A day or two later, Amelia stands next to her father as he waves his hand over the keyboard of the computer, waking the technology up. Tony starts typing away as he calls out to his AI system, "JARVIS, you up?"
Tony leans back into his chair as JARVIS replies, "For you, sir, always."
Tony picks up a stylus from a Stark coffee mug as he says, "I'd like to open a new project file, index as Mark II."
Tony uses the stylus to move a blueprint of a clunky iron suit onto a holopad, spinning around in his chair as JARVIS asks, "Shall I store this on the Stark Industries Central Database?"
Tony releases the blueprint from the stylus, allowing a hologram of the iron suit to appear over the holopad. The billionaire gets out of his seat as he replies, "Actually, I don't know who to trust right now." Tony puts the stylus in his pocket as Amelia sits down into the chair her father was just sitting in. The eight year old rolls the chair over next to the holopad table as Tony walks to the next side of the desk, standing opposite from his daughter while telling JARVIS, "Till further notice, why don't we just keep everything on my private server?"
Tony stares at the hologram as JARVIS asks, "Working on a secret project, are we, sir?"
Tony starts to take the clunky parts from the suit off and puts them in the hologram of a trash can as he responds, "I don't want this winding up in the wrong hands." He spins the suit around before he puts another part of the suit in the trash can. He puts the holographic arms of the suit down before rapidly spinning it around while adding, "Maybe in mine, it can actually do some good."
•••
Over the next couple of days, Tony works on building a titanium-alloy suit as Amelia stands by his side, watching him work. The father and daughter are standing next to each other as Tony works on the bottom part of the leg, instructing the robot arm, Dum-E, who is holding a magnifying glass for the billionaire, "Next. Up. Not in the boot, Dum-E. Right here." Tony points to where he wants the robot to hold the magnifying glass as he continues, "You got me? Stay put. Nice."
Tony leans back and rests his arms on the table, "You're of no benefit at all. Move down to the toe. I got this." The robot moves down to the toe of the boot as Tony sarcastically says, "Okay, I'm sorry, am I in your way?" Tony finishes the top of the boot before moving down to the toe as he instructs the robot again, "Up. Screw it. Don't even move. You are a tragedy." Tony blows onto the tool he is using before he cools it down and puts it away. He leans back and pushes a button, causing the boot to open up. Tony looks over to Amelia and asks, "What do you think, sprout?"
Amelia looks up to her father before she replies, "It looks really cool, daddy." Tony smiles and ruffles Amelia's hair, causing the little girl to let out a laugh.
When Tony finishes both boots, he puts them on and sets up for a flight test. Amelia is holding a camera as Dum-E holds a fire extinguisher. Tony walks to the back center of the area for the flight test, holding two joysticks in each hand as he speaks, "Okay, let's do this right. Start mark, half a meter, and back and center." Tony lets out a breath before he turns to Dum-E and tells it, "Dum-E, look alive. You're on standby for fire safety." Tony looks over to his daughter and says, "Okay sprout, roll it." Amelia steadies the camera as another robot hand holds the top of it, taking some of the weight off of the newly turned nine year old.
Tony puts the joystick in his right hand into his left as he uses his right hand to power up the suit. He takes the second joystick from his left hand as he calls out, "Okay. Activate hand controls." The boots power up as he moves his legs, getting used to the boots on his feet, "We're gonna start off nice and easy. We're gonna see if ten percent thrust capacity achieves lift. And three, two, one." Tony blasts off, crashing into the upper wall before falling down to the ground.
Tony groans out in pain as Amelia gasps before she asks, "Daddy, are you okay?"
Tony groans out again as he replies, "Yeah, sprout. Daddy is okay." Dum-E turns the fire extinguisher and uses it on the billionaire, causing Amelia to let out a giggle.
Tony spends the next few days working on flight stabilizers as Amelia watches him work. When Tony finally gets to test the flight stabilizer, Amelia sits next to him with her head on table, falling asleep as Tony clicks the stabilizer onto his arm. The billionaire looks to his right and sees Pepper putting in her code before she enters the workshop, carrying a file of papers underneath a wrapped package with a mug balancing on top. Tony instructs a robot arm working with him, "Up two. Alright, set that."
Pepper walks over to Tony as she says, "I've been buzzing you. Did you hear the intercom?"
Without looking at the strawberry blonde, he replies, "Yeah, everything's... What?"
Pepper places down the things in her hand as she tells the Stark, "Obadiah's upstairs."
"Great, great. I'll be right up," Tony says as he dismisses Pepper.
The strawberry blonde turns to Tony, asking him, "What would you like me to tell him?"
Tony doesn't hear her as he lifts up his arm with the stabilizer, holding it out in front of him as he sighs, "Okay."
Pepper walks over to him, stopping next to a sleeping Amelia as she says, "I thought you said you were done making weapons."
Tony rolls his left shoulder before putting down his left arm, leaving his right arm extended as he replies, "It is. This is a flight stabilizer." Tony leans forward and presses a red button with his left hand before continuing, "It's completely harmless." The flight stabilizer powers up before it shoots out a big beam of energy, flinging Tony back. The loud noise causes Pepper to cover her ears, turning away as Amelia jolts awake, sitting up in her seat. Pepper turns back to Tony, who groans out, "I didn't expect that."
