Call Me… Doc Ock – Arc One: Origin

Chapter 11: Stark and Whitehead

'…fuuuuuuuuuuuck!'

Really?! Really?! Tony Stark?! Here?! Now?! All around me people were going crazy as the billionaire genius and future super-hero awaited my response. Of all the big-name characters I could have met, Tony was one of the few that I did not want to meet, at least until I had an actual base of operations. And with S.H.E.I.L.D. (and HYDRA) watching him, I was more likely to enter their immediate radar as well.

'Once again, fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!'

Taking a moment to try and relax, I thought about what to say. "Well, obviously my project is centered around nanomachines and the materials used to make them, so-"

"Hold up," he interrupted, raising a hand. "Let me rephrase that: what's your long-term plan here?"

"My long-term plan?"

Stark raised an eyebrow. "Well, yeah, we are you going with this?" He waved at the display. "The nanomachines are pretty good, but the batteries and robot? You're definitely trying to show off. Who are you trying to impress here?"

"This is for the Fair," I said. I was… beginning to feel like I was being put on the spot.

Stark waved a finger. "No, the nanomachines are for the fair. Everything else comes off as you overcompensating."

I felt heat rise to my cheeks. 'Overcompensating?!'

Stark went on. "I mean you're what? 12? 13?"

"I'm 13," I managed to bite out.

"Yeah, see? You got plenty of time before you reach the big leagues. No need to go full on try-hard."

I sucked in a breath. "I'm just trying to give best effort, Mr. Stark."

Stark seemed nonplussed. "Trying your best ain't a bad thing, but this seems a bit much. Aside from the nanomachines, those batteries and that robot must have taken a lot of time and money to make."

I crossed my arms. "Well yeah, they did. I had to find the right materials, go through different designs, and had to run and debug several programs when I made them."

Stark nodded. "Yeah, okay and in all of that, how much rest do you get in-between?"

I paused at that. "Wait, what?"

Stark pointed towards my face. "I can see the bags under your eyes. Which means that you don't get all that much sleep. Now, I won't pretend to be an expert on mental health, but you might want to relax a bit before you burn yourself out."

Before I could respond, we were interrupted by a cough from Mr. Whitehead. "Ah yes, Mr. Stark, I'm sure that Isaac here is, just ah- a bit under pressure to succeed."

"…who are you," Stark asked.

"Whitehead, Jerod Whitehead, CEO of Nexus Industries, pleased to make your acquaintance," Whitehead stated, extending a hand.

Stark's face scrunched up. "Nexus, Nexus, Nexus… oh! Right. Nexus Industries. Aren't you that company that's been leaking money and making some really risky stunts recently to keep yourself from declaring bankruptcy?"

Whitehead barely held back a wince. "I'm not sure what you mean, Stark. Any rumors regarding Nexus' financial status are exaggerated, I can assure you."

"Yeah huh. And those rumors about you taking out a lot of loans in the past few months are exaggerated, too," Stark returned with a wry smile.

"Yes, they are," White head bit out.

"Right, so I'm guessing you're here to rope in some young, impressionable high-school graduates in the hopes of keeping your ship afloat."

I frowned as the conversation went on. You know I had kind of forgotten about it, but Stark before Iron-Man 1 was more often than not, described as a bit of a prick. Right now, I could see a bit of why other people would think that. Aside from putting me on the spot just now, he seemed to be taking way too much pleasure in needling Whitehead over whatever problems Nexus Industries had. Maybe it was bias from Isaac's perspective, but Otto always seemed to have good things to say about most of the people that he worked with at Nexus.

Focusing back on the conversation between Stark and Whitehead, it seemed like things were about to escalate, but thankfully Dr. Schwinner had decided to finally intervene. "Gentlemen!"

When the two men turned towards him he went on. "While I'm sure that the both of you have some… interesting points to make about running a business, right now the focus should be on the work of these young minds seeking to expand their minds in the various fields of science."

The two took note of the crowd around them. There were a lot of people around us and while there were a few whispers here and there, it had been very quiet as the two men had gone on.

Whitehead took a deep breath, before he turned back to Dr. Schwinner. "Of course, Doctor, you're right, today is about the young men and women here in their pursuit of scientific advancement." He turned back to the crowd. "My apologies everyone for the distraction."

Stark nodded. "Yeah, don't let me spoil things for you. I'll just be around for a bit."

Whitehead turned to me and pulled out a card from a pocket in his suit. "Isaac, here, if you're interested, I would very much appreciate it if you were take Nexus Industries into consideration for a future career. I assure you that we'll provide you with all the resources that you need to succeed. You have my word on that."

Next to him, Stark scoffed. "Yeah, I'm sure that he'll find plenty of success at Nexus." He turned to me. "Hey, kid, if you really wanna make waves," he held a card out to me, "then give me a call."

