Chapter 13
As Harry hovered above the concrete ground, he swung his arms in circles, trying to keep his balance. "Keep your legs together and ankles locked," Tony instructed him. "Use the thrusters in your palms to keep balance and change directions."
Harry followed his advice and held his palms face down. His balance improved, but he knew it would take much more practice before he became proficient. "Sir? Is it wise to fly over open water on his first-ever flight?" Jarvis asked, concerned about Harry's safety.
"Sometimes you have to run before you can walk," Tony told him.
"Yes, I do believe I've heard that somewhere before," Jarvis said with a sarcastic tone.
"Alright … Let's do it!" Tony shouted in glee. It was clear that he felt the same way about flying as Harry did. Tony shot forward and rocketed through the curved tunnel leading out of the underground car garage.
Harry couldn't stop himself from smiling as he leaned forward with his arms down at his sides. The acceleration was insane. Harry shot forward with such speed that he couldn't avoid scraping his shoulder against the side of the tunnel. His body jerked, but with slight movements of his hands, he kept himself steady. The walls, floor, and ceiling blurred past him, and when he shot out over the ocean, his HUD targeted Tony off in the distance. Keeping his arms and legs steady, Harry ramped up the power and closed the distance, leaving the deafening crack of a shockwave behind. Pulling up right beside Tony, they looked at each other. Of course, he couldn't see his expression, but he could certainly hear the excitement in his voice.
"Fun, huh?" Tony asked as his suit spun like a bullet leaving a rifled barrel.
"It's definitely faster than flying with wings!" Harry called out. Harry then tried to spin like Tony, but wasn't able to pull it off, and he struggled to keep steady.
"Slow down, rookie!" Tony said, sounding amused. "Leave the fancy tricks to the professionals," he joked. Instead of trying any more tricks, Harry spent the next few minutes getting used to making minor adjustments and maneuvers.
"There it is … over there," Tony stated, and when Harry slightly turned his head, he saw the boat in question. It wasn't large by any means. It was maybe thirty feet in length and looked to be at least several decades old. It was sitting low in the water and leaning heavily to the right. Five men were huddled together on the roof of the cabin, waving frantically. One of them shot a flare into the sky, which was somewhat drowned out by the deep orange and red sky of the Pacific sunset.
Suddenly, the boat began capsizing, and two of the men tumbled over into the water. The other three fell onto their bellies and desperately clung to the edge of the cabin's roof. "Get the two guys out of the water. I'll handle the boat," Tony told him and rocketed forward.
He flew right up to the boat and dived into the water. Harry only hoped his suit could handle his underwater exploits. Harry slowed as he reached the boat and hovered wobbly over it. The Elder Wand appeared in his hand, and with a simple wave, the two men were levitated from the water and hung in the air. Their soggy clothes dripped salty water, and they thrashed in the air as though they couldn't understand what was happening. Harry sometimes forgot that not everyone understood magic. Hell, he didn't know if anyone in this world even knew it existed.
The boat then began righting itself, or so it seemed. Tony's hands broke the water's surface as he clung to the railing along the side of the boat. Then his head appeared, and then his torso. He was pushing the boat from the side to level it out.
"Can you fix the boat … You know, like you did with the roof of my garage?" Tony asked through his helmet. Harry didn't see why not.
"Sure. I'll give it a shot," he said, and waved his wand, hitting the boat with a powerful Reparo Charm. The boat was still sitting very low, and he remembered that the hold was likely flooded with water. Harry lowered the flailing men down to the deck and landed on the ship next to them while Tony kept the boat from sinking any further. Harry turned to the terrified fishermen. "How do you get down into the hold?" he asked over the speaker. Harry was momentarily taken aback by the slightly robotic sound of his amplified voice. The men looked at each other, shivering from the cold.
"They probably don't understand English," Tony explained. That would explain their confused looks, Harry thought.
"Facial analysis shows that they are likely from Argentina," Jarvis said through his helmet. "I can translate it for you, if you'd like."
"Sure, go ahead," Harry told Jarvis. The sound of Harry's voice speaking Spanish blared over the speaker even though he hadn't said a word. Thankfully, Tony was indeed correct, and hearing his question in their native language seemed to have done the trick. One of them ran over to a hatch and yanked it open. Harry walked over and looked down. Nearly the entire hold was full of water. "Step back," Harry ordered, which was then translated for the fishermen. They quickly did as they were told, and Harry pointed his wand at the open hatch.
The water began swirling and lifting, forming a small column that quickly grew in size. The column soon towered over them and arched through the air, splashing down into the sea. As the water was pulled from the hold, the boat slowly rose until it was sitting high on the water. "I got the water out," he told Tony.
Tony let go of the railing and only left when he was sure it wasn't going to fall over again. He joined Harry on the deck. "I'll go down and check your work," he said before dropping down into the hold. Harry heard his heavy metal boots clunking around as he checked it for damage. A few minutes later, he slowly rose out of the hatch and landed next to Harry.
"Everything looks good. I couldn't find a single leak," Tony reported. He then turned to the fishermen who were watching with wide, unbelieving eyes. They had likely seen Tony's exploits on the news and couldn't believe they were getting a firsthand view of his heroics. Tony then said something to them, which was translated by Jarvis. One of the men quickly went into the cabin and tried to start the engine. It didn't work.
"Water probably got mixed with the fuel. I don't suppose there's anything you can do about that?" he asked Harry. Harry shook his head.
"Not that I know of," he said. By then, a Coast Guard helicopter finally showed up and circled overhead.
"That's our cue to leave. The Coast Guard can handle it from here," Tony said, and Harry agreed. He knew the US military wasn't too pleased with Tony at the moment. They had started contacting him and trying to get him to hand over the technology. Tony outright refused, though. They stepped away from the men and fired their thrusters. Both of them soared into the air and headed straight back to Malibu.
The flight back didn't take too long, and Harry followed Tony down into the tunnel and back into the garage. Tony gently landed while Harry landed a bit harder with a loud, metallic clank. He did exactly what he had done to put on the suit, only this time, the robotic arms removed the pieces from his body. Harry followed suit, and soon, he was free of his armor. He couldn't help but stare at the glowing Arc Reactor in the middle of the suit's chest, and he was delighted he didn't have to have it installed in his chest like Tony had. Tony sighed and stretched his limbs. Harry agreed that the suit was a bit rough on the joints.
"Well … Now that our good deed for the day is done, how about we grace the gentlemen's club with our esteemed presence?" Tony asked with a happy smile. Harry chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Sure, but you're buying," Harry replied, and they went to get ready.