A couple minutes later, Tony walks up the steps as Amelia trudges after him. In the living room, Obadiah plays the piano and Pepper sits on the couch as she works on her laptop. Tony walks over to the couch as he asks the older man, "How'd it go?" Tony stops walking when he sees a box of pizza from New York as Amelia walks past him to sit on the couch next to Pepper. Tony walks over to the couch, eyes on the pizza as he says, "Oh, it went that bad, huh?"
Without looking up from the piano, Obadiah replies, "Just because I brought pizza back from New York doesn't mean it went bad."
Tony sits down and opens the pizza box, sarcastically saying, "Uh-huh. Sure doesn't." When he smells the delicious pizza, he lets out, "Oh, boy." Tony grabs a piece and hands it over to Amelia before he takes a piece for himself, closing the box when he is done. The little girl sits on the couch between Pepper and Tony as she quietly munches on her pizza.
Obadiah stops playing the piano as he tells the billionaire, "It would have gone better if you were there."
"Uh-uh," Tony disagrees as he takes a bite of the pizza. He sticks his hand in the air and shakes his head before replying, "You told me to lay low. That's what I've been doing." Obadiah walks around as Tony picks up a napkin and starts waving it around, "I lay low, and you take care of all..."
Tony trails off, wiping his mouth as Obadiah says, throwing out his hands and walking toward the billionaire with a glass of alcohol in his right hand, "Hey, come on. In public. The press." The older man stops in front of Tony, who looks up at the bald man, "This was a board of directors meeting."
Obadiah sits down next to Tony, who asks, "This wa- This was a board of directors meeting?"
Obadiah sighs as Tony leans back before the former explains, "The board is claiming you have post traumatic stress. They're filing an injunction."
Tony shakes his head as he asks, "A what?"
"They want to lock you out," the bald man simply replies.
Tony looks away and shakes his head, "Why, 'cause the stocks dipped forty points?" Tony turns back to Obadiah as he quickly says, "We knew that was gonna happen."
Pepper looks over at the two men and speaks up, "Fifty-six and a half."
Tony turns his head and looks at Pepper, who looks away as he exclaims while bobbing his head, "It doesn't matter. We own the controlling interest in the company."
Pepper turns her head and meets Tony's eyes. The billionaire looks back to Obadiah, who speaks up with his head down, "Tony, the board has rights, too. They're making the case," Tony wipes his mouth with the napkin and looks down at his lap as the older man nods his head at Tony, "That you and your new direction isn't in the company's best interest."
Tony jerks back and looks to Obadiah, exclaiming, "I'm being responsible! That's a new direction for me," He pauses before he quickly adds, "For the company." Obadiah raises his eyes, giving Tony a knowing look, causing the billionaire to explain himself as he looks between Pepper and Obadiah, "I mean, me on the company's behalf being responsible for the way that..." Obadiah smirks as he holds up his glass filled with alcohol. The older man looks over to the Stark, who nods his head and says, "This is great."
Tony stands up and grabs the pizza box, trying to leave the room as Obadiah calls out, "Oh, come on. Tony. Tony." Pepper turns back to her work and Amelia stays seated, still munching on her slice of pizza.
Tony starts to walk away as he tells the people in the room, "I'll be in the shop."
Obadiah looks over at the billionaire and calls out as he stands up, walking after the Stark, "Hey, hey! Hey, Tony. Listen." The older man puts his hand on Tony's shoulder, turning him around as Obadiah continues, "I'm trying to turn this thing around, but you gotta give me something. Something to pitch them." Obadiah points to Tony's arc reactor and says, "Let me have the engineers analyze that. You know, draw up some specs."
"No," Tony interrupts the older man.
Obadiah adds, trying to reason with Tony, "It'll give me a bone to throw the boys in New York."
"No, absolutely not. This one stays with me. That's it, Obie. Forget it," Tony talks over Obadiah, refusing to cave in to what the bald man is asking.
Tony moves to walk away before Obadiah grabs the pizza box out of the genius billionaire's hands, stating, "Alright, well, this stays with me, then." The older man opens the box as he adds, "Go on, here, you can have a piece. Take two."
Tony walks back over to the man and grabs another slice as he says, "Thank you."
The Stark walks back to the stairs that lead to his workshop as Obadiah calls out, "You mind if I come down there and see what you're doing?"
Without turning around, Tony replies, "Good night, Obie." Amelia finishes her slice of pizza while Tony starts to walk down the steps, taking a bite of his new slice of pizza. As the Stark descends the stairs, he checks his watch before calling out to his daughter, "Amelia it's time for bed." The nine year old lets out a groan as she gets off the couch before she trudges up to her room.
•••
A couple days later, Amelia holds the camera with the help of one of the robot hands as they record Tony wearing the flight stabilizers and the boots. The billionaire speaks, "Day eleven, test thirty-seven, configuration 2.0." Tony turns to look at Dum-E, who is holding the fire extinguisher behind the Stark, "For lack of a better option, Dum-E is still on fire safety." Tony lifts up his hand and addresses Dum-E, "If you douse me again, and I'm not on fire, I'm donating you to a city college." Tony turns his head and looks at the camera, "Alright, nice and easy." Tony holds out his hands, palms facing the ground as he turns his head to face forward, "Seriously, just gonna start off with one percent thrust capacity. In three, two, one."
