Tony Stark was snoozing comfortably in his private jet, dreaming of events long past. "Mmmmake a move, reindeer gamesss..." He muttered softly in between snores. While his physical appearance was gaunt and somewhat sickly looking, this was a man with peace of mind.
His co-passenger the next isle over, however, gripped the arms of his seat nervously. Not only was this Peter Parker's first time up in an airplane, but the flight system was completely automated. It wasn't that he didn't trust Mr. Stark's technology, but his nerves were understandably frazzled.
A bell echoed throughout the cabin, waking Mr. Stark and getting Peter's attention. "Good afternoon, gentlemen," Friday's Irish voice chimes over the speakers. "We're roughly 5 minutes from our destination. Please fasten your seatbelts as we prepare for landing."
"Yeah yeah," Tony grunted, cracking his neck. "Was having a nice dream too... You doing ok over there, kid?"
"O-oh, I'm good, Mr. Stark," replied Peter, looking over to his mentor. Tony eyed the vice-like grip the boy had on the chair's arms.
"I think the chair says otherwise," Tony pointed at Peter's hands. The aspiring hero lifted them to reveal the ends of the arms were bent and crunched from his grip.
"Oh... sorry..." Peter replied meekly.
"Eh, don't worry about it," shrugged Tony. "I was planning on overhauling the interior anyhow. Not the first time it's happened."
Peter scratched the back of his head, sheepishly. "Still, I should have more control over my Quirk when it comes to stuff like this," he said. Glancing out the window, the boy's eyes widened, "Oh wow, look at that view!!!"
Tony peered over to where the boy was looking and smiled, "Yup, gotta love California. I definitely miss it out here."
"Oh that's right! You used to live out here, didn't you?" Peter asked, turning back to the man.
"Mmhmm, I had a place on Point Dune. The good ol' 90265, right on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean," Tony nodded, his mind going back to the fun times he had there. "Great spot for parties, built most of my early armors there too."
"What happened to it?" Asked the boy.
"Eh, it blew up," Tony replied nonchalantly. "Guess that's the downside of having no secret identity: everyone knows where you live. Keep that in mind for the future, kid. If you ever plan on going public like I did, make sure you're in a position where you can keep your loved ones safe."
"Right..." Peter replied with uncertainty.
"Look out this window, might be something a little more interesting here," Tony suggested. The boy leaned over to get a better look, and gasped.
Just off the shoreline, connected by a bridge, was a man-made island, roughly 10 miles in diameter. At its center, was a 200 story metallic blue tower. Towards the top was a familiar, stylized letter A within a circle; the Avengers logo.
"I still can't believe I get to spend the rest of my break at the Yinsen Memorial Tech Conference!" Said Peter excitedly. "I really can't thank you enough for bringing me along, Mr. Stark."
"Think nothing of it," Tony smiled at his young protégé's excitement. "Aside from a speech at the big dinner later, I'm mostly spending the day with some extended family. No point in the tickets going to waste!"
He turned towards Peter. "Which reminds me, they don't know the full details about my condition, so keep your lip zipped, kapeesh?"
The boy quickly nodded in agreement.
There was a slight dip as the plane began its descent towards a runway on the man-made island. "It's about that time, guess I should get ready," the hero noted, and tapped the Arc Reactor underneath his shirt twice. Tiny nanobots began to cover every surface of his body until it became a crimson and gold suit of armor; the Mark L Iron Man.
"Did you bring your hero suit with you?" Tony asked.
"Afraid not, Riri was still working out some kinks with the new fabrics before she left for the Expo," Peter replied. "But Aunt May and I did spend a bit of time over the break working on this..."
He opened up his buttoned shirt, revealing a skintight bodysuit with his trademark spider logo on his chest.
"The material's kinda cheap, it's basically spandex. But it'll hold me over as long as it's not freezing out," Peter chuckled. "And I brought my new web shooters with me."
