"Notes. Main transducer feels sluggish at plus 40 altitude. Hull pressurization is problematic." Tony was sitting in his chair surrounded by computers. He was working on how to upgrade his suit so he could fly high and not freeze up at certain altitudes like he did when he first tried flying. "I'm thinking icing is the probably factor."
"A very astute observation, sir." Jarvis' voice rang out. "Perhaps if you intend to visit other planets we should improve the exosystems."
"Connect to the sys. co. Have it reconfigure the shell metals. Use the gold titanium alloy from the seraphim tactical satellite. That should ensure a fuselage integrity while maintaining power-to-weight ratios. Got it?"
"Yes. Shall I render using proposed specifications?"
"Thrill me." Tony then turned up the volume on his TV where a reporter was talking about some kind of red carpet event.
"Tonight's red-hot red carpet is right here at Disney concert hall, where Tony Stark's third annual benefit..." At the mention of his name Tony leaned over to see past his computers.
"Hey Jarvis, we get an invite for that?"
"I have no record of an invitation, sir." Tony pursed his lips and grabbed the mask he was working on. He held it up to his face and looked through the eye holes at the TV.
"... Tony hasn't been seen in public since his bizarre and highly controversial press conference." The news channel then pulled up a picture of the press conference Tony gave when he first got back from Afghanistan. "Some claim he's suffering from post traumatic stress and has been bedridden for weeks. Whatever the case may be, no one expects an appearance from him tonight." Tony looked down at his hands as Jarvis spoke up once again.
"The render is complete." Tony looked at his computer screen to see the model of his suit. It was silver and quite boring.
"A little ostentatious don't you think?"
"What was I thinking? You're usually so discreet." Tony sighed and looked behind him at a car he had been working on. It was an old-fashioned model with red, yellow, and orange flames painted on the front of it.
"Tell you what. Throw a little hot-rod-red in there."
"Yes," Jarvis replied sarcastically, "that should help you keep a low profile." Tony looked back at the screen and took a sip of drink he had made. The model of the suit was being modified to add the red into the design.
"The render is complete."
"Yeah, I like it. Fabricate it. Paint it."
"Commencing automated assembly. Estimated completion time is five hours." Tony stood up from his chair and picked up a watch from the table he was sitting at.
"Don't wait up for me, honey."
Next thing he knew, he was driving to a party that he wasn't necessarily supposed to be at.
_____________
When he got to the event, he got out of his car and tossed his keys to the valet and walked onto the red carpet. The quests were shocked to see him and some of the ladies even tried to get his attention.
As he got to a more crowded area, he grasped at people attention. The ladies started squealing and chatting to their friends how the great Tony Stark was there.
"Hey Tony. Remember me?" A girl asked, she bit her lip and looked at him.
"Sure don't." He smiled and wandered pass.He then walked by an older man surrounded by ladies. "You look great, Hef." He patted the man of his shoulder as he walked by. [Stan lee!! I love him and his cameos]
When Tony saw Obadiah he made a bee-line towards him. "What's the world come to when a guy's got to crash his own party?" Obadiah turned to his long time friend and laughed.
"Look at you. Hey, what a surprise."
"Yep. I'll see you inside." Before Tony could make it far, Obadiah grabbed his arm.
"Hey. Listen. take it slow all right?" Obie pulled him in close to whisper in his ear. "I think I got the board right where we want them." Tony nodded.
"You got it. Just cabin fever. I'll just be a minute."
After Tony got inside he headed straight for the drinks. He tapped on the bar to grab the bartenders attention and order his drink. As he waiting a man next to him called his name.
"Mr. Stark."
"Yeah?" Tony turned to the white man. He was the same man you tried talking to Pepper a while back at the press conference. Of course Tony didn't know that.
"Agent Coulson."
"Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. The guy from the..." Tony grabbed his scotch and waved it around a bit.
"Strategic Homeland, Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division." While finished for him.
"Phew." Tony shook his head and raised his glass to his mouth. "God, you need a new name for that."
"Yeah, I hear that a lot. Listen, I know this must be a trying time for you, but we need to debrief you." Tony nodded and looked forward to see someone who looked a lot like Pepper. Her light strawberry blonde hair stood out. " There's still a lot of unanswered questions, and time can be a factor with these things. Let's just put something on the books. How about the 24th at 7:00 p.m. at Stark Industries?" Tony tuned him out a bit as he was staring at Pepper. As a way to quickly end the conversation he put his hand out for Phil to shake.
"Tell you what. You got it. You're absolutely right." Phil took his hand and gave Tony a firm shake. "Well, I'm going to go to my assistant and we'll make a date." He pulled his hand away and made his way over to Pepper.
"You look fantastic!" His voice made her turn around. "I didn't recognize you."
"What are you doing here?"
"Just avoiding government agents."
"Are you here by yourself?"
"Yes. Where did you get that dress?"
"I- Oh it was a birthday present."
"That's great."
"From you, actually."
"Oh well. I have great taste." Pepper smiled before remembering something.
"Oh my gosh. Did you leave Stephanie at home." She hit him on the shoulder. He started to stutter. "Alone." She glared at her boss.
"Hey, hey, hey." Tony grabbed her wrist before it could hit him again. "Last time I brought her with me somewhere, I got in trouble."
"You took her to a casino. That's illegal." Pepper sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Look, she's at home with Jarvis..."
"She's 8!"
"She's fine." Tony gripped onto Pepper's wrists as she sighed angrily. "You want to dance?"
"Oh, no."
"All right, come on."
"No thank you. No." She blew a raspberry as Tony dragged her over to the dance floor, where the slow danced to the sound of a piano. When Tony saw how Pepper was reacting he smirked.
"Am I making you uncomfortable?"
