, Antonio."
"It's just I've been working so hard on this project and I can't wait to show you. And I really do take all of this seriously, I just want you to be proud of what I'm doing."
"Antonio," Tony says, attempting to stop his son's nervous rambling. "It's okay, really." Tony's amber eyes meet his son's blue and Antonio quiets. "I'll be proud of you no matter what you do, I just want you to make sure you don't put too much pressure on yourself at once. Take it from a seasoned pro," Tony says with a grin.
Antonio's shoulders relax and a smile tugs at his lips. Next stop on the guilt train, Don't-Be-Like-Me City. "I know dad, I just really want things to go right for me and my life. I don't want to have to use a second chance on getting my dream job like Maria did."
The mention of his sister's past failures causes Tony to frown. He no doubt wishes he or Pepper could've done things differently to prevent their daughter's situation as a teen. "Don't talk about your sister like that. She made some mistakes, but she's doing better now. Besides Howie," his dad's smile returns. "At the rate you're going, you may never need a second chance."
Antonio rolls his eyes and smirks. "Dad, you know I hate being called Howie."
"You have a problem with your grandfather's name?" Tony remarks.
"I have nothing against Howard, it's Howie I can't stand," Antonio replies.
The two share a lighthearted laugh and stand. They walk towards the door and Tony slings an arm around his youngest child. The elder Stark looks at him and smiles. The boy looks strikingly like himself with his shaped nose and thin face, but he has his mother's focus and drive. He's come a long way since his days as a baby, barely holding on to life when his premature birth almost robbed him of the incredible world he lives in now. He looks at his son and not only sees the future of his company but the future of technology and maybe even...
"You really think I can do it one day, dad? Run the company?" Antonio asks, snapping his father from his thoughts.
Tony gives his son one last gaze and grins widely. "No doubt."
Antonio can't help but grin as well and the two step out of the conference room and into the hallway.
Antonio happens to glance down at his red wrist watch, and realizes he was supposed to meet his best friend for lunch. "Oh, dad. I gotta go. I'm meeting Kassy at McCalister's for an early lunch." But just as the young man begins down the hall, Tony stops him.
"Hang on. When you get back I'll be gone, I'm meeting your mother for a personal meeting we have to attend together. But I've got a list of things I need you to do while I'm out, okay?"
Antonio turns his head curiously. "Okay, dad." He looks down at his watch again. "Sorry dad, gotta go!" Antonio waves to his dad as he runs for the elevator.
"The list is on the desk in the Terrace. Don't forget it!" Tony calls after him.
"I won't!"
McCalister's Café, Midtown. 10:01 am.
Another unnecessarily long ride through New York City's morning rush lands Antonio in front of a small café known as McCalister's. A small, brick building squished in between two much taller buildings. With large, glass windows decorated with the restaurant's green and yellow logo and matching striped awnings, the little shop doesn't exactly blend into the big city scene. Antonio believes that's why he and his best friend like it so much.
The young Stark pushes through the single glass door and the familiar sound of a bell rings overhead.
"Hello, Mr. Stark!" chimes a young man behind the ordering counter on the back wall. Antonio smiles at the cashier and takes in the scent of the fresh baked bread and cookies that sit behind the glass cases. He navigates through the tight café filled with high-top tables and chairs scattered around the middle of the room.
"Morning Caleb," Antonio says. "Is Kassidy here yet?" He looks around at the handful of people enjoying their meals, none of which are Kassidy. He thought she might be in the bathroom, but from the look on Caleb's pale face, he's probably wrong.
"I'm sorry," the red-headed young man begins. "Ms. Barton isn't here yet. But, your booth is ready." Caleb, with curly, red hair and a toothpick for a body, motions towards one of the empty cloth and leather booths that line the side walls. Antonio nods and slides into the bench that faces the door, knowing eventually he'll have to move for his friend. She has this thing about watching doors. Antonio thinks she's paranoid, but he understands why. As he waits for his friend, he thinks about how little he's seen of her since he came home from college five months ago. Always busy with either work or training, Antonio has found it increasingly hard to pin down Kassidy Barton for a simple lunch date.