I took both cards. "…thanks, I'll keep the both of you in mind.

With that both men went their own separate ways. The whispers went up in intensity as they went on to different displays. Well, Whitehead went on to different displays; Stark only gave a few cursory glances here and there. …wait, where those glasses modified? I shook my head. 'Never mind, I need to get my head back on the fair. That being said.' I looked at the two cards. Each one was a direct line to both CEOs.

"…wow, Stark seems kind of… intense," Oakley managed to get out.

I nodded. "Yeah, you could say that again."

He grinned at me. "Anyways, good on ya! You already got some big names looking your way!"

"Oh! Uh, yeah thanks I guess." I scratched the back of my head.

"So, who you going to go with," Oakley asked.

I frowned as I considered the question. "That's actually a good question."

After that whole mess things were relatively quiet as the judges went about their way, taking notes and asking questions. I got a few more questions and glances my way, but no one really approached me. Which was fine by me, cause right now I really needed to think about what just happened. More specifically about what Stark said earlier.

…was I really overdoing things? I… honestly I wasn't really sure. I mean there were a lot of things that I needed to get ready for in this universe in the coming years, like HYDRA, THANOS, and whatever monster my maternal family has been fucking around with. But… was I really trying to do more than I needed. I… maybe I needed to step back for a bit and do a self-assessment. I turned to H2H. 'Or maybe I can have my own robot give me one.'

Yeah, that sounded like a good idea. H2H has been with me and observing me in everything I do, over the past few months. Maybe, I can have it go over anything that might not be healthy behavior, like not getting enough sleep, apparently. It wouldn't be a true assessment, I would need an actual check-up maybe, but for now, H2H would have to be the best I could do until I find a doctor I could trust.

With that in mind, I turned my attention to the other matter that had come up. I pulled out the two cards from my pocket. The personal numbers for Anthony Stark and Jerod Whitehead. Originally, I had decided to do the science fair in New York, rather than New Jersey, because New York was basically the financial capital of the world. This meant that any tech focused company worth anything was going to have an office here, and naturally would take an interest in the Science Fair.

I had not really expected that I would get two of the biggest names in coming my way right off the bat. Honestly, in most situations, I would consider this mission complete. Under these circumstances, however, I had to consider the potential issues with both companies.

Stark Industries, in most timelines would go on to be one of the leading tech companies in pretty much any Marvel Timeline, MCU, 616, or otherwise. I would not want for money and resources, if Stark was making a serious offer to join his company. I could easily get so much work done, with Stark's aid. On top of that, there was also the added benefit of being able to steer Stark away from some of his bigger mistakes, provided that this timeline followed a similar path to the MCU.

Of course, there were several issues that I would have to contend with if I did take up this potential offer. First and foremost, Stark and his father Howard had a lot of enemies that I would need to watch out for. The immediate names that came to mind were Stane, Vanko and Killian. I would likely get caught up in all of that nonsense one way or another. Was it selfish of me that, I didn't want to deal with all that? …it probably was, not to mention some part of me would probably feel guilty if I didn't at least give Stark a heads up of some sort. I'll… probably do something about that either way.

With that line of thought shoved to the backburner, I considered the second major issue that would come with working for Stark; namely S.H.E.I.L.D. (and of course, HYDRA). Being directly associated with Stark as an employee meant that I would come under direct scrutiny of both organizations. I would rather not have to worry about constantly overlooking my shoulder for either group. With Project Iolaus still in development, I needed to keep as under the radar as I could be for as long as I could be, before I could come up with a concrete plan to root out the snakes with minimal collateral damage. If anyone found about what I knew, then I would probably find myself waking up in a featureless room with some spook going all in on interrogating me about who, what, when, where, and how. That, or the Winter Soldier puts a bullet in my brain.

Grimacing at the thought of being deep-sixed, I then considered the final issue with working for Stark. Specifically, his personality. While he seemed to have toned it done in front of the other participants, I could just feel the (admittedly justified) ego rolling off of him. While I know that he does get better eventually, I'm not sure that I wanted to work for him before that point in time.

As for Nexus Industries and Whitehead's offer, there is some appeal there. Otto's history with the company means that I could expect a warm reception from the people working there. With some legal assistance, I could possibly negotiate a contract that would provide similar working conditions like Otto's. More to the point, I won't have to worry about secret organizations trying to spy on me or people with a grudge trying to kill me for some perceived slight. Overall, a lot less immediate stressful situations to keep an eye on, while giving me more room to prepare for whatever this reality throws my way down the road.

I could feel my face scrunch up as I recalled what Stark said. So apparently, Nexus Industries has been having some financial problems as of late. From the way Whitehead responded, there were probably more serious than was let on. I was… going to have to look into that.