Metal and Magic
Maria took three extra-strength Tylenol to try to fight the stress headache that had formed after talking with her boss. Apparently, the previous night, Stark and Potter had rescued the crew of a distressed shipping boat and kept it from sinking. That wasn't what had Fury's panties in a bunch, though. The team monitoring Stark's Malibu mansion recorded two armored suits leaving and returning, which meant that, in all likelihood, Harry now had access to an Iron Man suit as well. Maria could imagine the vein in Fury's forehead pulsating as he pounded his fists against his desk. She would have chuckled from the mental image if her head wasn't throbbing so much. Needless to say, Fury wanted her to pick up the pace.
Maria sighed and turned on the sink faucet in her bathroom. She cupped her hands under the stream and scooped some cold water onto her face. The water helped cool her hot skin. Turning off the water, she then grabbed a towel and dabbed it against her face. 'Fury expects everyone to be miracle workers,' the annoying thought ran through her head. He had forgotten what it was like out here in the field. Truth be told, she had also forgotten.
To be fair to herself, she had done an excellent job so far, if she was being honest. She had quickly made contact with Harry and had even weaseled her way into his life. There was no doubt in her mind that he would hire her, but unfortunately, the job wouldn't even exist for another couple of months. That wasn't good. She didn't have that long to wait, and Fury was already riding her ass. She would need to pick up the pace and take things to another level. She had hoped to avoid it, but Maria knew it was a realistic possibility. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to go too far.
Metal and Magic
"Oh, god! I think I'm dying," Harry groaned as he stumbled out of his room. He had forgotten to put the vials of Hangover Cure in his room before leaving for the club the previous night. As such, he stumbled into the living room like a zombie looking for fresh brains to eat. He couldn't even remember where he had placed them.
"Serves you right," he heard Pepper's pleasant voice from the kitchen.
"Pepper?" Harry groaned in a scratchy voice. Pepper walked out of the kitchen in her typical business attire. She had a cute smile on her pretty face and took a sip of her coffee.
"Yes, Harry?" she asked pleasantly. She was obviously enjoying watching him suffer. After seeing him and Tony on the news after the whole burning hospital thing, she figured out that he was the one with the strange powers. Of course, he hadn't filled her in on the details, and Tony refused to without his permission, which somewhat peeved her.
"Have you seen these small glass vials around?" he pathetically asked, scanning the room through his crusty eyes.
"Small glass vials … small glass vials …" she repeated while tapping her chin in thought. "Nope! I don't think I have," she said with an evil smirk. "If only I …"
"Found them!" Harry chirped after summoning them when she wasn't looking.
"Damn!" Pepper cursed under her breath, hoping he would have to suffer just a little while longer. She watched him remove the top and drink one down. Harry closed his eyes, and a few seconds later, he sighed in relief. "What exactly is in that stuff anyway?" she asked him.
She hadn't tried it herself since she rarely ever got drunk, but even she could see that it would be a significant money maker. She only wished Harry had sold the rights to it to Stark Industries instead of him and Tony going at it alone. Harry told her all the ingredients, and she knew he wasn't lying. Still, it didn't make sense. None of the ingredients was anything special, and they certainly wouldn't produce such amazing results when mixed or cooked.
"The secret is in how it's processed," Harry smirked at her. Pepper raised an eyebrow.
"Really," she said in a drawn-out tone, sounding skeptical.
"That's right. It takes a lot of love and care, and as I'm sure you know, I have a whole lot of love to give," Harry cheekily said and took her hand. He pulled her in, and Pepper squeaked when she lightly smacked into his chest. Pepper sniffed him and wrinkled her nose.
"Yes, I can smell all the love you gave last night. Let me guess, there's another hooker in your room that I need to get rid of," she said with a slight look of annoyance.
"Oh, Pepper," Harry teased. "Why do you ask questions to which you already know the answers?
Pepper rolled her eyes and playfully shoved him away right before Tony stumbled into the room, looking like he was seconds from death. "Ugg," he groaned pitifully. Harry tossed him a vial, but he was so hungover that he completely missed the catch. He was forced to chase after it as it clanked across the floor. Down on his knees, he drank it as fast as possible and breathed a sigh of relief when his throbbing headache dulled. "This one worked even better than the last batch," Tony ecstatically declared as he slowly got to his feet.
"Yeah, that tank I designed really did a good job. I guess it passed the test," Harry proudly stated. "Now I just need to wait for the rest to be delivered."
Pepper then came out of the kitchen holding two cups of coffee. She handed them to Harry and Tony, which earned her many thanks. "You need to go get ready soon," she told Tony. "We have that meeting in a couple of hours." She then looked at Harry.
As always, Harry didn't ask any questions, which she knew annoyed Tony. Tony wanted Harry to ask questions like, "With whom?" or "What kind of meeting?", so he could respond, "Sorry. Company secrets." Harry just sat there sipping his coffee with a look of indifference, which amused Pepper to no end. Tony and Harry were remarkably similar, yet distinctly different. She found it hilarious. When Harry continued to drink his coffee without a peep, Tony sighed and got up, taking his coffee back to his room.
"When the girls wake up, have Jarvis order a car," Tony told him, and received a thumbs up from Harry. Pepper giggled and shook her head.
Metal and Magic
With the house free to himself and nothing else to do, Harry decided to see if he could upgrade the suit that Tony had so generously provided. He would need help, though. Harry went down to Tony's lab and punched in the secret code. The lock beeped, and he entered the room.
"Hey, Jarvis? Are there any unused metal plates from either suit?" he asked his digital companion.
"There's a box in the corner with discarded pieces of the Mark II armor. Most have manufacturing flaws," Jarvis told him. Harry walked over and rummaged through the box until he found several plates with various nicks and scratches.
"Will the engraver I use work on this type of metal?" Harry wondered.
"No, Harry, not the engraver you've been using. The power output is too low. However, Mr. Stark has one suitable for the job down in the workshop, on the back wall … second machine from the left," Jarvis explained.
"That big one with the large, flat table?" Harry asked.
"Correct," Jarvis affirmed.
"Excellent!" Harry happily declared. "I want to engrave some runes into these things," he explained, wiggling the plates in his hand.
"I have a suggestion. You've stated you have many books on runecraft. Why don't you scan them into my system? Not only will I be able to help you come up with new and improved sequences, but I can also scan the runes themselves and upload the design files straight into the plasma engraver," Jarvis said, sounding hopeful. He enjoyed being helpful. Harry liked that idea a lot. Harry wasn't close to an expert on runes, so anything to help him out was a godsend.
"That's a great idea! I'll go get the books," Harry said and quickly went to his room. He would spend the next several hours flipping page by page, book by book, while Jarvis scanned each one into his memory bank and then analyzed the data. By the time they were done, Jarvis seemed to know much more about runecraft than he did.
"Fascinating," Jarvis said in wonder. "Yes … I see it now. It was difficult for me to understand when you explained it, but now that I have much more data, it's vastly easier."
"So, do you think you can help me? I'm trying to harden and lighten the metal and make it heat-resistant."
