The Stark Industries board of directors attended the meeting via holographic projections. Eight holograms sat at the sides of the meeting table. The only one who was there in the flesh was Alistair Krei, so sat in his chair while tapping his foot on the ground.
"Where is he?" Krei asked. "That kid went through a lot of trouble to call this meeting. The least he could do is not make us wait."
"What I don't get is why he invited you, Mr. Krei." One of the directors said. "Shouldn't you go over the architects planning to rebuild your company?"
"Yeah, I should. But then, your golden prodigy called me and told me to come here." Krei said. "Now, if I don't see him here, I'll…"
"Now, now. No need to be impatient." Tony said as he finally walked in. Happy Hogan followed behind him. "There's nothing like being fashionably late."
"Tony, I assume this meeting has to do with Obadiah Stane's actions?" another director asked.
"Not that hard to guess." Tony said. "After all, the video sent to the police did confirm that Stane convince Robert Callaghan into be his accomplice. I imagine that Stark Industries is going to be hit hard for this."
"Yes, but you should know that Stane did not speak for the rest of us." Another director said. "If we knew what he was planning, we'd…"
Tony raised his hand to stop her. "Easy now. I don't blame you. In fact, I want to help you."
"How?"
"Well, as I can tell, there's an empty seat available for CEO. I don't know about you, but I think it's rightfully mine."
"What? You? But you're 16. And a college student."
"So? I can handle it. And according to Stark Industries regulations, I am allowed to take the CEO spot early under extreme circumstances, which includes the acts of insanity of the former CEO."
"He does have a point." A director told the rest of the board.
"But what benefit would it be if Mr. Stark was appointed CEO early?" another director asked.
"Glad you asked." Tony said. "That's what Mr. Krei is here for."
"Me?" Krei asked.
"Yes. I'm willing to offer you a deal." Tony said. "I'll help you rebuilt Krei Tech, but in return, our two companies will be in a partnership. The only catch is that Krei Tech will have to be a subsidiary of Stark Industries."
Krei laughed at that. "Seriosly? You really think I'm taking that deal? If my company was a subsidiary, that means I'd have to answer to you. Besides, I don't really need your help. I can rebuild Krei Tech on my own."
"I had a feeling you'd say that." Tony reached in his pocket and pulled out a white card. "I think this will change your mind." He placed the card flat on the table and pushed it toward Krei's direction. However, it stopped only after a few inches creating an awkward silence.
Tony chuckled and picked up the card. He then walked over to Krei and handed it to him. He looked at the card and widened his eyes at the words printed on it.
"Take the deal or I'll tell your involvement in Silent Sparrow."
Krei looked back at Tony, who nudged his eyebrows up and down smugly. He sighed before finally giving in.
"All right. Krei Tech is yours."
"Actually, Krei Tech is still yours. You just answer to me." Tony said.
"Wow." Said another director. "Mr. Stark, I gotta say I'm impressed."
"Thank you." Tony said. "So have I made my point, or should we go the way of democracy and vote?"
"Any opposed?" a director asked. Nobody spoke up or raised a hand. "Well then, it appears that Stark Industries is yours now, Mr. Stark. The question is, can you handle this and being a college student at the same time."
"Of course, I can." Tony said. "After all, I am Tony Stark. Now, if you excuse me, I've got some friends to meet for morning coffee."
After the meeting, Alistair Krei returned to his limo in discontent. As he was driven away from Stark Industries, we brushed his forehead with his palm sighing heavily at the spot he found himself in.
RING-RING!
Krei was surprised to get a phone call. He pulled his cell from his pocket and answered it. "Hello?"
"Hello, Alistair."
Krei widened his eyes once more, but they were full of fear this time. His hands shook once he recognized the woman who spoke to him.
"Ms. Rappaccini. Hi. I, uh, didn't expect to hear from you again."
"Really? I would've thought you'd expect to hear me again after what just occurred above your building the other day." Rappaccini said. "I thought you said you destroyed the portal."
"I did! I scattered the pieces! I swear!" Krei pleaded.
"Stop groveling, Krei. I'm already on the fence on whether to terminate you or not." Monica said with an annoyed tone. "Now, tell me the truth. Did you tell anyone about A.I.M.?"
Krei thought for a second. He knew that Tony Stark was already onto him, but if Rappaccini knew, she'd kill him. So the only thing he could do was dance around the truth.
"No. I didn't tell anybody."
There was a brief silence that made Krei nervous. It broke when Rappaccini spoke. "Very well. But don't think you're off the hook just yet. We've recently got potentially valuable prospects in San Fransokyo, so you'd best keep your head down and your mouth shut. Otherwise, you might find yourself being pulled into our human trials experiments. Good luck in the future, Alistair."
The call ended, but Krei didn't lower the phone. He took slow, heavy breaths while feeling the sweat flow down his skin. After a moment, he finally put his phone down.
"This could be a problem."
"So you really just blackmailed Krei?" Honey Lemon asked at the coffee shop.
Tony shrugged. "To be fair, he knows we were the 'mysterious heroes' all over the news. No doubt, he planned on using it to blackmail us someday. At least now, we have something else to use against him."
Gogo smiled a bit. "Dang. You got my respect."
"So you're the new CEO of Stark Industries now?" Fred asked. "That's totally awesome."
"You sure you can handle that?" Wasabi asked. "I mean, juggling being a CEO and a student at an advanced university?"
"Uh, hello." Tony said pointing at himself. "Genius. Billionaire. Superhero. Philanthropist. I'll make it work."
"If you say so." Gogo said.
"Hey, guys." Hiro said finally joining them. He had his backpack hanging on his shoulder when he arrived with his Aunt Cass.
"Hey, Hiro." Wasabi said. "You ready."
"Yeah." Hiro said. He and the others left, but not before he gave a hug to his Aunt Cass.
In a very dark lab with dimly-lit green light, a tall, thin man attended to a large computer screen monitoring security videos of the whole city. He observed each video until he heard a set of footsteps approaching from behind. As he turned, he smiled seeing a feminine figure approaching from the shadows.
"Ah, I see you made it." He spoke in a British accent. "I had a feeling I'd see you again once news of Howard Stark's death reached you. I take it this means you've accepted my offer."
The feminine figure nodded.
"Excellent." The man said. The right side of his face began to glow purple. "I'll make my vision a reality and you get to restore your father's legacy. Which reminds me, I made something for you just in case you came around."
The man reached his desk and held something in his hand. He presented it to the figure who took a step closer to see what it was.
It was a woman's mask made of gold.
Author's Note: Well, we finally made it nearly to the end of the movie. Now, we're just about ready to begin the series premier episode, Baymax Returns. I hope you're enjoying the story so far. Any and all comments are welcome.