Also, what did Stark mean by risky stunts? I really hope that doesn't mean that Whitehead wasn't getting involved with some Marvel villains in the making. I would seriously hate to have to get caught up in that. I've got enough villain activity with Clan Akkaba and the so-called 'Swords of the Lord.'

My brow furrowed. 'Speaking of which, I should probably ask Azelea or whoever about their search for those guys. It would be really nice to not have to worry about a knife in the back or something like that. …oh! I should also ask about the Ofo Rod. Something like that could be helpful too.'

Nodding to myself, I resolved to do just that.

"Hey."

At the sound of Oakley's voice, I turned to him. "Yes?"

"Are… you okay?" Oakley scratched the back of his head. He looked kind of nervous. "You looked like you had something serious going on."

I held up the two cards. "Well, I have a lot to think about right now."

Eyes widening in understanding, Oakley nodded. "Oh! Yeah, I guess that would be the kind of thing anyone would be worried about. Wow… both Stark and Nexus… seriously, most anyone here would probably kill to have that kind of opportunity. So, um… who you going with?" He paused, before suddenly holding his hands in a placating manner. "If you don't mind me asking."

I shrugged. "Don't really know at this point. I have to think it over."

Oakley nodded. "Oh yeah, that's really important. Definitely gotta be careful. While most people would say Stark is the obvious choice, some would say otherwise. My grandad doesn't really like how much Stark Industries is shmoozing up with the military. He would always say 'Science should be making lives easier, not ending them quicker.' What about you?"

Honestly, now that I think about it, that was another issue that I had. "Yeah, my old man was pretty much the same."

Oakley nodded again. "Yeah, I think Dr. Octavius was more about creating clean affordable energy for everyone. So, he probably wouldn't be a fan of Stark."

"That's… an understatement." Otto really hadn't been a fan of either Howard or Tony.

"So, what about Nexus, didn't your dad work closely with them?" At my nod, he went on. "Well, that sounds more your speed."

I frowned. "I'm not sure, there something going on there that I want to know more about."

Oakley tilted his head. "What, you mean about those rumors?" At my nod, he went on. "Well, those are just rumors right? I mean they can't be all that bad, right?"

'If only, if only.'

"EVERYONE, IF I MAY HAVE YOUR ATTENTION!" Dr. Schwinner's voice came through over the intercom and suddenly all the chatting came to an end. "WE HAVE FINISHED WITH OUR ASSESSMENTS FOR NOW. THE FIRST ROUND HAS OFFICIALLY COME TO A CLOSE. WE WILL BE SENDING LETTERS TO THOSE WHO WILL BE PART OF THE SECOND ROUND. WE THANK YOU FOR YOU TIME AND EFFORTS. AND ONCE AGAIN WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE SUDDEN CHANGE IN THE SCHEDULE. FROM HERE ON OUT NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, WE EXPECT GREAT THINGS FROM EACH OF YOU HERE. THANK YOU AND GOOD DAY."

With that, people began to pack up the displays. I turned to H2H. "H2H, clean up time!"

"CONFIRMED." The robot immediately went to work carefully putting the display away. I turned to Oakley. "Well, it was nice meeting you I suppose." I held out a hand.

Oakley grinned and shook my hand. "Yeah, you too. Good luck!"

"Same to you." I nodded. I then turned my display and finished packing up.

Rudolph looked up from the newspaper he was reading as I approached him. "You done?"

I nodded. "Yeah, pretty much."

Getting up from his chair, he stretched a bit and began to walk towards the parking lot. As I stepped up to the side, he looked over at me. "Hey, what was with all the shouting earlier?"

"Hmm. Oh! Yeah, uh… apparently, Tony Stark decided to show up for the fair."

Rudolph's face suddenly went into a scowl. "Stark," he bit out. "The hell was that stuck-up ass doing here?"

'Huh, apparently Rudolph isn't a fan either.' Glancing to the side, I shrugged. "Beats me, he seemed to be browsing, or whatever."

Rudolph grunted before he started walking again. "Tch, whatever, not like that guy's gonna bother taking on any of those kids. Probably just needs to make himself feel superior by puttin' down a bunch of kids."

I carefully avoided contact while adjusting the pocket in my jacket with Stark's card in it. It would probably be really awkward if I told him about the potential job offer at Stark Industries.

After getting on the road, we were both silent, until Rudolph piped up. "Oh, by the way. Officer Azelea called." When I turned to him, he went on. "Apparently, there was something wanted to talk to you about. So, he should be visiting us in the morning tomorrow."

'Huh, well I wonder what that's about.' I turned my attention to the road out the window. "Okay, sure, it would be good to hear from him." With that we were silent again as Rudolph drove.

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