Author's Note: Happy New Year. To start off this hope-fully good year, I've taken the liberty of uploading the first chapter of this as well as some other Marvel/Disney Channel shows. I hope I did it well.
For this fanfic, I have included a young Tony Stark. More Iron Man characters will appear soon and I hope I do well here.
Any and all comments are welcome.
Stark Industries, the most advanced technology company in San Fransokyo. Maybe the entire country. It was found by the genius, Howard Stark, who continued to lead the city to a bright tomorrow. Aside from being a tech mogul, he was also a proud backer of the San Fransokyo Institute for Science. As such, it was his duty to judge over the annual student showcase.
This year was different. Howard Stark decided to arrive at the showcase with his son, a teenage prodigy named Tony. As soon as they arrived, Howard walked out of the car leaning on his cane. Tony followed in his red T-shirt and blue pants.
"So this is the place where I'm going to be at?" Tony asked. "Dad, you know I'm like ten times smarter than the rest of these eggheads, right?"
"Don't be so arrogant, Tony." Howard said as he lead his son to the front door. "Some of these kids might surprise you." He opened the door several different exhibits of young adults and their science experiments. Tony looked around examining each project that he passed by.
"Not bad," Tony said, "But I still think that my project's gonna blow them away."
"This is a showcase, Tony. Not a competition." Howard said.
"You're right. Let's think it, but not treat it as one." Tony smirked.
Howard sighed as they approached Tony's platform. While Tony set up his stuff, his father continued to talk.
"You really should consider the talents of others. Stark Industries wasn't just made by me, you know. Obadiah Stane handles the finances, Happy Hogan runs security… Heck, you should have met the original Jarvis. I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for that great man."
"Who I based my latest AI on." Tony said. "And… we're done."
"Glad to hear it." Said a voice approaching. It was a middle-aged man with a suit and sweater vest on. His nametag read "Robert Callaghan". He shook hands with Howard.
"Robert. How's it going?"
"Hanging in there, Howard. I see your son wishes to be a part of the SFIT team."
"Well, this was actually my dad's idea." Tony said. "He actually wants me to go to school and 'socialize', whatever that means."
Robert chuckled. "You know, Tony. You remind me of a lot of my students. Young. Brash. Then, they start to have their time here. So let's start. What is it that you have to show?"
"Right." Tony said as he stepped aside. He revealed a circular, mechanical device with a powerful glow at the center. "You're familiar with Stark Industries' arc reactor, right?"
"Of course. A clean, efficient power source strong enough to power an entire tower." Professor Callaghan said.
"Well, I have successfully compacted it." Tony said as he held the device in his hand. "What used to be the size of a house can now fit in your pocket, and it can power virtually anything. This is revolutionary technology at its finest."
"Is that so?" Callaghan asked as he approached the device. "How did you manage to make it that small?"
"I'd be more than happy to explain it all at a later date. You know, without a lot of ears that could be listening."
Callaghan sighed. "You're right. I couldn't help but notice Alestair Krei attending the showcase."
"He's here?" Howard asked. "That man couldn't tell an energy core from a lava lamp."
"Well, either way, I'm giving young Tony a full recommendation." Callaghan said. "You can revolutionize the city with very surprising resources here, kid."
"Whatever you say, Sweater Vest." Tony said.
Just then, the lights began to dim as a young, teenage boy stood at the main stage. This kid wore a metal headband with everyone staring.
"Who's the kid, and does his parents know that he's here?" Tony asked.
"That's Hiro Hamada." Callaghan said. "His brother, Tadashi, is our top robotics student, and it looks like the kid's ready to present his project."
"Uh, hi." Hiro said anxiously. "My name is Hiro Hamada… and I've been working on something that I think is pretty cool. This is a microbot."
Hiro held up a small, black device that was even smaller than a fingernail. He took a moment to catch his breath before continuing.
"It may not look like much, but when it links up with the rest of its pals, things get a little more interesting."