The young Stark remembers the first day he met the Hawk and Mockingbird's daughter. It was early August 2025. Antonio, only six at the time, took a trip with his parents and sister to California. It was one of their quarterly trips to the West Coast branch of Stark Solutions where they checked up on how things were progressing without the Starks being present full time. But this particular trip happened to have had a detour planned. Tony and Pepper promised their kids many times that they would introduce them to two of their Avenger friends and their daughter, but their timing never seemed to be right. Once, Maria came down with the flu and had to spend the whole trip in the vacation home on bed rest. Another time, Antonio had an Asthma attack and was rushed to the hospital, and so on. But this time, there were no unforeseen circumstances. Even so, young Antonio was nervous about finally meeting his parents' friends, but his nerves were overthrown by the excitement of meeting more of his heroes.
The family of four was invited to the Barton's apartment on a stifling hot Saturday afternoon for a day to visit and introduce their kids. Awkward, little Antonio kept trying to think of ways to introduce himself while his big sister simply told him to act "natural." Antonio remembers thinking what a beautiful name Kassidy was on the car ride over. Upon their arrival, it took the kids all of four minutes to realize Kassidy wasn't exactly a social butterfly. Antonio and Maria tried several times to coax the golden blonde from the safety of hiding behind her father's leg, but she simply shook her curly hair and ran to her room. Bobbie told the Starks she'd talk to her, and eventually was able to persuade Kassidy to come out and speak, if only for a few minutes.
Antonio spoke to her with kindness and even got a giggle out of her once or twice. By the end of the night, neither wanted the other to leave. The two become good friends by the end of the Starks' trip. But unfortunately, the trip had to end, and the Starks flew home. Luckily for them, it certainly wasn't their last encounter.
A couple of months later, the Barton's moved back to New York City, leaving everything young Kassidy had known for the past six years behind. Clint and Bobbie weren't as badly affected by the move as Kassidy was. The uprooted child was forced to adapt to a new environment, a new home, a new school and a new way of living. But, unlike most kids forced to move, she had a friend waiting for her.
Now twenty-three, Kassidy has grown into a wonderful person. Strong, resilient and beautiful from head to toe, Kassidy resembles nothing of the bashful little girl she once was. Simply thinking of her makes Antonio smile. She looks like her mother but her sense of humor screams Clint. The way her golden blonde hair falls in soft waves and the sparkle her aquamarine eyes hold always puts Antonio at ease. A laugh from her can make even his darkest of days brighter. Not only is she a professional Archer, but she's also a gymnast with skills worthy of Cirque Du Soleil in Antonio's opinion. But then again, the young man's opinion of her is slightly influenced by the fact that the poor soul has been hopelessly in love with her since his teen years.
Antonio looks down at his watch, then shifts his eyes to the door. He's been waiting for fifteen minutes. And here he thought it was his day to run late. Antonio pulls a thin, white case no longer than his pinky out of his pants pocket. He presses a diamond shaped button in the center, and it separates, stretching into a holographic screen. The screen lights up, showing his calls, texts, and apps. The latest in Stark Tech holo-phones, it is 2042 after all.
Antonio fingers through to his messages only to find nothing from her. He's beginning to worry until an alert pops on screen, interrupting his futile search. She's calling him. Relief and disappointment alter his mood and he answers the phone.
"Hey, Kassy," he says, mustering a chipper greeting to the best of his ability. The fact that she's calling means there's a good chance she's not coming.
"Hey Antonio, I would've called earlier but I've had back to back classes this morning. You know how crazy Saturdays get down here," Kassidy says with a sheepish chuckle. The girl tries to explain that her job as an Archery instructor at Midtown Recreational Center about ten blocks down will consume the rest of her day and she regrets that she'll miss lunch.
Antonio exhales deeply. This is their fourth lunch she's canceled on within the last two weeks. "I understand. Well, maybe we could do dinner? I could grab some Thai and we could hang out at the Terrace?" His suggestion is met with a long pause. He hoped if he mentioned the Stark Tower lounge dubbed "the Terrace," it might win her over. The two used to spend a lot of time together there, talking and having fun.
But the sound of her sighing on the other end of the call tells him otherwise. Uh-oh, Antonio thinks. Here comes the "maybe next time," line I've been hearing so much of lately.
"Maybe another time?"