"Child's play," Jarvis said with enthusiasm. Tony's holographic emitter came to life, and a chain of runes appeared hovering over the high-tech table in ghostly green light. "I believe this will work. I've already calculated the size of each rune set by cross-referencing it with the suit's schematic stored in my database. The size of each set will depend on the size of the armor piece. I suggest engraving it on all of these pieces," Jarvis explained, and the rune set disappeared and was replaced by an image of Harry's suit. The suit suddenly broke apart into dozens of pieces. Harry whistled.
"That's a lot of pieces," Harry commented.
"Indeed, but you will be safer for it. Many of these extra pieces add structural integrity to the suit. The extra effort will keep the suit from being crushed with you inside of it."
"That's probably a smart idea," Harry agreed.
"Thank you, sir," Jarvis replied. "As for the armor plating … I would suggest this rune set," he said, and the image of the suit disappeared. A new rune set replaced it.
"It functions just as the other set, but I've added a bit extra to help with kinetic dissipation."
"So bullets won't impact me as hard?" Harry asked for clarification.
"Bullets, flying debris, tank shells, speeding vehicles … all of the above," Jarvis stated happily.
"Wow! You're way better at this than I am," Harry admitted.
"I appreciate the kind words. Shall I start disassembling the suit while you create a test piece?" Jarvis asked in a hopeful voice. All Harry could do was smile.
Metal and Magic
Tony was wiped when he finally got home. He absolutely loathed meetings, especially when they lasted for more than five hours. Then he had the joy of having a meeting about the meeting with the Board of Directors. He was downright mentally exhausted when he walked into the house. "Harry?" he called out, not seeing his delinquent friend.
"He's down in the workshop, sir," Jarvis stated. Tony went downstairs and found Harry standing in front of his enormous and powerful hydraulic press. The part of his armor that covered his thigh was placed in the press, and Harry pressed the button. Tony was about to freak out when he discovered the apparent destruction of the suit he had just created, but he was shocked when the piston pressed against the piece of armor and stopped. The pressure gauge was maxed out at twenty-five thousand PSI, and the hydraulic press groaned in stress.
"That's enough, Harry. I believe the test was successful," Jarvis said in a happy-sounding voice. Harry pressed the button again, and the piston slid back up. Tony walked over as Harry picked up the armor piece and examined it. The black paint was completely messed up, but the part was perfect, as far as he could see.
"Pretty good, huh?" Harry said with a smile as he handed Tony the piece. Tony dumbly nodded as he ran his hand along the top before flipping it over. On the underside of the piece, he could see Harry's runes laser-etched into the metal. Tony could also instantly tell that the piece was way lighter than it had been before. If the rest of the armor was like this, Tony calculated an immediate increase in flight speed of at least seven percent. Jarvis then explained exactly what they had been doing for the last eight hours. Tony's eyes narrowed.
"I knew you were jealous of Iron Man from the very beginning," he told Harry, who was smirking at him. "You're always looking to one-up me!"
"What can I say? A true hero like me deserves nothing but the best," he told Tony, beaming with joy that he had annoyed him so much. Tony shoved the armor back at Harry.
"Well, the joke's on you, pal, because you're staying up all night and upgrading MY suit as well!" Tony huffed and rolled up his sleeves. "Jarvis, order some pizza. Now, hotshot, let's get to work."
Chapter 14
It had taken them all night, and when the sun finally crested the horizon, Tony and Harry were both wired with the sharp, nervous energy that comes from lack of sleep and the anticipation of testing something utterly awesome. The two of them sat on the concrete floor of the workshop, surrounded by pizza crusts, staring at the gleaming suit that now awaited Tony. Iron Man had reached a new generation … One that was augmented and upgraded with magic.
The suit looked mostly the same, red and gold. The imperfections had been buffed out by Tony's obsessive hands, but now, hidden beneath each armor plate was runic script embedded in the metal, glowing dimly with the magic that Harry had painstakingly woven into it. The integration had not been easy or quick. Technology usually rebelled against the unpredictability of magic, but the power of the arc reactor seemed to embrace it.
"Ready to be the world's first magically enhanced superhero?" Harry joked with a glimmer of pride as he studied the pair of suits.
Tony grinned, mouth twitching at the corners. His chin and cheeks were dusted with stubble after spending all night working. "As long as my suit doesn't fall apart mid-flight, I'll count that as a win."
He staggered upright and positioned himself inside the exoskeleton frame, hands splayed as the robotic arms whirred to life. They moved with uncharacteristic finesse, the result of Tony's brilliant design. They fitted each armor piece to his body with a precision that bordered on loving care. The chest plate went on first, then the shoulder pads, then the gauntlets, each locking into place with satisfying clicks and hisses. Harry watched with the mixture of awe and terror that came from witnessing a genius at work and knowing full well that it might all go catastrophically wrong.
"You can barely keep your eyes open," Harry reminded him of his exhaustion. "Maybe you should wait until you've gotten some sleep," he suggested, but Tony shook his head.
Tony's face gleamed with anticipation, and the fatigue underlying it only made him look more determined. "I still have enough energy for this," he said, and as the helmet descended, his eyes shone for a split second before being replaced by the blank, golden mask of Iron Man.
When the suit booted up, the hidden runes seemed to glow brighter, causing pale blue light to escape through the spaces between each plate. Harry almost laughed at how much it reminded him of a wand choosing its owner. Tony flexed both hands, the fingers moving with uncanny human grace. He rolled his neck, then performed a cowboy quick-draw with his repulsors, spinning on his heel. The usual whine of servos had been replaced by the low, harmonic hum of his repulsors powering up. "Drop your weapon, scumbag!" Tony threatened an invisible foe. He then lowered his arms before doing the quickdraw again. "You lookin' at me, punk?" he threatened the air again. Harry rolled his eyes and snorted. Tony then turned to him.
"Don't you want to test yours?" Tony said, voice filtered through the suit's amplified, robotic register.
Harry hesitated. Yes, he was tired, but there was no way he could pass up the chance of another flight. "Might as well see if all this was worth skipping sleep for." He stepped onto the platform opposite Tony, and the segmented, black-and-silver suit enveloped him, piece by piece. Where Tony's was built for battle, Harry's was built for speed. The helmet sealed with a gasp, and the HUD blinked to life. For the first time in hours, Harry felt awake.
He took a tentative step, surprised by how light the suit felt. It even felt lighter than he remembered from his previous time wearing it. The slight pressure of the inner lining against his skin felt like a second layer of muscle, perfectly anticipating his movements. He flexed, and the servos responded instantly, the suit translating thought to action without lag. It was thrilling.
"Try not to crash," Tony teased. "These aren't cheap, you know."
"No promises," Harry shot back, but he couldn't hide his excitement.
