Standard Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel. I'm not making any money off this. I'm just having fun playing in their sandbox and hope you enjoy exploring my sandcastle.
Peggy and Tony, Age 3: Zoo
Your mouth overflows with thoughts, little prince.
Yet you're starting to learn that some thoughts are best kept mum.
Peggy's POV
As I drove up to the mansion I saw Anthony decorating the driveway with chalk drawings while his nanny lounged in a lawn chair, flipping through a magazine.
I got out of my car and crouched down by the tyke. "What are you drawing?"
"Aunt Peggy!" He put down the chalk, and unmindful of the blue chalk dust, grabbed my hand and started pulling me along as he pointed out his drawings. "I'm drawing the limos and cars that were at Mom and Dad's party last night. Nanny Meriam and I had to stay in my room for most of it and just watch from the window. She said my record for keeping fancy clothes clean is 28 minutes, so at 26 minutes she whisked me upstairs and let me get out of the penguin suit. It was boring anyway." He gave a big eyeroll. "Just people jabbering and drinking. But I got my picture taken with two famous people, but I don't remember their names. Mom kept going on about the clothes people were wearing. And yeah, it's great to have people give you that look like they're surprised you look so good, but talking about it? That's just boring."
I thought that Maria would likely be thrilled to know her child enjoyed the flash of a camera as much as she. There was so little about Tony's personality that matched his mother's. He continued jabbering, and I continued to listen.
"The cars were great though, so I'm re-creating them. But it's hard to get the dimensions right, but the meter stick is helping. Are you here to see Dad?"
"I'm here to see you."
"Really?!"
I nodded, "Really. But I must speak with at least one of your parents first."
"Good afternoon, Ms. Carter."
"Good afternoon, Mr. Jarvis. I need to speak with Maria or Howard."
"They're in the dining room."
I called out, "I'm kidnapping your kid."
"Are you now?" asked Howard.
"I fancy a trip to the zoo, and that sort of expedition simply demands the presence of a child. So I'm stealing Anthony for the afternoon."
"You want the nanny to tag-along?" Maria inquired.
"I think we can manage on our own for a few hours. I'll have him back well before bedtime."
"That soon?"
"Howard!" Was Maria's exasperated reply.
Tony and I explored all the animals then at 5:30, when rightfully we should have been getting dinner, I bought the two of us chocolate ice cream cones.
Of course Anthony loved it, but was still a bit concerned that he might get in trouble for having dessert before dinner.
"What am I supposed to tell them?"
"Mum's the word."
"Huh? Why would I tell them the word mom?"
"The British have two different versions of the word mum. One is mother. And the other is simply," I put a finger to my lips and went shhhh. "Omitting the facts is so much easier than telling lies. And much more likely to keep you out of trouble."
"Do you have things you keep mum about?"
"We all do, honey."
Tony's POV
"Big things or little things?"
Aunt Peggy's nose crinkled along with her tiny smile. "A bit of both. Now finish your ice cream. We must be getting you home."
As I ate I pondered what big thing she could be hiding. I'd already figured out that she did secret government stuff, like Dad. He had stuff he couldn't share too. But her little smile made me think that maybe her big stuff wasn't boring government work.
Howard (Anthony, Age 3): ARC
Little prince, touching a future
That is not yet yours.
Howard's POV
I could compute the tangential velocity of a 3.36 inch diameter crankshaft in a Ferrari traveling 68mph as quickly as the next genius. Well, that was a lie. I could do it much faster than them.
But the point was, whatever the science behind it, time travel had to require massive amounts of energy. It had taken massive amounts of energy to turn scrawny Steve Rogers into Captain America. Time travel must take more. Though my son was going to be the one to solve that little mystery of science, it's my duty to make as much progress towards it, in my time, as I can.