Antonio rolls his electric eyes and purses his lips. "Sure, next time," he answers shortly. He wants Kassidy to know he's upset with her.
"I'm really sorry, Antonio. Listen, I'll talk to you later. I love you," she says, waiting for a reply. Antonio drops his head. He was hoping she wouldn't say something like that.
The young Stark forces himself to answer. "Love you too." The two say goodbye, and Antonio slides out of the booth. He walks up to the counter and orders a sandwich and comfort cookie to go.
The Terrace, Stark Tower, Midtown. 10:54 am.
Now back at Stark Tower, Antonio finds himself laid out on the blue, suede futon that is situated in the conversation area of the Terrace. Taking up the entirety of the ninety-third floor, the hangout was created for Maria and Antonio as kids. It was originally designed to be a family room for the times when Tony and Pepper had to work late, but it soon became their kids' favorite place to bring their friends. Chicly decorated in natural colors and equipped with a full kitchen, the room also has a small desk area in front of the outer wall of windows. But they don't call it the Terrace for nothing.
Two glass doors open out to a concrete terrace that juts from the front of the building. Deep enough to have a small table and two chairs outside, the view from the balcony is breathtaking and the busy streets of Manhattan can be seen from every angle. Antonio would already be sitting out feeling the wind whip around the ninety-three story building if he wasn't so busy moping on the couch.
The young man is stretched out on his back with his arms and legs hanging off the ends. A crumpled silver wrapper from his sandwich is perched atop his chest and with each breath he draws, the paper moves closer to falling onto the floor. Antonio can feel his eyes grow heavy from lack of sleep, sadness, and a full belly. He's about to fall asleep entirely when a random thought strikes him. Antonio suddenly feels as if there's something he was supposed to remember. Something important in the desk area.
He pulls himself from the edge of sleep and leans forward off of his back. Antonio picks up the sandwich wrapper and sets in on the coffee table with his messenger bag before it falls on the floor. He peers over the couch's back and moves his eyes towards the small, metal desk that sits in front of a wall of windows. He thinks for a moment and notices a single sheet of paper laid out.
"The list," Antonio realizes. He sighs hard and flops backward onto the couch. On the desk more than likely sits one of his father's oh-so-hilarious "Sonny-Do" lists, filled with menial tasks to keep his son busy. The young Stark checks his watch. If he gets started now he might be done by the time Tony gets back from his personal meeting, whatever that meant.
Antonio begrudgingly rises from the comfort of the suede couch and strolls over to the desk. "Let's see what we have here." With the page in hand, he mentally reads off each task.
1. Check with the Electrical Engineering Department on the progress of the current project: Smart Engine.
He grabs a pen and to the eighty-ninth floor, he goes.
A short ride down and the elevator spits him out on the designated floor for the Electrical Engineering Department, Antonio's personal favorite. While Antonio attended MIT, hanging out with his fellow engineers in their work lab were some of his most fond memories of college, and being around the engineers here makes him feel at home. Entering into a long, stark white hallway, Antonio walks past many open lab doors and windows that reveal the work being done. Busy men and women walk up, down and across the hall as Antonio peeks in at the many projects being built and tested.
He walks by one window in particular and stops to look in. Weighing down a table is a large hunk of metal. It doesn't look like anything at the moment, but as Antonio takes a closer look he recognizes it as a scrapped robotic arm, about to be taken apart and repurposed. The young man sighs wistfully and wonders what it will be turned into. He wishes he could stay and watch, but he's on the hunt to find the head of the department, Mr. Wallaby. An older and quite eccentric gentleman, Mr. Wallaby is known for his unorthodox proceedings, but mostly his development success rate. And his beard.
Antonio remembers when he first met the man and that his gray-streaked, smoky-brown beard was down past his chest. He remembers thinking a beard like that wouldn't be hard to find in a crowd. Luckily for Antonio, he's still not hard to find. Towards the end of the hall, towers six-foot-three Mr. Nathaniel Wallaby and his beard, now mid-stomach and mostly gray. Antonio spots him and waves, but Mr. Wallaby is unaware of his presence. The young Stark walks closer and realizes he's talking to another engineer. Antonio stops just behind him and waits, ready to check off this department on the list in his hands.