They moved to the center of the lab, where the concrete floors bore the scars of previous tests. Tony's suit whirred as he stepped forward. The boosters in his boots and palms fired up, producing a low, rumbling hiss. His armored body rose several feet into the air, but Tony was easily able to keep himself steady. Harry did the same. His boosters fired, and he only wobbled slightly before steadying.
"Race you to the top," he said, and before Harry could reply, Tony rocketed forward with a deafening blast, the force of the repulsors rattling every tool on the workbenches.
Harry instinctively leaned forward, bracing himself, then added thrust. The boosters kicked in with a sensation that was both exhilarating and terrifying, as though an invisible elastic band had flung him forward. He shot after Tony, the workshop's walls blurring as he barreled down the curved tunnel at breakneck speed. The G-forces pressed him hard into the suit, and he fought to keep the trajectory straight, fingers twitching, breath held tight in his chest.
The tunnel sloped upward in a slight corkscrew, and Harry caught a glimpse of Tony ahead, spiraling through the sky with joyful recklessness. The HUD in Harry's helmet displayed trajectory projections, recalibrating every millisecond, and for a moment, he trusted it enough to let go and just enjoy the raw sensation of speed. He almost laughed from the rush. The tunnel walls gave way to daylight with a sudden, blinding glare, and Harry burst into the open air, the roar of the waves and wind slightly muffled by his helmet.
Tony was already high overhead, a streaking comet of red and gold against the blue sky. In truth, he was barely more than a pinprick in a sea of blue. White puffy clouds hung low over the ocean's surface, and the water below reflected the orange light of the morning sun. "Jarvis … Maximum thrust," Harry ordered.
"At once, sir," Jarvis responded, sounding just as eager as he was to test out the suit's capabilities.
"Whoa!" Harry shouted in surprise when his body rocketed forward. Tony's suit began inching closer to him. It took several minutes, but eventually, Harry pulled up beside him.
Tony's voice crackled into the comms. "How's the suit handling?"
"It's definitely faster. It seems more maneuverable, too," Harry answered, subtly testing the suit's micro movements.
"Faster is good!" Tony happily exclaimed. "Jarvis, let's see what this baby can do."
Harry watched as Tony banked hard to the right, slicing through the air with almost no resistance. He followed, pushing the suit to the extreme, and was rewarded with a burst of speed so intense it made his vision gray out around the edges. He caught up with Tony, their suits matching velocity, and for a long minute they just flew, two streaks of color locked in a silent dance above the world. Slowly, Harry began to pull ahead.
"Yours is faster than mine!" Tony shouted, half-laughing, half-accusing.
"Mine is lighter and built for speed, remember?" Harry reminded him.
"Well, don't get used to it. With these runes adding so much structural durability, I can cut the weight of my suit significantly. Get ready for another long night of laser engraving."
Harry tried a barrel roll, the suit responding instantly, no lag or drag. He felt the centrifugal force tug at him, but the internal cushioning dampened most of it. "How high can these suits go?" he wondered aloud.
"Pretty high, but they're not rated for space … so keep that in mind," Tony replied, the note of warning undercut by his obvious eagerness to find out. Tony made a mental note to fix that pesky little problem. How he would accomplish that, he wasn't sure yet.
Harry pointed himself upward and surged ahead, the boosters roaring as he climbed. The temperature dropped rapidly, and he watched the clouds thin out beneath him until all that was left was a cotton-like carpet stretching to the horizon. He broke through the upper atmosphere so quickly his ears popped as the suit struggled to keep him safe, and the sky around him deepened from blue to indigo to black. From so high up, he could easily see the curvature of the Earth. It was both awe-inspiring and frightening. He hovered just below the edge of space, the suit's alarms starting to ping.
"I do not suggest going any higher, Harry," Jarvis cut in with the calm insistence of someone who had seen too many bad ideas in action. Harry grinned, unable to help himself, and looked over his shoulder. Tony was right there, his armor illuminated by the harsh, white sunlight.
They floated in silence for a moment, nothing but the distant crackle of static and the faint, omnipresent whine of the suits. Harry stared into the blackness of space, at the infinite void, and felt a kinship with Tony. It was, after all, his brilliance and generosity that allowed Harry to witness such a thing.
"Quite a sight … Isn't it?" Tony said, voice calm and reverent. Harry nodded, not trusting himself to speak. This high up, even words seemed superfluous.
Eventually, the suits' oxygen warnings forced them to descend, and they fell back into the world with a speed that made Harry's stomach lurch. They plunged through the atmosphere, the suit plating heating up before the temperature control runes kicked in and bled the excessive heat. The HUD displayed his thermal readouts in urgent red, and Harry watched as the number decreased to a safe level. Harry angled his descent to keep the G-forces manageable, but Tony just seemed to enjoy the thrill of tumbling end over end before stabilizing with showy precision.
When they neared the coastline, Tony pulled out of his dive right before hitting the surface of the water. Harry copied his maneuver, and both men raced along the water's surface, sending sea spray high into the air on either side of them. They flew back into the tunnel and landed safely in his garage. Tony's faceplate flipped up, revealing his big, excited smile. "I'd call that a successful trial."
Harry chuckled as his faceplate slid up. "You're telling me. The heat-dissipating runes worked like a charm. For a second there, I was afraid I might be fried to a crisp."
"I wonder what else these runes can do for us?" Tony wondered as he stepped onto the platform and allowed the robotic arms to pull armor pieces off of him.
Harry did the same. "Ask Jarvis. It seems he's the runic expert now," Harry chuckled as his body was freed of its metal prison.
"Hmm," Tony replied, already thinking.
Metal and Magic
It had been five hours after securing a hush-hush building inspector's signature that Harry's industrial mixing tanks arrived at the edge of Oxnard, beyond the reach of the city's glamour. There were ten tanks, not counting the one already delivered, and each one was gleaming and enormous. They were massive enough to pump out millions of doses of Hangover Cure every day. Harry lingered in the little patch of office built onto the warehouse's side and watched the tanks' delivery unfold. He savored the shouts and alarms of reverse-beeping machinery, the clatter of steel on asphalt, and the scurrying of the workers.
He enjoyed the complexity of it all, the way the tanks hovered in midair, suspended by thick cables, then crashed down with a boom that vibrated the ground he stood on. The tank's skin was so polished you could see your own reflection in it. Harry watched with a thrill as the forklifts nudged and muscled the tanks into place, and then workers bolted them to their final resting spots on their concrete beds.
The workers left before sunset, and with the last of them gone, Harry walked the floor, his steps echoing in the empty bays. He ran a palm along the tank's skin, fingers tracing the manufacturer's stamp. He thought about the next steps. It involved a whole lot of laser engraving. He sighed and got to work.
He had just started engraving the second tank when his phone rang. Checking the phone, he saw that it was Maria again. She had been calling him quite often over the last week. She wanted to be kept up to date on the progress of the factory, or at least, that was her excuse. Harry knew it was total BS. She was keeping an eye on him, just like Natasha had.