The billionaire flicks his wrists and he starts to hover above the ground, wobbling as he tries to steady himself. He hovers for about a minute before he drops back down to the ground, saying, "Okay."
Amelia jumps up and down with the camera still in her hands as she exclaims, "Daddy! That was so cool!"
Tony smiles as he looks at his daughter before he replies, "Thanks, Energizer Bunny. Keep the camera steady." Amelia stops vibrating with excitement as she mumbles out an apology. The older Stark turns around to face Dum-E, telling the robot as he waves his arms around and shakes his head, "Please don't follow me around with it, either, 'cause I feel like I'm gonna catch on fire spontaneously." Dum-E slowly lowers the fire extinguisher to face the ground as Tony turns around, continuing while waving his hand around, "Just stand down! If something happens, then come in." Tony turns to face the camera as he adds, "And again, let's bring it up to 2.5." The billionaire looks down at the ground as his hands face the ground once more before he calls out, "Three, two, one."
Tony lifts off of the ground and hovers for a couple minutes as the robot helping Amelia hold the camera zooms in on the man. Tony lets out a grunt as he moves over to the car closest to the wall before calling out, "Okay, this is where I don't want to be!" He hovers over the car as he exclaims, "Oh, not the car, not the car! Yikes!" He moves over to a table and says, "Table!" Papers fly off the table as the billionaire moves across it. Once he reaches the end of the table, he holds up his hands, trying to go back the way he came. He puts his hands down once he starts moving back over the table. He laughs nervously as his eyes meet Amelia's, causing the girl to let out a little giggle.
As he passes by his daughter, he shouts, "Could be worse! Could be worse! We're fine! Okay." When he reaches the center of the testing pad, he spins around in a circle before he slowly lowers down to the ground. The power of the flight stabilizers and the boots turn off, causing Tony to drop down the last couple inches. Tony steadies himself before he turns and watches Dum-E, who lifts the fire extinguisher up. Tony throws up his hand and stops the robot, "No! Uh-uh! Uh-uh! Uh!" Dum-E lowers down the fire extinguisher as Tony turns his head to look at his daughter. He nods his head and says, "Yeah, I can fly."
Amelia lets out a squeal as she exclaims, "Daddy can fly!"
•••
When Tony finishes the suit, Amelia sits in one of his desk chairs as she watches him suit up with her dolls in her hands. Tony picks up the mask that goes over his face and puts it on, asking, "JARVIS, are you there?"
"At your service, sir," JARVIS replies to Tony.
The billionaire looks through the eyes of the suit as it powers up, ordering the AI, "Engage Heads Up Display."
The display powers on as JARVIS says, "Check."
Tony turns his head and tells JARVIS, "Import all preferences from home interface."
The suit scans everything in the room as JARVIS responds, "Will do, sir."
After a minute Tony speaks up, "Alright, what do you say?"
JARVIS answers the billionaire, "I have indeed been uploaded, sir. We're online and ready."
"Can we start the virtual walk-around?" Tony asks the AI while turning his head.
JARVIS does as Tony asked and responds, "Importing preferences and calibrating virtual environment."
Amelia puts her head in her hand as she intently watches her father speak to JARVIS, "Do a check on control surfaces."
The suit adjusts itself on the Stark as JARVIS replies. "As you wish."
Tony looks over to his daughter as she exclaims, "You look so cool, daddy!"
He smiles underneath the helmet and says, "Thank you, sprout."
JARVIS speaks to Tony once he is done with the check, "Test complete. Preparing to power down and begin diagnostics."
Tony disregards what the AI said as the billionaire tells JARVIS, "Uh, yeah. Tell you what. Do a weather and ATC check. Start listening in on ground control."
JARVIS informs Tony of the risks, "Sir, there are still terabytes of calculations needed before actual flight is..."
Tony cuts JARVIS off as he says, "JARVIS! Sometimes you got to run before you can walk. Ready? In three, two, one." The suit powers up and lifts off of the ground, causing Amelia to sit upright. Tony flies forward heading for the garage exit of the workshop as he excitedly yells. Once her father is gone, Amelia plays with the dolls in her hands as she waits for him to come back.
About a couple minutes later, Amelia lets out a scream as her father comes crashing through the ceiling. He lands on a blue car, crushing it as all the car alarms in the workshops blare. Amelia covers her ears from the loud noise as Dum-E uses the fire extinguisher on Tony. Amelia lets out a laugh through the noise as Tony leans his head back onto the car, letting out a sigh. Once he catches his breath, he looks over at his daughter and tells her, "Time for bed, sprout. You have school in the morning." Amelia lets out a sigh as she picks up her dolls, putting them underneath her arm. She walks out of the workshop with her hands over her ears, trying to block out the loud noise of the car alarms as she heads to bed.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hey guys!! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and have a great rest of the week!