"I'll get right on that, sir," says the young girl Mr. Wallaby is speaking to. She walks away and the older man is still ignorant to Antonio standing behind him. Antonio clears his throat in hopes of getting his attention, and he finally turns around.
"Hello there, what can I do for you…" he pauses, searching the young man's face for a name to match it.
"Antonio. Antonio Stark," he offers. Mr. Wallaby's large brown eyes light up and he bears a toothy grin.
"Antonio Stark! My how you've grown!" beams Mr. Wallaby. He grabs hold of Antonio's free hand and shakes it ferociously. "What can I do for you, son?"
Antonio waits for his arm to stop jiggling before he answers. "Dad's got me on an errand run. He wanted me to check in with each department to see how your projects are progressing, but from the looks of it, everything seems to be going pretty well."
"Oh yes," Mr. Wallaby says. His grin doesn't falter for a minute as he takes Antonio on a quick tour, showing him a few things to report to his father on.
The elder man shows Antonio the latest and greatest Engineering has to offer, from self-repairing vehicles to robotics that can build forty story skyscrapers without a human present. The black-haired young man actually starts to geek out a little bit as hundreds of questions fill his head, but despite his excitement, he has to refocus himself.
"Mr. Wallaby," Antonio stops. "All of this is incredible, really, but dad wanted me to ask about a particular project called Smart Engine."
The grin Mr. Wallaby has held since Antonio introduced himself begins to fade at the mention of the project. "Well, son…that one's been a little difficult."
"Dad just wants to know how it's going," Antonio says gently. He offers a kind smile and the old fellow's expression changes.
"Of course. The Smart Engine is coming along nicely, but we've hit a few roadblocks with the energy regulators. Trying to convert your average car engine into one that processes Arc energy instead of gasoline is a tad trickier than it may seem," Mr. Wallaby explains. "We haven't been able to design a small enough regulator that can handle that much energy in a constant high-pressure atmosphere."
"Well," Antonio starts as he scratches his goatee. "Maybe if you stop thinking so much about limiting the size of the regulators in the engine and more on the overall size of the engine, I think it might help. Because if you can't cut down the size without the risk of losing power regulation, then you need to cut the size on something else. You know, change in perspective and all."
Mr. Wallaby gives Antonio's suggestion a moment's thought, then breaks into a large smile. "Of course! Why didn't I think of that!" Mr. Wallaby shakes Antonio's hand again, this time making his shoulder feel dislocated. "Thank you."
"No problem. Anything to help my E.E. bros out," Antonio says with a wink. Mr. Wallaby walks Antonio to the elevator as the young man checks off task number one. One down, seven more to go, Antonio thinks.
Upon reaching the elevator, Mr. Wallaby thanks him once again. "Have you ever considered working down here? You'd make a fine addition to the Electrical Engineering staff," he offers.
"I'd probably enjoy it, but I've got somewhere else I'm shooting for," Antonio says, pointing up.
"Ah, management, huh?" Mr. Wallaby smirks and shakes his head. "Well, good luck with that, young one. Although, if you ever want to tinker around in here, I'm not stopping you." The elevator dings and the doors slide open. The two engineers nod respectfully to each other and Antonio steps into the lift.
Next on the list. 2. Repeat task one with every other department. Simple enough.
And so, Antonio makes his way down the rest of the eighty-eight floors still unchecked. The next seven hours pass by slowly as the sun makes its way across the sky. Antonio checks his watch every now and then to see how far he's gotten over the day. And the answer is, not very far. Tech and Programming talked his ear off for at least thirty minutes, while Medical Tech shoved him out the door, saying "They couldn't be bothered at the time." The Internet Security Monitoring department had plenty to say about the importance of their jobs while the Utility Tech group had little to say about their development of the Arc Power processing unit, which would supply the entire city of New York with free, clean energy. That is if they could get it to not short circuit every time someone plugs in a phone charger.
The day seems to drag out into the night hours, when finally, Antonio makes it to the bottom of the list.