"Whatever works," the hero replied with a nod. "Once I'm out in public, I'll have to stay in my armored form constantly. As long as I'm not fighting or overexerting myself, I can stay like this for about 2 hours. Still, it's gonna be monumentally exhausting..."
After disembarking from the private arrival zone for heroes, Iron Man and Peter entered the main grounds of the former Avengers headquarters. After the Number One Hero dealt with fans and autograph hounds for what felt like an eternity, the duo made their way over towards one of the smaller buildings within the complex.
"Alright, pop quiz," said Iron Man. "Tell me, what is this place? Or rather, what did it use to be?"
"Are you kidding?" Peter asked, his voice filled with excitement. "This was the West Coast branch for the Avengers!!!"
"Give the kid a prize," Tony smirked. "We used it as a base and training facility anytime we wound up on this side of the country. It was convenient to have, and we even debated forming a secondary team to be stationed here at one point."
The boy looked around, taking in the surroundings. "After the Avengers went their separate ways, the facility was decommissioned," Peter said. "But that's when things really took off! It became a haven for roughly 5,000 scientists, inventors, and researchers. It produces cutting edge support items, most of them commissions come from Hero Schools across the country."
"Right again," Tony nodded within his suit. "Part Research and Development, part high-end testing center, it even has areas devoted to Quirk training, meaning there's no restrictions from using your powers. I'm sure there'll be demos set up so you and others can strut your stuff."
"I just hope there's time to do everything," Peter held up his phone, which showed a listing of events and special attractions to be showcased for the Expo.
"No worries, today's basically the preview for a limited number of attendees, so it shouldn't be as busy," Tony assured the boy.
"Still, it's gotta be a potential target for villains, isn't it?" Peter asked. "How's the security?"
"Top notch," replied Tony. "I'd say it's on par with the Raft. This place employs a lot of former S.H.I.E.L.D Agents, and it has a rotating staff of heroes in case some mustache twirler starts feeling a bit antsy. You'll probably see a few while we're here, so keep your eyes peeled."
The prospect of seeing new heroes excited Peter even more than he already was. He began to mentally account for every major hero operating on this part of the country, when a voice suddenly derailed his train of thought.
"Heeeeyyyy!!!!" The two looked in the direction of the voice. A young girl of Iranian descent seemed to be leaping over as if gravity had no effect on her.
"Whoop! Here comes trouble!" The hero said, his visor went up to reveal an excited expression on his face.
The approaching girl looked to be about 17 years old, had long purple hair, and wore a big smile on her face as she leapt towards the man in the iron suit. "Uncle Tony, it's you!!!"
She landed in the waiting hero's embrace, who spun her around to slow her momentum and ease her landing. "It's so good to see you, Antonia!!!" He exclaimed happily.
"God, it's been forever!!" The girl hugged him even tighter, "I can't believe you're here!"
"And I can't believe how big you've gotten!!" Laughed Tony, lifting her up to get a better look at her face. The smile on his own grew even larger as it matched the girl's. "What're they feeding you kids on the West Coast now??"
"All good stuff!" Antonia smiled, her eyes crinkled slightly behind a pair of round glasses. "You've been living in New York for too long! You still eating those greasy burgers?"
"Well it doesn't matter how tall you get, you're still the same little girl to me!" Tony grinned, lightly throwing the girl up in the air and catching her, much to Antonia's enjoyment.
Meanwhile, Peter watched dumbstruck at the sight before him. He'd never seen Mr. Stark this excited about someone else. I wonder if this is the extended family he mentioned, thought the boy.
"So where's the boss?" Asked Tony, setting the girl down. "She been keeping you out of trouble?"
"Sometimes I feel like I get in more trouble just by hanging out with her," she winked. "Anyway, she's at the lab, we've been expecting you!" Antonia looked just past her namesake to see a strange boy, watching the proceedings in a mix of fascination and bewilderment.
"Did you bring someone with you, Uncle Tony?" She asked.
Finally, the hero seemed to remember he didn't come here alone, "Right-right-right! Where'd my manners go? Peter Parker, I want you to meet Antonia Yinsen; my goddaughter."