The world needs more energy options now, too. The oil embargos are making it difficult for people to fuel their cars. The hippies are writing songs and holding protest about the need for alternative energy sources. And there are so damn many of the long haired, flower wearing, pot smokers that it was becoming necessary to at least be perceived as supporting their side. Particularly since Stark Industries made the bulk of its income building tech to support the soldiers in Vietnam. The hippies really didn't care for that war and showed their displeasure by picketing outside the gates and doors of S.I. properties.
So Vanko and I designed the ARC reactor and Obadiah sold the idea to the board of directors and to the public at large. I fired Vanko after discovering that rather than being willing to just accept a decent paycheck and a good job, the man had broken his contract with S.I., divulging proprietary secrets and had been attempting to sell ARC technology independently. The ARC reactor had been massively expensive to create. If it was to be sold, it would be sold via Stark Industries so we could re-coup our expenses. Plus, it had the potential to be dangerous, especially since Vanko had been attempting to sell to the U.S.S.R.
Though the ARC reactor was the most advanced energy tech of its day, it wasn't feasible for everyday use. It had been expensive to build and utilized rare, and potentially dangerous elements. I knew the periodic table as well as others knew how to navigate between the bathroom and kitchen in their own home, which was more of a challenge for me considering the number of homes I owned and the size of them. I'd never admit it out loud, but I could easily get turned around and head in the wrong direction when seeking a snack.
But I knew the periodic table. I knew the links between the properties and the structure of the atom. And I knew that the element I needed didn't currently exist. Anything was possible with technology. But it wasn't magic. It took time, talent, effort, money and brains. I had the talent, effort, money and brains in spades. But it would take a lot of time for the technology needed to create new elements to be developed.
I'd helped create the fusion bomb that caused the war to cease on the Pacific Front back in '45. I flinched at the mental images of the people harmed by those bombs, and knowing I'd played a part in it. Then forced my brain to recall the daily newspaper images, from that long-ago decade, of coffins containing dead American soldiers, so much like those on the nightly news these days. It had been a necessary means to an end and I wasn't going to dwell on it.
So, I knew it was possible to fuse atoms together to make a different element, had made it possible. But creating a brand new element would require so much finesse and tech that I just didn't have in 1973.
So I designed a model on a scale so large and with such materials and beauty that no one would realize that it was a model of a yet to be created atom. I designed it right into the landscape and architecture of the future StarkExpo, a place where S.I. could show off all it was creating to help the Americans here at home. A way for us to earn back our reputation with the growing counter-culture and to show off the ARC reactor.
And most importantly, for me, a way to hide a message for my son, that brilliant child who was already exploring the inner workings of machines and figuring out how they worked.
Howard & Anthony, Age 3: Expo
Tony's POV
It was Nanny Meriam's date night. Mom and I had tagged along with Dad to S.I. because we were supposed to go out to dinner when Dad got done. There was nothing to do! I wasn't allowed in the labs without Dad. Mom was sitting at Dad's secretary's desk gabbing on the phone to one of her friends. Dad was being boring too, but more interesting than Mom's conversation.
I'd been sitting under the table that holds the big toy city, listening to Dad repeat the same lines over and over again.
I wished the toy city was on the floor. There was so much I could do with it! I could have my nanny hide something on it and then have my toys go on a rescue mission to find it. I could push my toy cars around on it. I could have a toy dinosaur stomp through it chasing civilians. That means non-army people. Dad's army friends use that word a lot when they're bitching about the protestors.
I'm not even supposed to hear that word. I know because Mom shushes Dad every time he lets it slip around me. That and the one that starts with S and the one that starts with F. Mom really freaks when he says that one. Dad's started saying them in other languages when Mom's around, which just means I know how to swear in several languages. Not that I'm dumb enough to actually say any of them. If Mom freaks about me hearing them she'd really blow her rocket if I said one of them.
Dad was repeating his words again, trying to get the video just right. There were so many buildings on the city. Maybe if I popped up quick enough and took one he wouldn't notice. Then I'd have something to play with while Mom and Dad talked and talked and talked about boring stuff.