He picked up. "Hey, Maria," he said, seating himself on an overturned bucket, aware that she probably knew exactly where he was and what he was doing. Maybe she even knew about the runes he had been engraving, though he doubted she knew what they really were.
"Hi, Harry," Maria replied, her voice as even as ever. "Are you busy?"
"I'm at the factory, working on a few things, but I'll be done in about an hour. Why?" Harry asked. He let just enough of a yawn creep into his voice to sound unaffected.
"I was calling to see if you wanted to come over and hang out. I'm pretty bored over here. All alone." She paused, letting that last tantalizing bit hang there. He could instantly tell that there was no real desire in her voice. She was calling because she had to. Harry pictured her in her small house with drawn blinds, a phone in one hand and a folder labeled something like OPERATION NIGHTSHIFT in the other.
He grinned to himself. Maria really was something else, he thought. "Well, far be it from me to leave a lady in distress," he replied. "I'll be over in a couple of hours."
"Great!" Maria said, and this time there was a genuine note of pleasure in her voice, or maybe she was just a better actor than he gave her credit for. "I'll see you in two hours. Bye!"
"Bye," Harry echoed, and the call cut out. He sat in silence for a moment. He knew, as well as she did, that this wasn't about loneliness or boredom. She was keeping tabs on him for S.H.I.E.L.D., the same shadowy agency that had Natasha placed on him. Certainly, there were worse things than having the curvaceous Natasha placed on him, Harry lewdly thought. Maria Hill, with her dark hair, beautiful face, and asset-trained body, was a professional spy, and Harry only half-minded being watched if it meant he could watch her in return.
He finished the tank engraving, double-checked the main doors, and snapped the padlocks shut in a deliberate, methodical order. The whole drive to Maria's house was a headache through LA's torturous gridlock.
Harry pulled into her driveway, and the front door immediately opened. Maria popped out and waited for him on the threshold, waving before he'd even switched off the ignition. "Hi, Harry!" she called, her smile as blinding as the streetlights above her.
She wore a pair of shorts so tiny that the thin, light pink fabric at the bottom seemed to just give up trying to cover her modesty, leaving the lower curve of her ass exposed to the night air. The front of her shorts was even better. They rode up and hugged her puffy pussy, proudly displaying the shape of her womanhood. There was something aggressively deliberate about the way she had dressed, like she wanted to be lusted after by him. Her tank top was so thin it was nearly transparent, exposing her hard nipples to him. The thin spaghetti straps crossed her shoulders, leaving a deep valley of cleavage between her two, pillowy tits. The bottom of the tank top ended right below her breasts, showing off her smooth, toned belly.
She had legs that would fit him perfectly as they wrapped around the back of his neck, and her hair was pulled back in a playful ponytail, exposing her angular jaw. As Harry approached, he wondered whether the outfit was a calculated decision for him, or if this was just how Maria Hill operated when she was off the clock. If he had to guess, he would say it was all part of her plan.
He followed her inside, occasionally peeking at her ass as her hips swayed from side to side. The house was tidy but sparsely furnished, the kind of place you could abandon in ten minutes if needed. The only sign of permanence was a lush, overwatered pothos on the kitchen counter and an old quilt thrown over the back of the couch.
Maria kicked off her flip flops, padded barefoot over the hardwood, and collapsed onto the sofa with a sigh. "It must have been a hell of a week for you," she said. "The factory is really coming together," she said, patting the spot next to her.
Harry sat down next to her, and Maria immediately curled her legs under her, tucking in close so that her warm thigh pressed against his jeans. The television was on, tuned to a muted feed of some late-night cable news, but neither of them paid it any mind.
"Yeah. It's a lot of work, but hopefully, it'll be rewarding," he said as Maria leaned in. She stretched her back, the movement shifting her tank top enough to draw his gaze to the underboob that had just slipped below the hem of her tiny shirt.
"You okay? You look sore," Harry asked with fake concern. Maria lowered her arms and smiled.
"I've had a long, tiring day," she said and then yawned. She scooted even closer until she was pressed right up against his side. Harry could smell the faint tang of her grapefruit-scented shampoo. She then took his hand and slipped his arm over her shoulder. She snuggled in further, rubbing her body against him. "You don't mind, do you?" she asked, turning her beautiful eyes on him.
"Not at all," Harry replied, gently brushing his fingers along the soft skin of her arm. Maria graced him with a lovely smile.
"Thanks. It can get a bit lonely here. I don't really have any friends that I can call up at a moment's notice," she admitted. Harry wondered if that really was true. He was sure that life as a spy could probably be very lonely at times. Maria smiled, seemingly pleased with his answer, but Harry knew very well that it was only an act. Still, that didn't stop her from leaning in and gently kissing his lips. She let the kiss linger, expecting him to deepen it. Harry didn't disappoint. Her mouth opened, beckoning him in, and she moaned when he responded. His hand ran along her smooth thigh, feeling the silky softness of her skin.
Maria rolled her body over his, straddling Harry's lap with a playful, practiced confidence. Her knees framed his hips as she pressed down on him. Her tiny pink shorts barely covered her pussy, and she pressed her chest against him, pinning him deeper into the couch. For a second, they didn't move, simply breathing in each other's air, the sexual tension hot and tangible. Then, she leaned in, and this time it was she who deepened their kiss, her lips moving in slow, deliberate succession before her tongue slid across his. Harry's hands confidently found their way to her waist, memorizing the delicate curves of her hips. He let his palms drift down, cupping the full, soft shape of her ass. Her skin was warm, and her shorts so tiny they seemed to disappear into the cleft between her cheeks.
She moaned against his mouth, the sound reverberating through his chest, and wriggled her hips, grinding her covered pussy against the hard seam of his jeans. Harry's breath hitched, and he squeezed her harder, fingers spreading and kneading her cheeks. He shifted slightly, and his fingers brushed the heat between her legs, still shielded by a layer of soft fabric. Maria gasped and broke their kiss, her hair falling messily around her flushed cheeks, eyes darkened. He felt her heart hammering against his, both of them breathing heavily. For a moment, they just stared, lost in the hunger.
"Would you mind if we slow down?" she asked, breathlessly, her voice slightly hoarse. "I don't want to take things too far, too soon." Maria knew that he would. SHIELD had tracked down most of Harry's lovers, and they all said the same thing … Harry was a nice guy. Even Natasha expressed her admiration for him.
He brushed a strand of her dark hair behind her ear and smiled with ease. "Of course, I don't mind," he said. The fact that she had stopped his exploration wasn't shocking. In fact, it was expected. Things had started off slowly with Natasha as well. It seemed that they didn't want to give up their advantage if they didn't have to.