Suddenly, an entire swarm of identical devices crawled across the stage floor climbing on top of each other. Hiro released the one in his hand and pointed at his metal headband. "The microbots are controlled with this neural transmitter. I think what I want them to do, and they do it. The applications for this tech are limitless. Construction. What used to take teams of people working can now be accomplished by one person." Just as Hiro promised, the microbots were able to craft a perfect model of a skyscraper tower. "And that's just the beginning. How about transportation?" He walked off the stage, and the microbots caught him and helped him walk across the air and even onto the ceiling. "Microbots can move anything anywhere with ease. If you can think it, the microbots will do it. The only limit is your imagination." He landed back onto the stage while his microbots finished their presentation by creating a giant microbot made of a thousand. "Microbots!"
The crowd cheered and applauded once Hiro had finished his presentation. During the ovation, Howard turned to his son catching a smile from him.
"Looks like someone's impressed."
"Who? Me?" Tony asked. "No. I'm just a little surprised that there's actually something smaller than that guy."
Howard sighed with a smile. "You are incorrigible, Tony."
After the showcase, Tony and Howard decided to take the time to admire their arc reactor at its pedestal. The theater was mostly empty.
"You know, maybe going to school here isn't the worst idea in the world." Tony admitted.
"That's the spirit, Tony." Howard said. "Just a couple of years, and you'll be ready to make San Fransokyo greater. If your future ideas are anything like this arc reactor, then you're going to be just fine."
Tony shrugged. "I guess." That's when he noticed a cardboard box full of scrap metal. "Oh, I forgot I had this."
"What is that?" Howard asked.
"Just some spare parts I thought I could use in my arc reactor project." Tony said. "I mean, there's enough parts here for a makeshift one, but it's pretty much redundant at this point."
"First rule of building the future, Tony. Nothing is redundant. Everything is useful. You just need to find out where to put the part."
This moment was interrupted by a crashing sound heard from afar. Both Stark's turned to the open door at the far end of the gym.
"What was that?" Howard asked.
"I don't know." Tony said as he went to follow the sound. Howard followed.
Once the two of them made it to the open door, they took a few steps inside. They looked around at the empty locker room they found themselves in, but there was no one around.
"What's going on?" Tony asked.
Suddenly, a warm feeling blew at the Stark's backs. They turned to find the entire showcase area beginning to burn fire at a rapid rate. The flames covered the entire room making smoke that caused Howard to cough violently.
"Dad, are you okay?" Tony asked dropping his box of scraps to care for his dad.
"It's okay, son." Howard said. "Just… GET DOWN!"
Suddenly, a canister full of gas hissed out right at an open fire. Howard jumped forward once the gas exploded. It was so strong, Tony was knocked out cold.
It only took a few minutes, but Tony managed to wake up. All around him were destroyed debris around him and his father right on top. He felt a very strong sting in his chest.
"Dad…" Tony said weakly, "Dad, I think something's wrong. I… I don't feel so well." There was no response coming from Howard's prone body. "Dad, please. Get up. Dad." He held his dad's head to get a look at it. He gasped weakly once he came across a horrifying conclusion. "No. No, Dad. Get up. Please, get up." He kept begging, but he knew it was in vain. His father was already gone.
With a lot of effort, Tony managed to remove his dad's body off of him. That's when he finally noticed his problem. He could see a shrapnel of metal sticking into his chest. He slowly gripped it and pulled it out, making him scream. But he could still feel the pain. He knew there was still a piece lodged in his heart. He felt the infection begin to spread, and that's when he remembered the box of spare parts right beside him. That's when he began to work.
It was a few hours before the rescue team managed to find the Stark's. If Tony didn't do what he did, he'd be dead already. But even in his weakened state, he managed to build himself a miniature arc reactor and pressed it into his own chest making it his new, artificial heart.
Tony may have survived the fire, but three lives were still lost. One was Tony's father, Howard Stark. Another was the head of robotics, Professor Robert Callaghan. The last was the top student of the robotics course, Tadashi Hamada. Three men were gone, and from the ashes, seven heroes would soon emerge in iron.