Howard's POV
One day, Ant'ny would make that new element, use it to power an updated version of the ARC and would use that power to travel through time.
But right now he was a three-year-old who explored his world through touch and was currently re-arranging things on the model. While I was in the middle of filming. "Ant'ny, put that down! Put it back where you got it from. Where's your mother? Maria! Get him out of here." Rather than Maria, one of my assistance pulled the child out of the room.
Tony's POV
Oops. Got caught. Why is Dad allowed to have such a cool toy but I'm not allowed to play with it? One of Dad's employees carried me back to Mom. She kept on talking to her friend while pulling a pad of paper and pen out of the secretary's desk. She paused long enough to hand them over and whisper, "Draw something. And stay out of your father's office." Then she went back to her chatter.
Howard's POV
I recorded the promo for the Expo. Then, when alone, hit record again.
"Ant'ny, you are too young to understand this right now so I thought that I'd put it on film for you. I built this for you." I gestured at the model of the city of tomorrow, the model for the Stark Expo. The model of an atom I was sure could exist and whose properties could power the ARC reactor.
"And someday you'll realize that it represents a whole lot more than just people's inventions. It represents my life's work." Since the Great Depression I'd been trying to find ways to improve people's lives. That could only be done through technology. Technology required electricity. Electricity was expensive.
"This is the key to the future." The ARC reactor, with the correct element running it, would provide limitless energy, allow the world to advance, and solve so many other problems.
But as brilliant as I am, I currently don't have a technique for fusing atoms into the new element; at least not without a giant explosion. A city destroying explosion. But my future son had found a way and it was my duty to guide him to that eventual success. "I'm limited by the technology of my time, but one day you'll figure this out. And when you do, you will change the world." And hopefully, I'll be there to see it, but considering the desperate hug Antn'y had given me, months before his birth, I doubted I was there to see him achieve it.
I sucked at the whole emotional thing. I needed distance to express it. What could be more distant that a video Antn'y wouldn't see until he was an adult, that would be withheld from him until after my death? With this distance, I could express what needed to be said. "What is, and always will be, my greatest creation is you."
Start of Avengers
Tony's POV
I did it, Dad. I fused elements and came up with the new one, Starknium. Made enough to create a new ARC reactor that doesn't require palladium. It's about to power my skyscraper. And with my lady by my side we're going to sell the idea to the world. No more dependency on coal or oil. No more wars over the claiming of land with those resources. No more heating the world into extinction through burning them. Electricity abundant enough that everyone's electric bills will be able to drop. And S.I.'s profits will soar. Everything you wanted, Dad. I'm changing the world.
I put on the Iron Man suit and flew it into the bay to work on taking Stark Industries' New York division off the grid.
Listen well, little prince,
As the king imparts his knowledge,
Then spread those wings and fly.
Howard and Tony (Age 4) Circuit Boards
Tony's POV
Today was a workday. I go to work with Dad a lot, as long as it isn't a day where he's going to be trapped in boring meetings. He's been showing me how to build a computer.
"Technology always advances, An'tny. Back in the 40's a computer would have filled this entire room. We had to link everything together with copper wires."
"Like electricity in the house, with lights and stuff, right Dad?"
"Yes. Precisely like the wires in the lamp cord you dissected."
"You've got to see inside stuff to see how it works." I explained to Dad, and clarified, "Nanny Gene unplugged it first, so it was safe."
Dad raised a brow, waiting for further details.
"She said you're a tech genius and make money as fast as Midas and seem to want me to follow in your shoes, so letting me do stuff like that is her doing her part to help you."
Howard's POV
I thought, 'Or perhaps she let you do it because she was ticked that I insisted she cancel a date with her boyfriend to watch you while Maria and I had date night,' but what I said was, "So, you think I should hire her back."
Anthony shrugged.