"Oh wow! It's nice to meet you!" Antonia walked over with her hand extended.
Peter smiled, glad to be included and took her hand. "Nice to meet you too!" He said. "I had no idea Mr. Stark has a goddaughter!"
Antonio's eye caught a glimpse of the tiny hole on Peter's wrist and the scar tissue surrounding it. "Uncle Tony does like to keep things close to the chest," she replied, before turning back to her 'uncle'. "Speaking of which, why didn't you tell me you took on a new sidekick? And a cute one at that!"
Peter blushed furiously, "U-Um, it's not exactly like that! I'm still a first year at Marvel Academy."
"Oh I see, you're one of Uncle Tony's students!" Antonia realized.
"And he's one of the good ones," Tony nodded. "Saw a bit of myself in him when we first met. He's gonna be a great hero someday."
"No kidding?" Asked the girl, "So what's your Quirk?"
"I call it 'Spider'," Peter replied, his nervousness slowly dissipating. "It lets me do everything a spider can, with proportional enhancements. Increased strength and speed, I can stick to walls, and even shoot webs. But I've been having a bit of trouble with that..."
"I thought I saw a bit of scarring on your wrist," Antonia observed. "Is that where it comes out?"
Peter nodded, "My sweat glands create this fluid that solidifies when exposed to oxygen. And if I try and shoot it too fast-"
"The resulting friction causes bleeding and tearing on your skin," the girl finished.
"Thankfully, the kid's got a good head on his shoulders and figured out a clever solution," put in Tony. "Go ahead, show her what ya built!"
Peter nodded and reached into his backpack for one of his web shooters. "I can extract the fluid from my body without bleeding while it's still in liquid form," he explained, holding out his invention for Antonia to see. "I store it in these canisters and shoot the web by pressing the trigger here." He pointed to the narrow bar sticking out at the end.
"Impressive," Antonia nodded, inspecting the tech. "You use any other Support Items?"
"I've got a few ideas, but they're still in the planning phase," Peter replied, scratching the back of his neck. "I try not to keep too much on me, the way I fight relies on speed and reflexes. So the less I have to carry, the easier I can move around."
"That means your costume must be pretty simple in design," Antonia reasoned.
The boy nodded, pulling his shirt collar down to reveal his skintight suit, "Doesn't give me much protection, but that's the trade off for free range of movement. I have a better suit at M.A, but it's not exactly bulletproof either."
Iron Man cleared his throat, if he hadn't stopped them now, the two would've stood around talking for hours, and he didn't have many to spare. "We should probably head in," he said. "Don't wanna keep the others waiting."
"Oh, right!" Antonia smacked her forehead, "Sorry, guess I got distracted." She pressed a button on her boots, and they seemed to retract into the sneakers worn underneath.
"Is that nanotech?" Asked an incredulous Peter.
"Mmhmm," Tony replied for his 'niece', "The Wakandans are lightyears ahead of the US in that particular field."
"Wakandans?" Peter blinked.
"I'll explain everything when we get to the lab," Antonia said. "If we hurry, you'll be able to meet my mentor before she wraps up work for the day. Just follow me!!" She started to run off, Peter and Tony following with eager smiles on their faces.
From a higher point overlooking the main strip, a hunched over man watched as the trio made their way over to the giant tower. He brought out a cellphone and pressed a number set to speed dial, bringing it up to his grayish green face.
"Toad. Report," said a stern voice on the other end.
"Stark just showed up," said the man.
"As anticipated," the voice replied. "Are the preparations in place? What of the main objective?"
"Everything's ready," assured Toad. "And I've got eyes and ears in the main concourse, they just gave me confirmation: our targets are here..."
On the 15th floor, an ebony skinned woman pressed a few buttons on the tablet she held, gazing up at the table and scanners she'd set up for an upcoming task. Everything's ready, she thought. Now, if he'd just remember to show up on time...
"Hey Shuri, I'm back!" Antonia's voice rang across the laboratory, as the addressed woman turned towards the automated doors.