7. Make sure the security codes for the Vault have been changed.
Antonio scratches his head. The Vault? The mysterious Vault that holds all of his father's secret inventions he never talks about or mentions. That Vault? It had to be a mistake. Neither Tony nor Pepper has ever fully explained what the Vault is or what it holds, but when you grow up at Stark Tower, you hear some colorful rumors. When Antonio was thirteen, one of the guards told him that the Vault used to be where Tony kept his Armory when he was Iron Man. Another told him when he was fifteen that the Vault held all the artifacts the Avengers found over the years because they didn't trust them with S.H.I.E.L.D.
Antonio's curiosity peaks as he might just get the chance to find out the truth.
Antonio rides the elevator down to the small wing of the Tower that shares the parking level in the basement. Eerily lit, and darkly decorated, the B-Wing doesn't look like it's been used in years. Either that or the cleaning lady is on strike. The long hall that leads from the elevator doors takes Antonio down a series of short hallways that turn every few steps, when finally, he sees light coming from a large room at the end of the hall. He approaches to find a whole room filled with security monitors and a large, joint desk with several people typing away on keyboards, all staring at holographic screens that flicker as fast as they type. Antonio takes in the hundreds of screens and looks over the angles, recognizing where each one is. The young man can't help but let out an impressed "wow."
Suddenly all the security team's eyes are on him, and he smiles at them awkwardly. "Hi, guys, Antonio Stark here." The rest of the guards go back to what they were doing, but one guard seems to materialize in front of Antonio. He jumps a little and is scared to look the man in the eyes. Fortunately for Antonio, the practically seven-foot guard is wearing sunglasses. In a dimly lit room, at night…makes sense.
"I'm here on behalf of my dad. He wanted me to check in and make sure the security codes for the Vault were changed."
The man standing in front of Antonio curls his lip. The beefy looking fellow has a serious five o'clock shadow and looks as if he's gotten as much sleep as Antonio has lately. His navy blazer that barely fits around his muscular arms has his name stitched into the front, with the Stark Solutions logo right above it. His name is Butch. How fitting.
"I'm gonna need to see some I.D.," he says. His deep, gravelly voice compels Antonio to pull his I.D. badge out of his pocket and show him. The I.D. badge he never wears because everyone knows him, everyone but Butch it seems.
"That's Stark's kid, Butch. Give him a break," says one of the guards sitting down at the monitor.
"Just needed to be sure. I'll be sure to get those codes changed immediately," he says, prompting Antonio to leave.
"Great. Great…" The young man stands awkwardly for a moment, obviously not noticing his cue.
"You can go now, kid."
"Right! Sorry."
Antonio steps out the door and walks away from the security room, only to duck into another room. He waits for Butch to leave for the Vault, as he's planning on following him. The large security guard walks out of the monitoring room with a small box that resembles an automatic code generator in hand. Antonio sneaks down the hall behind Butch, making sure to hide just out of view.
Butch walks down a series of hallways much longer than the others, taking the two of them deeper into the B-wing. The farther they go, the darker it seems to get as Butch finally leads Antonio to a huge metal doorway with a small terminal inset in the wall to the left. The Vault seems to be hidden behind a large, garage type door. The blue-eyed Stark slips into an old supply closet and watches Butch closely as he presses his thumb against the screen on the keypad. The keypad dings and the guard plugs in the auto coder, standing back to let it recode the lock.
Antonio eyes the man, noting his every move. Butch sighs heavily as he waits for the coder to finish, then snatches the little box away from the keypad after it signals it's finished. The beefy guard shoves the coder in his inner jacket pocket, and makes his way back to the monitoring room, walking right past Antonio. He considers turning back and forgetting about this entirely. He knows that there has to be a reason he hasn't been told about this, right? But he's so close to finding out for himself what the Vault really is. The young man heaves a sigh and decides to move closer and solve this mystery.
"Now, let's see what kind of trouble I can get into," he says. He whips out his holo-phone and pulls up one of his most used apps, programmed by the young genius himself. He immediately begins the electronic syncing process, and within a few minutes, not only has the fingerprint recognition pre-lock on the terminal been bypassed, but the security cameras surrounding the Vault have been put on a continuous playback loop. Antonio is practically invisible at the moment.
"Here we go."
Antonio's thumbs tap away as he works his way into figuring out the new code. He hopes there isn't a backup security system that recognizes when someone is breaking in. If so, he's probably going to get into way more trouble than he originally estimated.
