Tony Stark was surprised.

The boy in front of him was taller than him, with jet black hair and ice blue eyes that were colder than the winters of Johtenheim. He spoke carefully and calmly, though a dark anger stained his voice. The one thing that worried him, of all things, was the burns on the teen's skin. They covered his arms and hands.

"Let me get this straight." The teen fixed his icy eyes on him. "You are Tony Stark, playboy billionaire and leader of the Avengers, as well as the hero 'Iron Man'?"

Stark nodded. "Yes."

"Did Fury send you?"

He froze. "How did you—?"

"You reek of Fury—anger, exhaustion, irritation at everything around you, including your own personal A.I."

"How do you know about J.A.R.V.I.S.?"

The teen began to answer, but he doubled over suddenly, harsh coughing shaking his body.

"Kid? Are you alright?" He placed a hand on the teen's shoulder, surprised at the ice-cold temperature of his skin. At his touch, the teen jerked, moving out of his reach.

"Don't touch me." He was glaring again, his eyes narrowed. "My name is not 'kid'. It's Danny. You should have known that, as Nick probably told you."

"Nick? He lets you call him Nick?"

Danny grinned in a somewhat sinister way. "No. We've never met."

"So how—?"

"You think I don't do my research?" He motioned to a laptop sitting on the couch.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't just floating around for anyone to see. You need to have some serious skills to hack their firewalls."

"Are you saying I'm not as smart as I look?" The teen was staring intently at him.

"No, no, I'm not saying that." Stark paused, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. "How long did it take?"

"Not long." At the billionaire reproachful look, the teen scowled. "This is not an interview. Why did Fury send you?"

"No one sent me, I keep telling you that." Stark was irritated. He chose to look for this kid on his own, not because the director of some crazy top-secret government agency told him to.

"I know you keep telling me." He was closer, his eyes cold and narrow. "I just don't believe you."

"Why not?"

"You give me no reason to."

"I'm world-famous superhero! What more do you want?"

The teen laughed bitterly. "Everyone has a dark side." He began circling Stark like a lion stalking its prey. At Stark's slightly confused look, he scowled. "You know what I mean; don't act idiotic. The one side of you that wants to snap. The side that wants to yell, stomp, scream, shout. The side that wants to attack mercilessly, and leave nothing behind." He was behind him. "The side that wants to kill."

Stark stood. "What do you mean by that?" His foot edged toward his suitcase.

The teen noticed his movement and grinned somewhat sinisterly. "What do you think I mean?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I knew." Stark was on edge. If the kid before him was going to do what he thought…

"What are you planning on doing?" he said.

"Are you planning on what you think I'm going to do?" His frozen eyes blazed maliciously.

"This is enough." Stark's temper was bordering on a thin line. "Are you threatening me?"

"Am I?" Danny's grin was wider and unknown intention flashed in his eyes.

"You would be stupid to. I've been in more battles than you ever have."

"Have you?" He tilted his head, his black hair shielding his eyes, as he began to circle the billionaire once again. "You know nothing of my past." His voice became low and feral, as it'd been earlier. "But I know yours, more than you can imagine. Your weaknesses are my triumphs. I will destroy you, you pathetic excuse for a human."

Stark stared. What was going on? Did this kid really plan on attacking an armed superhero? His temper began to waver but he restrained it, going for the calm approach.

"Look…Danny. I've done nothing to you and I have no idea why you're threatening me, but calm down. I don't want to hurt you."

"Hurt me? What could you do to hurt me? You've no idea what I'm capable of."

"What are you talking about?" He had an idea, but didn't want to dwell on it too long. He had to keep him talking—distracted, while J.A.R.V.I.S. contacted the others.

"I think you know." The teenager's head was turned at him, but his hair still covered his eyes.

"No, I don't. Explain." He paused. "On the other hand, don't. It'll be some long winded version, right? All you super villains have them."

Danny grinned, not perturbed by the billionaire's jibe, and Tony could have sworn he saw fangs. "Why don't I show you?"

There was a flash of green light, pain, and then darkness.

Ooh, Cliffhanger (sorta). Next chapter will be longer, promise!