"How'd the boots work- oh!" She paused, noticing the two guests accompanying her. "I was wondering when you would get here! It's so good to see you again, Tony!"
"Hey there, Little Cub," the man teased. "How've you been?"
"You're still holding onto that nickname?" Shuri rolled her eyes with mocking exasperation.
"Come on, you used to love that name!" Tony smiled, lightly jabbing the girl's shoulder with his fist.
"Yes, when I was nine," the woman retorted, although the smirk on her face clearly showed that she still liked it. "And I see you've brought a guest," Shuri looked at Peter, who stood in shock.
"Yeah," Tony replied, turning back to the boy. "Peter, this is-"
"Oh, I know who she is!" Peter said excitedly, looking at the woman. "You're Shuri, head of Wakanda's Research and Scientific Division! The younger sister of King T'Challa, the Black Panther, and winner of the Nobel Quirk Prize!! Not to mention you're one of the top developers of Support Gear in the world!!!"
"It... seems I need no introduction," Shuri replied, a sheepish grin on her face. "Tony mentioned having a pupil with a good brain, I'm assuming that was you?"
"Mmhmm," Peter nodded, a little embarrassed over the praise he tangentially received from his mentor. "S-sorry about the fanboy moment, I'm... into this kind of stuff."
"So I see! I imagine being in a place like this can be a bit overwhelming," Shuri nodded understandingly. "To be honest, I was worried the big lug here was going to get lost. Or were you late because you were held up by your admiring fans?"
"Eh, you know how it is," the Iron Man shrugged, his visor opening to reveal his face. "Hands to shake, selfies to take, autographs to sign. Not my fault they see me as King around here. Speaking of, how's your brother?"
"T'Challa sends his regards," Shuri nodded, raising an eyebrow and giving a smirk. "And he said to tell you, 'R-KB4'."
"Aw, dammit. I thought he missed that one..." Tony said bitterly, bringing up a hologram of a chess board from his gauntlet. The corresponding piece moved around, taking out a white knight.
Peter looked in confusion, "Are you... playing long distance chess?"
"Yeah," Tony sighed. "We used to play all the time between missions with the Avengers, but we never got to finish our last game after they disbanded."
At that moment, the Number One Hero gave a slight cough. Shuri noticed something and took action, "Anyhow, I need to consult with you on a few private matters. Antonia, can you show Peter around the Expo?"
"Oh sure!" Said the girl happily. "That sound like fun!"
"You sure I'm not interrupting anything?" Asked Peter.
"Nah, my work's done for the day," Antonia reassured. "Besides, it'd be nice to show off our hard work to someone who appreciates it. Just follow me."
Peter's expression brightened up and he followed the young scientist out the door. Upon its closure, Shuri hurriedly pressed a button on her tablet, remotely locking the way in. At that moment, the blue lights in Tony's armor began to flash red and the microbots retreated into the chest piece worn under his clothing and surrounding his Reactor.
Finally, the skeletal, disheveled form of Tony Stark was revealed. Shuri rushed over to support the sickly man as he lost balance and nearly fell over. "Are you alright Tony?" She asked, concern in her voice.
"Thanks for catching that..." Tony muttered, grateful for the keen eye of his colleague. "The amount of time I can stay in this armor's gotten shorter."
"You said it was bad in your email, but I had no idea your condition had deteriorated to this extent," Shuri said. "Come, let's get you checked out."
Putting the hero's arm over her shoulders, Shuri helped Tony over to the table she'd set up for his arrival. With any luck, they would have more answers.
.
.
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Barber's Chair
• Part One of the "Movie Arc," naturally this one's based on the Two Heroes film. However, more than a few story-beats won't be what you'd expect.
• Tony's associate is indeed Shuri, moving away from the former sidekick bit. Although he does have a connection to his former mentor/the man who saved his life.
• Still ironing out the details of this "movie" arc, but I'll try to upload a chapter every 2 weeks or so for its duration.