Maria's body softened, her shoulders falling, and she kissed him again. This time her lips were gentle, slow, stretching the moment out and savoring it. She lingered, letting the intimacy settle over them. It was so different from the frantic heat of a minute before.
Still in his lap, she touched his cheek. "Would you stay tonight? We don't have to do … you know … everything. But we could still kiss, and cuddle, and maybe fall asleep together." She didn't wait for him to answer. She slowly worked her hips back and forth, reminding him of what was hidden below the thin fabric of her shorts.
Harry nodded. "Sure," he said with a slight, knowing smile. His fingers, now resting on the back of her thighs, traced a lazy circle over her skin. Maria smiled, her eyes bright, and climbed off him with a little wiggle, as if she couldn't resist one last tease.
She took his hand and led him down the hallway, the air between them thick with desire. In her bedroom, the walls were mostly empty. Only a few generic art prints were hung in a way that expressed that this room belonged to a female. SHIELD hadn't done a very good job decorating, Harry thought. She closed the door and wiggled out of her shorts, leaving her in an even tinier thong, the strings of which hung low on her wide, inviting hips. She peeled off her tank top, revealing jiggling, perfect breasts, nipples already hard, and Harry felt a wave of irrepressible longing wash over him.
Maria crawled onto the bed and stretched out, arching her back, the fabric of her thong barely able to contain her pink, puffy pussy lips. Her legs were long and smooth, and Harry longed to run his hands down them. She wiggled her cute toes, drawing his attention to her sexy little feet. She then beckoned him with a finger. "Aren't you going to join me?" she teased, her voice a sensual invitation.
Harry quickly removed his shoes, shirt, and jeans, leaving him in only his boxers, which were severely tented in the front. Maria reached for the lamp and switched it off. The room was filled with the pale glow of string lights, casting shadows in the shape of her body onto the sheets. Harry slid in next to her.
They lay side by side, inches apart, the distance between them insignificant. Harry then touched her shoulder, tracing his fingers down her arm. Maria rolled to face him, and her lips found his again, soft but insistent, her hands roaming over his chest and ribs, mapping his body as if she needed to explore every inch. He kissed her back, letting his hands drift across her hip, then over the bare curve of her waist. He felt the tremble in her stomach when he touched her, the tiny goosebumps that rose on her skin.
For a long time, they lost themselves in that. They spent hours kissing, touching, and moaning. When Maria became too sleepy to continue, she draped her half-naked body over his and buried her face in his neck. Harry held her tightly, loving how her warm breath tickled the side of his neck. He closed his eyes and listened to her breath until he finally drifted off.
Chapter 15
Maria woke to the Malibu morning sun peeking in through the massive window that stretched along the entire wall of Harry's room. She was wrapped in Egyptian cotton sheets, half-naked, and already thinking about the next step in her operation. The sunlight blanketed Harry's bare back as he slept on his belly with his head facing away from her. She couldn't help but admire the swell of his muscles and the softness of his skin. At first, she wasn't very keen to let things get physical. She was never that type of agent. She would only cross that line if it was absolutely necessary. However, Maria was actually enjoying herself. Harry was nice, funny, easygoing, and he was talented in other areas as well. She particularly enjoyed the way he would kiss her. It would always leave her body tingling and her lips ready for more.
She yawned as quietly as possible, rolled to her side, and propped herself on one elbow. Harry lay sprawled across three-quarters of the bed, his face mashed into a pillow. His hair was a complete mess, which was saying something. His hair was always unruly, which Maria found endlessly amusing.
Maria untangled herself from the sheets, slowly pushing herself up and swinging her legs over the side of the bed. The only thing she wore was a pair of black cotton panties, riding dangerously low on her fleshy hips. She'd lost her bra sometime after midnight, and after a moment of looking around for it, she found it crumpled on the other side of his dresser. Her body bore the marks of another passionate night with Harry. A cluster of barely visible hickeys dotted her collarbone, her nipples were sore and sensitive, and there was a subtle ache in her jaw that reminded her exactly how far she'd gone to convince Harry to bring her over to the Stark Mansion. 'Fury better appreciate my commitment to getting the job done,' she mentally stated.
She glanced at her discarded jeans, which lay draped over Harry's desk chair. The thumb drive was exactly where she'd left it. It was tucked into the back pocket, disguised as a novelty lipstick tube. She tiptoed across the hardwood, careful to avoid the floorboards that groaned, and fished out the drive. Harry's laptop was charging on the dresser. It was a sleek, glossy design from Stark Industries. Maria quietly jammed the thumb drive into the laptop's USB port. The red LED blinked to life, letting her know that it was working. She kept one eye on the bed, making sure he remained fast asleep. His slow, steady breathing told her he was.
The thumb drive was an upgraded version and would supposedly clone his hard drive in under thirty seconds. Maria leaned against the dresser, arms crossed under her breasts, and watched the red LED continue to blink. Maria mentally counted down the seconds. When it passed thirty, Maria frowned, hoping the damn thing would hurry up. In the end, it took over one and a half minutes, something Maria wasn't happy about. The LED finally flipped from red to green. Maria snatched the drive out, tossed it back in her jeans, and took a moment to admire herself in the mirror above the dresser. She gave her boobs a little bounce for good luck. 'Not bad, Hill. Not bad at all,' she mentally complimented the continued state of her breasts' perkiness.
She heard the bed creak, then a soft, stifled yawn. Maria moved back toward the bed and waited for him to wake. Harry's eyes fluttered open, squinting into the sun. His hair was even more of a mess than usual. He turned in bed and spotted Maria. She was topless with a soft smile on her pretty face, and her hips were playfully cocked to the side.
"Morning, sleepyhead," Maria teased, sauntering toward the bed.
Harry squinted. "How long have you been awake?" he asked, his voice rough with tiredness.
She perched herself on the edge of the mattress, bare chest on full display, and ruffled her hair. "About five minutes," she said, and then yawned again.
He rolled to his back, arms behind his head, unabashedly ogling her breasts. Harry loved how perky they were despite their impressive size. Her pink nipples were stiff and appeared slightly darker than they normally were. That wasn't surprising considering he spent much of last night with his lips wrapped around them. She smirked and jiggled her chest for him. "Not a bad way to start your day, is it?"
Harry let his eyes linger. "I've had worse mornings," he said teasingly. Maria ran her hands up her sides and cupped her breasts. She lightly squeezed them and gently pinched the hard tips of her nipples. She then let them drop with a bounce.
Maria crawled onto the bed, straddling his lap. She settled her weight slowly, letting her panties trace the bulge under the sheets, and bent down until her palms were resting on his shoulders. Harry's hands found her thighs before sliding them up to her hips. He gave them a deliberate, greedy squeeze. Maria shuddered, seemingly enjoying the way he played with her body. Harry grinned at the sexy woman and then pushed his hips upward, pressing his erection against the cotton barrier of her panties. Maria gasped and then ground against him, loving the naughty friction.
