Strange Connection

by CptScarlett

When the wi-fi goes down at Kamar-Taj, it's up to Doctor Stephen Strange to solve the problem, so he calls on a tech genius he's tried to avoid. But who Tony Stark sends over to solve the problem is nothing like Stephen was expecting—and he continues to be surprised by Ariana Miller. (This story begins just after the timeline of the Doctor Strange movie and will continue through to

5. Chapter 5

"Hey Princess Plum, I was just checking in to see how things went yesterday with Mr. Wizard? Did you sort out their wifi issue?"

"Hello, Mr. Stark. Yes, I did, temporarily at least. The equipment is ancient though. If you're willing to approve the time, I was going to provide a recommendation to Stephen regarding upgrading the equipment at Kamar-Taj. I was thinking, we have old equipment in the warehouse that would still be light years ahead of what they have right now. It sounds like he's wanting to bring them into the 21st century and this would be the perfect opportunity to assist. Might be a good partnership between Stark Industries and the Masters of Mystic Arts."

"Yeah yeah, sure. But rewind a moment—did you call Mr. Wizard by Stephen?"

Arianna blushed and inwardly cringed that her big boss had chosen a video call to check in on her. "Sorry, sir. I should have referred to him as Doctor Strange."

"Oh no, no going back now. If you've gotten the Wizard to loosen up enough to let you use his first name, then by all means, stick around and help him out—professionally speaking, I mean," he said with a wink. "Because I surely wouldn't suggest that you cozy up to the magician or anything. No, that's not at all my style."

"Tony..." she slipped out of her normal use of his formal name and back into little sister mode.

"Sorry, yes. I authorize your time to upgrade their equipment, and use any of the old stuff in the warehouse you need. Consider it a charitable donation to the Mystic Arts. Can we get a tax deduction for that, I wonder? I'll have to check with Pepper on that one."

"Anything else, sir?"

Tony eyed her for a moment. "Stephen, huh?"

"Ye—yes, sir." she said slowly.

After a moment, he decided he was done. "Very well, off with you my IT minion. Enjoy your time impressing the magicians with your technical prowess. I'll let Barry know that you're off the grid for a few days. Check back in and let me know how long this project is going to take. And no exaggerating your estimates just so you can spend time with Stephen," he said the man's name in a sing song voice.

"Yes sir, I mean, no sir, of course not."

"Tony out." Stark said, then closed the video connection.