Pym Corp. Headquarters, Lower Manhattan. 7:52 pm.
"So, it's settled then? You're really willing to do this for us?" Janet Pym asks Tony and Pepper Stark.
The two, along with Janet and her daughter Helen, sit in the main office of the Pym Corp complex. Janet sits behind her large CEO desk and while Tony and his wife are seated across from her. But Helen stands on the other side of the room, silent with her arms crossed. The tall and lanky twenty-two-year-old stands beside a large window that overlooks the entire Pym complex of three, modern built buildings. Her distracted stormy-gray eyes follow the few people that stroll along the concrete walkways that intersect and connect each building. The two former Avengers know she doesn't want to be having this conversation, but they all know the current situation deems it necessary.
"Helen?" Pepper calls. "You've been awfully quiet. We want your input too, you know. This is up to you and your mother."
Helen sighs and comes to stand by her mother, propping her arm on the back of her chair. "Personally, I don't think this venture can fail financially, but I just don't know how our employees will take the merge. You will have space for our development team, right Mr. Stark?"
"Of course," Tony nods. "The point of this idea is to have two companies combine their efforts for a common cause, a cause I thought both of you would want light brought to."
"Of course we want Mental Health issues addressed, but do the two of you honestly believe the investors will be willing to back this idea?" Jan asks, concern evident in her tone.
The Stark's notice how the small woman's bright blue eyes have darkened from the circles hiding underneath them. And the sleekness of her deep auburn hair has dulled. Janet has never looked as tired as she has the past few months. Even in her and Hank's toughest of times, she didn't show it physically, but the pressure of her company's financial state has her worried. But not just her, Pepper and Tony can both tell she's struggling to keep it together. And having her daughter here has lifted a lot of weight off of her frail shoulders, but she can only help so much. Helen has recently become an important part of Pym Corp, and Janet knows she couldn't have taken over her ill husband's company without one of her two daughters by her side.
"Jan, we've run statistics for weeks now. We're sure that not only will our current investors support this, but we also think that this could attract new investors for you." Tony's encouraging words are met with a relieved smile from Janet. "Trust me on this, this will do wonders for your company."
"Well," Jan starts. She looks up to skeptical Helen who has her arms across her chest again. "I need your consent."
Her firm expression softens as she looks at her tired, broken mother. "Mom, whatever you decide will be my decision too," Helen says.
"Okay then. We'll take a couple of days to get in contact with our investor and see what he thinks."
Tony, Pepper, and Janet stand to say goodbye. Jan walks around her desk and wraps her arms around both of their necks, squeezing them tightly. "Thank you both so much."
"Anytime, Jan," Pepper kindly replies. Tony nods to Helen and she respectfully returns it. The couple turns and heads for the door out of Jan's office. Pepper and Tony are on their way to their car when Tony's smart watch brightens with an alert. He cocks his head curiously and checks it.
"What is it?" Pepper asks.
"I don't believe it…someone is trying to break into the Vault!" Tony says, now running to get to the car.
"The Vault? I thought security guards monitor it constantly? Who else would have access?" Pepper asks. She picks up her pace to catch up with her husband.
"No one," Tony calls back. "Except…"
"Except what?"
They push through the front doors of the building and reach the car outside, but Tony pauses before getting in. The two stare at each other over the car. He thinks for a moment and finally a horrible thought occurs to him. "I told Antonio to make sure the codes were changed."
"Tony! You don't think he'd do that?"
"I don't know! He's your kid," Tony snaps.
"He's your kid too, Anthony Stark," Pepper snaps back as they hop in the car.
B-Wing, Stark Tower, New York. 8:06 pm.
"Woah," Antonio breathes. The Vault has been opened and the young man now stands in the wide doorway, amazed at all of the inventions littering the seemingly expanding room. The dark is illuminated when he flips on a light switch, and everything can now be seen. So many hunks of inventions that never got past the prototype stage, and so many that are half built, like his dad just gave up on them. And truth be told, he probably did give up on most of this.
Mountains of dust-covered wooden crates are stacked and spread across the vast room, each one labeled with what they contain. Antonio runs his fingers over some of the labels, wiping the dust away to read each one. Hand-held subatomic particle stimulator? Compact Nuclear grenades? Pieces of the Mark I?