"I wish I could stay longer," she murmured as her eyes fluttered. "But I have a dentist appointment."
Harry moved his hands up her sides and cupped her breasts, his fingers splayed wide across her delicate skin. He played with her nipples, his thumbs brushing lightly at first, then pressing just hard enough to make her moan. "Is that so?" he said. "Seems a shame, leaving before the real fun starts."
Maria shuddered, her hips rocking faster as she rode him through the thin fabric. She could feel herself growing slick, and she could see Harry's face flush, his breathing becoming ragged. She arched her back, pressing her tits harder into his palms. "It can't be helped. I've already cancelled my appointment twice, and the lady at the desk is starting to get annoyed with me," she said, coming up with an excuse on the fly. She needed to get that thumb drive out as quickly as possible without alienating him.
He flicked her nipples as he chuckled. "That's very irresponsible of you," he joked. He then lightly pinched the hard tips and rolled them between his fingers. Maria moaned, feeling her control start to slip. She pressed down hard, grinding in tight circles. The entire room was thick with the smell of her damp panties. The sensations built rapidly. Heat coiled in her belly, and her fingers began to tingle. She came with a sharp, high-pitched squeal. Her hands braced her weight on Harry's chest, and her breath came out ragged. Her back arched, and her breasts jiggled wildly. When her body stopped shaking, she collapsed forward, breathless, and planted a lazy kiss on his chin. Harry looked up at her, equal parts amused and aroused.
"It appears you're starting the day off better than I am," Harry joked as he palmed and kneaded her panty-clad ass.
She giggled again, rolled off him, and stood to retrieve her jeans. "I'll admit, it's better than a cup of coffee," she smirked.
Maria fished her phone from the bedside table, then caught sight of Harry's impressive erection. "You're going to need a cold shower. That thing's going to poke someone's eye out."
He shrugged, stretching luxuriously. "I'd settle for a helping hand."
She pulled on her shirt, buttoning it with expert efficiency. "You have two working hands, don't you? You'll probably need both to cover that monster."
Harry feigned a tragic sigh. "And you're just going to leave me like this … You're heartless."
Maria paused in the doorway, then smirked. "You know my number. I'll give you a proper apology the next time I see you." When the door clicked shut, Harry lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling, tenting the sheets. He was still half-hard and thoroughly entertained.
"Pardon my interruption, Harry, but there is something I think you should be aware of," Jarvis's voice interrupted Harry's impure thoughts about Ms. Maria Hall.
"What is it, Jarvis?"
"Right before you woke, she inserted a thumb drive disguised as a tube of red lipstick into your laptop. I analyzed the firmware as she was cloning your hard drive, and it appears to be custom."
Harry laughed, letting the sound bounce around the room. "She's resourceful. I'll give her that."
"Indeed, sir. She must have acquired it from SHIELD," Jarvis told him, and Harry agreed. "As she was copying the data, I installed a Trojan on the flash drive. If they attempt to analyze the data on a network connected to the mainframe, I may be able to backdoor their entire system."
Harry chuckled merrily. He was eager to see if Jarvis could find anything.
Metal and Magic
Harry liked to think he was living the dream, and right now, the dream looked a lot like a kilometer-high flyover of the Santa Monica coast at Mach 0.92. The black and chrome metallic suit sliced through the smog, sunlight glinting off the chrome as he banked so hard that the Gs would have crushed a lesser man. Downtown LA was just ahead, the forest of concrete, steel, and glimmering glass stretched before him. Beneath him, traffic trickled along the 405, the highway peppered with SUVs and convertibles.
Inside the helmet, the air tasted crisp and clean—filtered to hospital-grade, perfumed lightly with the hint of lemon Tony had secretly programmed in, just to mess with him. Jarvis piped in, "Sensors indicate your heart rate is increasing faster than normal."
"What can I say? Flying gets me hot and bothered," Harry joked, then rolled into a sharp turn before plunging. He descended a thousand feet before slowing his descent. Harry leveled off, hovered high above the Chateau Marmont, and said, "Let's see what everyone's up to. Jarvis, can you scan the local radio frequencies? Give me a sweep of police, fire, and medical … look for anything worth dropping in on."
"Scanning now," Jarvis intoned, and Harry couldn't help but smile as the city's 911 traffic scrolled across the inner surface of his HUD, a long list of disasters and petty crime.
A second line blared to life, and Tony's annoyed face materialized in the top right of the HUD. "Hey! You're not supposed to be out there Iron Man'ing without me!" he accused.
"It's not my fault you're stuck in a stuffy boardroom meeting. Besides, as the city's preeminent superhero, I need to be out here …"
"I'm the city's preeminent superhero!" Tony interrupted, jabbing his thumb at his chest. "And don't you forget it!"
Jarvis interrupted their banter. "There is an item of note on the fire department frequency. A rescue situation. Coordinates and audio patch on your HUD."
A green dot pulsed on the city grid. The words "FDLA: Animal Rescue, 2700 block North Sycamore" blinked to life.
Harry zoomed in on the area. "Let me guess. Cat stuck in a tree?"
"There is, in fact, a feline in distress," Jarvis humorously replied. "The Los Angeles Fire Department has not responded. I imagine it's a low priority for them."
"Finally, an opponent worthy of your talents. Don't let that dastardly cat get the best of you, Harry," Tony snickered.
"Never met a pussy I couldn't tame," Harry joked back, and Tony's image froze mid-eye roll as he disconnected.
Harry flared the suit's repulsors and punched straight through a cloud bank. He then angled toward the neighborhood in question, following Jarvis's vector, which was visually displayed on his HUD. Harry dipped down to just above roof-level, careening over pools and gardens until he hit the grid of bungalows at the foothills. On approach, he slowed his speed, coming to a stop with a flourish above a two-story house. From this altitude, he easily spotted a small, teary-eyed girl in a pink dress. She was looking up at a tree while her mother tried to comfort her. A small crowd of neighbors was also gathered.
"Visual contact established," Jarvis stated.
Harry cycled his helmet visor to infrared, and a tiny, vibrating heat signature revealed itself in the uppermost branches. Harry landed with a solid thud, letting the suit's impact reverberate for maximum effect. The crowd froze. The girl gasped. The mother, a tanned and toned bombshell in form-fitting athleisure clothes, craned her neck up to get a better look at him.
He couldn't resist. He did the classic superhero landing, fist to pavement, one knee down, before straightening up and surveying the crowd. "Is someone in need of assistance?" his voice boomed.
The crowd murmured while the mother stepped forward, hips lustfully swaying. Her hair was immaculate, even though it was probably her gym day. "She's been crying for an hour," the woman said, and Harry noted the subtle valley-girl lilt that LA socialites never quite outgrew. "The fire department hasn't come yet. Is there anything you can do, Mr. Iron Man?"