"Well I think Midas doesn't keep his gold by throwing it away on bad ideas. No more dissecting the home electronics."
"Yes, sir. We got it re-wired though!"
"With my help."
"That's why it was fun."
I couldn't disagree with that. I'd had fun re-wiring the lamp with Ant'ny. It was Maria toe tapping in frustration that hadn't been fun. "Howard, if we let him get away with this he's going to pull apart every electronic device in the house trying to figure out how they work." I knew Maria was right, but Ant'ny had his nanny's permission, which is why she was the one that took the consequence instead of the kid. Maria being correct was also why the kid was at work with me. He needed access to electronics to explore and play with, without Maria fretting that he was going to electrocute himself.
Tony's POV
Dad held up a metal plate with groves like a maze across its surface and explained, "We use these instead of wires now. The electricity flows down these paths and provide power for different task." Then he held up a smooth metal piece, with no groves. "It starts as this."
Dad was making his own circuit board and I was copying him on my own copper plate. He showed me how to use the special pen to draw the wires on paper. We used this special stuff to glue the paper to the metal plate, and then he let me help him pour the acid on it and shake it up so the copper on either side of the ink dissolved, leaving behind the copper maze.
I had to prove to him that I could keep my hands steady to drill the tiny holes in exactly the right spots. We put all the doodads in the little holes and then he showed me how to use a soldering iron to melt and nip the ends off of each doodad to hold it in place. You have to be very careful with it or you'll get burned.
Dad explained what each bit did to help the computer function. Then he asked me if I could figure out how to make it do things faster! It took lots of thinking, but I think I got it figured out and today I get to do all the steps on my own, without Dad's help (except for pouring the acid) and I don't have to copy the pattern for the copper maze, like we did last time. I get to decide where to draw the lines and where each doodad should go.
Howard's POV
Wow! He actually did it. I mean, I knew he had a mega-brain in there, but to be honest, I thought he was just practicing the manual labor of making the board, figuring out how to use the tools, like a pre-schooler testing out a water-color paint set for the first time. I wasn't expecting him to present me with a Mona Lisa, but the damn thing works! Not only does it work, but it works the way he meant it to, it processes faster!
I picked up the phone and connected with my secretary, "Ms. Jones, schedule a press conference. Make sure all the tech mags are there too." Damn if I wasn't going to brag about this. The whole world was going to know.
Adult Tony, a few years before Iron Man 1
Tony's POV
Howard always pushed me to improve tech. Nothing was ever at its best. And what needed to become passe now was computer monitors. Why should the knowledge accessible by a computer be limited to pixels or lines on a screen? The information should be able to pop up into the air wherever you need it. That was the next grand step in computer evolution.
And with a flick, I was there! I grinned as the data appeared to float in the air in front of me. I burst my arms wide and watched it fill the room, then drew them in so tiny that it was best suited for a mouse to read. I may have lost track of time fiddling with re-sizing it, and spinning it, and treating it more like a toy than a computer screen. But tech was meant to be fun!
I hadn't told the board about it yet and I wasn't going to. We were still working on recouping funds from the last factory overhaul for the latest and greatest Stark monitors. We needed to sell another 136,000 units to clear expenses, and then we'd start making a profit on them. No use putting out something new when the old wasn't paid for yet.
Plus, I liked being the only person in the world with invisible monitors and I wanted to savor that for a while. And then I was going to savor the ad campaigns. My face was going to be splashed on Forbes, News Week, and several other glossy mags, as well as guest appearance on various shows to show off the tech. You can't buy a moment of time, but you can sure as hell savor them when they arrive.
Author's Note: Everything I know about making a computer circuit board comes from 30 minutes of You Tube research. If I completely mucked the whole thing up, well, oh well. It's also the reason the little metal things are called doodads, because I have no idea what they are actually called. If you know and want to tell me their name I may update chapter or I might leave it as doodads.
Note: If you have the time, please drop a line. What was your favorite part?