"No. No. I always forget to wear deodorant and dance with my boss in front of everyone that I work with in a dress with no back." She chuckled nervously and looked around
"You looked great," Tony's eyes wandered down her body. "and you smell great." Pepper looked down at their feet. "But I could fire you is that would take the edge off."
"I actually don't think that you could tie your shoes with out me."
"I'd make it a week. Sure."
"Really? What's your Social Security number?" Pepper smirked at Tony when he didn't answer.
"Five." He smiled.
"Five? Right" Pepper clicked her tongue as the continued to dance. "You're missing just a couple digits there." She laughed.
"The other eight. Hey, I got you for the other eight." They looked at each other and stayed silent for a while. "How about a little air?"
"Yes, I need some air."
Once they got outside to a balcony, Pepper was the one to initiate a conversation. "That was weird."
"It was totally harmless."
"It was totally not harmless, by the way."
"We're dancing. No ones even watching."
"Everybody who I work with... No, you know why?"
"I think you lost objectivity. I think they just... People... We just danced."
"No, it was not just a dance. You don't understand because you're you. And everybody knows exactly who you are and how you are with girls and all of that, which is completely fine. But, you know, then me, you're my boss, and I'm dancing with you."
"I don't think it was taken that way." Tony spoke over her.
"No, because it makes me look like the one who's trying to..."
"I just think you're overstating it." The two bickered for a bit, before Pepper started to slow down and lean in. And Tony didn't even realize that he was too. But before anything could happen Pepper stopped herself and leaned back.
"I would like a drink, please."
"Got it, okay." And Tony walked away, before Pepper spoke out again.
"I would like a vodka martini, please."
"Okay."
"Very dry with olives, a lot of olives. Like, at least three olives."
Tony walked himself over to the bar and grabbed the attention of the bartender. "Two vodka martinis, extra dry, extra olives, extra fast." He grabbed a hundred dollar bill and put it in the tip jar. "make one of them a little dirty will ya?" The bartender nodded and started on the drink. Tony turned around and saw the same reported who he 'did it' with, a while back walking towards him. He turned away hoping she didn't see him, but that didn't work because he soon heard her voice behind him.
"Wow. Tony Stark. Fancy seeing you here." She stood next to Tony and looked at him. It was silent as he tried to remember her name.
"Carrie."
"Christine."
"That's right" Tony nodded his head.
"You have a lot of nerve showing up here tonight." Tony made a face and bit his lip. "can I at least get a reaction from you?"
"Panic. I would say panic is my reaction." He looked away towards the bartender hoping Pepper's and his drinks were ready.
"'Cause I was referring to your company's involvement in the latest atrocity."
"Yeah. They just put my name on the invitation. I don't know what to tell you." He waved his hand at her, and she scoffed.
"I actually almost bought it, hook, line and sinker."
"I was out of town for a couple months, in case you didn't hear." Before he could finish she raised her voice and interrupted him.
"Is this what you call accountability?" She handed him a stack of photos. "It's a town called Gulmira. Heard of it?" Tony thought back to his friend Yinsen. That's where Yinsen live before he... Tony looked at her, and then down at the photos. He looked through them, each one worse than the last. He recognized some of the people in the photo. Like one of the men who kept him hostage. He also recognized his weapons.
"When were these taken?"
"Yesterday."
"I didn't approve any shipment." He looked at her calmly.
"Well, your company did."
"Well, I'm not my company." He replied. Tony was angry, not just at her, but at the fact that these people got a hold of his weapons. Again! He walked away from and went to find Obadiah, completely forgetting about Pepper and their drinks. Christine followed expecting some answers as well.
Once he found Obie, Tony pulled him aside away from the crowd. He stood there impatiently while his friend was trying to shoo away other people. "Have you seen these pictures." Tony's voice was rough and angry. He grabbed his friends arm and handed him the pictures Christine showed him. "What's going on in Gulmira?"
"Tony, Tony. You can't afford to be this naive."
"You know what, I was naive before when they said, 'Here's the line. We don't cross it. This is how we do business.' If we're double dealing under the table... Are we?" The sentence ended as a whisper, but still strong.
Obadiah didn't answer. He sighed and put his arm around Tony. "Let's take a picture. Come on. Picture Time!" Tony stood next to his friend with a scowl on his face. Obadiah squeezed his should tightly. "Tony. Who do you think locked you out? I was the one who filed the injunction against you." At this Tony just got angrier. "It was the only way I could protect you." Obadiah pat Tony on the back and walked away. Tony stood there silently and angry watching him leave.
________________________________________
Hiiiii!
GUYS I'M SORRY!! I know yesterday I said I was going to release multiple chapters but I didn't. So I tried to make this one longer. I want to post another chapter tonight but I'm not going to promise anything because I honestly don't know if I can. I'm going back to school tomorrow so I don't know how active I'll be, but I will try to update every day, or every other day.
If you don't get another chapter tonight, you will definitely be getting another tomorrow. Anyway I have a feeling this chapter is not as good as the others, not like they are good either, but I'm not good at writing smart stuff, especially the stuff that happened in the first part of this chapter. I've also realized that my book isn't consistent with a lot of things, and that's mainly because I started this fanfic with no real planning. Maybe after I finish it, I will come back and edit it, clean it up a bit as well.
ALSO! THANK YOU FOR ALMOST 100 READS!!!!!!!! I know that isn't a huge milestone, but to me it is. I'm hoping this book can continue to grow. Please if you have any suggestions to improve my writing, let me know. Constructive criticism is very helpful. Don't be afraid to comment.
I'm going to go eat dinner than hopefully write another chapter. I hope you all are having an amazing night or day. Remember to eat, drink, and stay healthy. If you ever need anyone to talk to you can always message me :)
-Peyty
(P.S. this chapter Is not edited so If you see mistakes let me know and I'll fix them)