Harry considered correcting her. Iron Man was, strictly speaking, a different guy, but then she flashed a smile so dazzling that he decided not to split hairs. Still, he needed his own superhero name. He'd be damned if he ever got called Iron Man again. Tony would never let him forget it. "Anything for a damsel in distress," he replied to the little girl, who was now clutching her stuffed unicorn with the grip of a drowning man.
He flexed his knees, engaged the micro-thrusters, and shot up the tree trunk. Bark exploded away as the sonic vibrations rattled the branches. The cat, realizing too late that its perch had been invaded, tried to leap away. It jumped right into Harry's waiting gauntlet. He cradled the animal, which immediately commenced to shredding his suit with needle-sharp claws. "That's not very nice," Harry chided, but he held the squirming bundle gently, dropping down with a slow, showy descent. The crowd clapped as he gently touched down.
He kneeled down and offered the cat to the girl. She hesitated, eyes wide, but the mother nudged her forward. Harry held the cat out and tried to calm it, but it latched onto his armored forearm and refused to let go. "You're really attached, aren't you?" He jostled his arm, and the cat simply dug in deeper, meowing with indignation.
Finally, he managed to hand off the trembling cat to its owner. The girl squealed with delight, burying her face in the animal's fur. Harry wiped a phantom bead of sweat from his brow and turned to the mother, who was now giving him a look like she wanted to climb him instead of the tree.
"Thank you. We were honestly freaking out," she said, putting an extra roll in her hips as she moved closer. "Is there anything I can do to repay you?" She batted her eyelashes, hoping he would read between the lines.
Harry's visor slid up with a flourish, revealing his tousled hair and best lopsided grin. "Just doing my civic duty, ma'am. But if you insist …."
Harry grabbed her around the waist and dipped her low. She pressed herself close, and Harry noted that she smelled like coconut. Her arms threaded around the back of his armored neck just as he kissed her deeply and passionately. A few of the women present squealed in delight and egged her on. The woman deepened the kiss and practically shoved her tongue down his throat. He eventually let her up, only to see several people in the crowd taking videos of it with their phones. He made sure to wink for the cameras.
When the mother was back on her feet, she leaned in just enough for her lips to brush his cheek. "Seriously, if you ever need anything … Here's my number," she said, then wrote the digits on the chrome portion of his chest in permanent marker.
Harry tilted his head down and tried to inspect the phone number, then said to Jarvis, "Remind me to get this transferred to my contacts."
"Already done, sir," Jarvis amusedly replied.
He gave the crowd a little salute, then triggered the suit's thrusters and shot straight up. He leveled off at a thousand feet, laughing. "Tony's going to love this." Harry rocketed up into the sunlight and flew lazily over the city. "Alright, Jarvis … What's next?"
Metal and Magic
For the next few hours, Harry chased emergencies and minor disasters up and down LA. There was an elderly couple locked out of their car, which Harry took care of with a bit of magic. He ferried a bleeding rollerblader to urgent care. He even delivered a tray of gluten-free pastries to a vegan bakery after the delivery truck broke down. The final call of the day was a chemical spill at a discount day spa in Burbank. It was nothing major, just a few gallons of highly caustic facial peel splashed across a dozen shrieking soccer moms. Harry clunked into the lobby and magically cleaned them with a wave of his hand. By the time the first responders arrived, the women had flocked to Harry, clawing for photos and autographs. When one of the spa regulars invited him to join her in the steam room to help him "relax," Harry found it hard to resist.
He left Burbank flying low over the rooftops, his euphoria heightened by a half-dozen lipstick kisses on his helmet and another phone number scrawled in red Sharpie directly on his left gauntlet. This one had a heart drawn around it. Jarvis had already cataloged the digits for later use. When Harry finally made it home, it was a little after seven. He stepped directly into the waiting robotic arms and sighed in relief once the suit was removed.
The living room TV was already on. Jarvis must have known Harry would want something mindless, because the TV was tuned to one of those live talk shows that went over LA's daily events. Harry immediately saw himself on the screen in full armor, making out with a woman in the middle of a neighborhood, while the assembled masses hooted and filmed from every angle. The front door slammed. The heavy, annoyed footsteps of Tony Stark thudded up the marble entryway. Harry's day instantly got brighter.
Tony strode into the living room wearing a tailored suit. He looked like a man who'd spent all afternoon explaining quantum engine schematics to people who still didn't know which end of the screwdriver to hold. He had a briefcase under one arm and a scowl that could have soured fresh milk.
Harry didn't even bother to sit up. He laced his fingers behind his head and greeted Tony with a smile. "Hey there, bucko. How was work?"
Tony glared, then threw the briefcase onto the coffee table so hard that the glass top shuddered. "Don't start. I had to sit through two meetings today. Two!" he reiterated. "Why does everything bad happen to me?!"
Harry snorted, watching Tony pace. "I believe there may be some starving children in Africa who might disagree with your sentiment."
Tony ignored him, pacing behind the couch. He ran a hand through his hair, then stopped dead when he saw the TV. The video was still playing. Tony groaned and dropped down next to Harry. They sat in companionable silence for about thirty seconds before Pepper glided in through the front door. The first thing she saw was the wall-sized TV, which showed Harry in the process of kissing the aforementioned MILF. She raised one eyebrow before shaking her head and going into the kitchen.
"You know, I've been thinking," Tony started.
"What about?" Harry asked as the talk show continued to show clips of Harry's good deeds.
"I'm thinking of giving up my position in the company," he told Harry. Harry turned to him and raised an eyebrow.
"Really?" Harry asked, only slightly disbelieving. Tony nodded. He actually looked serious.
"I'm not really needed there anymore, and I'm just wasting my time with nonsensical meetings and fighting daily traffic. I'm thinking of making Pepper the CEO," he said that last part quietly. Harry whistled in appreciation. "I've been thinking about it over the last few days, and seeing you out there doing good today just confirmed my decision. I'll be much better off out there doing stuff as Iron Man than sitting in my boring office as Tony Stark."
Harry nodded, completely understanding his point of view. Tony didn't need to work. He had more money than he could ever spend, and it wasn't like he couldn't work from home. "You think Pepper can handle the job?" Harry asked. He didn't want Pepper getting in over her head. He had actually grown to really like her.
"There's certainly a learning curve, but she already knows how to do ninety percent of my job. I'm guessing she'll do great," Tony told him.
"Well then, I say do it. There's a whole world out there full of adventure just waiting for two idiots to screw everything up," Harry chuckled. Tony, however, looked more eager than ever. Pepper chose that moment to join them. She sat down between the two men and laughed at a clip of Harry pushing a car that had run out of fuel into a gas station. Harry wasn't exactly out there saving the world, but you had to start somewhere.