"What the heck is this stuff?" Antonio asks aloud. The more stapled in labels he reads, the more he wishes he'd never ventured in here. The young Stark is stunned to find nothing but weapons. That's all that's down here. Weapons and projects his father promised he got rid of. Is this really what his parents have been hiding from him all his life? A room full of inventions he's lied to the world about having?
"I can't believe dad hid this from me...from everyone." Antonio searches through the rest of the room, hoping for some invention that doesn't reek of mass destruction. As the search becomes less promising, he comes across something he wasn't aware was in the Vault. Closed up in a clear tube-like container next to something called a trans-dimensional portal projector is the Mark 95 armor—in perfect shape, if but a bit dusty. The last set of armor Tony ever made before he retired, and one of the many sets he supposedly dismantled.
Antonio stares at the suit through the glass, taking in every inch of the beautiful piece of engineering genius before him. The sleek lines, the red and gold colors, and each part is intricately woven together. If he wasn't so upset, he'd be drooling. The longer the Stark stares, the more he feels the need to leave the Vault, Armory—whatever Tony wants to call this place—and never come back. If he leaves now and locks it back up, no one would know he was here, and he could pretend he never saw any of these…these things.
Antonio runs for the door, and with a few taps on the terminal, the metal doors slam together. As soon as he's a safe distance from the Vault, he shuts off the security camera playback and sneaks by the guards' room. He weaves down the series of short hallways until he comes to the elevator. Antonio runs his fingers through his black hair, making it look frazzled while he rides up to the Terrace.
"I'll just act like I did exactly what he asked me too," Antonio tells himself. He comes up with his strategies, thinking he has plenty of time before his parents get back to pull himself together. But when the doors open to the ninety-third floor, he realizes he doesn't have any time at all.
"Mom, Dad, hey. Didn't know you guys were back." Antonio steps off the elevator, straightening his red shirt and striped tie. Pepper and Tony stand from the couch when they see him, both with angry expressions. "What's up?"
"You tell me," Tony says. Antonio nervously eyes his dad tap on his watch's screen, and suddenly a holographic projection lights up the room. Tony is showing his son the alert that was sent when he hacked the Vault. "You wanna explain?"
Antonio stares blankly at the hologram. He darts his electric eyes between his parents with his mouth agape. "I—I, um." Antonio's breathing picks up as he searches for some defense for his actions.
"Well...would you like to explain to me why the Vault is full of weapons and armor you told everyone you dismantled?" Antonio questions. The color drains from his parents' faces and they glance at each other.
"You got in?" Pepper says, almost shocked.
"Yes mom, I got in. And I saw everything." Antonio waits for his parents to give some explanation as to why they've lied to him about the Vault for so long, but I guess having a secret basement full of dangerous weapons isn't something you tell your kids about.
"Antonio, you don't understand," Tony starts.
"You're right, I don't! Explain it to me, dad, just what is a subatomic particle stimulator, or a biological disruptor. Actually, that second one sounds kinda self-explanatory to me."
"Antonio, would you let me explain?" Tony tries, but Antonio refuses to stop.
"Explain what? When were you going to warn me not to stomp around so hard because I might activate the Nuclear grenades sitting down there?"
"You didn't touch those did you?" Tony yells.
"No dad, I left all of your tools of destruction alone."
"Anthony Edward and Antonio Howard Stark!" Pepper stomps. The two Starks look at her, both almost scared to hear what she might say next.
"Tony, I think it's time you tell him what the Vault is for. Antonio, I expect you to sit quietly and listen. Now both of you sit down and stop acting like children." The redhead points towards the blue couch, her green eyes lit with anger.
Tony sits down on the couch as directed and Antonio sits in one of the chairs across from him. Pepper takes her place beside her husband and elbows him to start talking. Tony flinches and sighs heavily.
"Your mother and I haven't told you or Maria about the Vault because we didn't think it was important. I know you've been curious about it ever since you were little, I just didn't know you were this curious."
Antonio shrinks in his chair as his father speaks. "The Vault used to be a room on its own, but eventually was combined with my armory after I retired. And yes, it is full of dangerous weapons that I designed. But the me that designed them is the same one who got himself kidnapped and almost killed many years ago. I was different back then, Antonio," Tony says. His voice carries a notable tone of regret, but he continues speaking.
"That Tony Stark only ever cared about the money. I was making and designing weapons for the military, and I didn't care what they were going to be used for. I didn't care what I was allowing my company to turn into. But after my experience, after this," he taps on the Arc in his chest. "As soon as I got home I stopped making weapons. And a lot of those inventions I was in the middle of developing had to be put somewhere. I couldn't risk someone finishing my work for me, so I had the Vault built to hide everything."
Antonio takes his dad's words in, considering everything thoroughly. "But what about the armor?"
Tony looks to Pepper for backup. "After Tony retired from being Iron Man, the armory sort of became part of the Vault. A lot of the armor was dismantled, but your father and I agreed that even though he was stepping down from his role, it would be best for everyone if he kept one suit of armor intact. Just in case he's ever needed again," Pepper says.
"The Vault is full of weapons for a reason. I created them, so it's my responsibility to keep them safe," Tony finishes. The guilt overwhelming Antonio makes him shift uncomfortably in his chair.
"I would've told you, but it's sensitive information that I wasn't sure you were ready for, which is why I'm upset with you."
"Dad—" Antonio tries to speak. His voice cracks and words pile up in his throat as he wants to ask for forgiveness, but doesn't know how. "I didn't know, I just...I'm sorry I broke in."
"Breaking into the Vault doesn't bother me, bravo on that actually. Extremely impressed by that," Tony smirks. "What bothers me is that you didn't trust Pepper and I enough to wait for us to tell you the truth about it."
"When were you going to tell me?" Antonio wonders aloud.
"When you eventually inherit the company," Pepper says.
"Really guys? That could be decades from now!" Antonio exclaims.
Tony and Pepper chuckle knowingly at their son's expression. "Oh well, guess someone got a jump start on learning about the Tower," Tony remarks. "By the way, did you even get the list finished?"
"Yeah dad, here." Antonio pulls out his "Sonny-Do" list from his pants pocket and hands it over. "I wrote notes next to each department. Some were more helpful than others."
Tony scans the page, mentally noting everything his son wrote down. "Looks like you got everything covered then." Tony smiles at his son and notices that Janet wasn't the only one looking tired. The elder Stark looks down at his watch and sees it's still relatively early. But he can tell by his son's appearance that Antonio needs rest. "Antonio, since you finished the list and we've cleared things up, how about you go on home?"
"Yeah sweetie, you look tired," Pepper adds. The three stand and Antonio agrees.
"You know what, I think I will go home," he yawns. The young man stretches his arms overhead and hugs his parents before he departs for the elevator. I know I've had enough of today, Antonio thinks with a sigh.
"Night," Pepper says. Antonio leans down to kiss her cheek and hugs his dad.
Antonio picks up his messenger bag he left on the coffee table and is almost in the elevator when he thinks of something he wanted to ask. "Hey guys, what was the personal meeting you two went to earlier?"
Pepper and Tony quickly glance at each other. "Just visiting a friend," Tony vaguely replies. "Don't worry about it." He winks at his son, and Antonio gets the message.
I guess he'll tell me when he thinks I'm ready, Antonio thinks. The young Stark rides down to the parking garage, and once in his vehicle, locks his doors. He rests for a moment, then pulls something else out of his pants pocket. A folded up piece of blue paper. Blueprint paper.
Antonio breathes out, knowing he shouldn't have snatched these plans from the Vault, but it's exactly what he needs to finish his own suit of armor. He carefully unfolds the page out to full size, revealing the plans written on it. There, in blue and white, are the specifications for the suit his father never built—the Mark 96 armor. And the missing piece to the puzzle of Antonio's armor.
"Sorry dad," Antonio says quietly. "But I'll tell you when you're ready."
A/N: Tell my what you think about Antonio by dropping a review! It doesn't have to be long or have a bunch of exclamation marks if you don't want it to (I love exclamation marks by the way!) I just want an honest opinion :) Thank you for making it this far, and I hope you stick around...the next chapter takes us to see what Doctor Banner has been up to the past twenty-plus years.
Hey I just posted this...and this is crazy... but since you've read it...review it maybe?