webnovel

Space, free loot.

He wasn't exactly just making a spaceship for fun, he was actually attempting to make for now an unmanned drone that could enter space for monitoring purposes. It would be much like a satellite just smaller in size, as it would be attached with an immensely powerful camera, as well as a scanner that could identify things and materials that were in space. It was, mostly finished so to speak, he was just waiting on a delivery of metal that he needed.

Sitting in his lab at his 'desk' full of tools and blueprints he was using the holographic screen to scroll through one of his most recent contracts, having bought the petition for Captain America and other heroes, as well as writing up contracts ready to fly out once more started appearing he was scrolling through all the rights that the Captain America one gave him, which was toys, movies, and other smaller brands, he was currently looking at one of the old toys that they had sold, it being his 'signature' shield, not the round one though. Since that technically never seen the light of the media, it had reminded him.

''Man, wish I could just find some Vibranuim laying around...'' He chuckled softly

''Well Sir, as what you told me, it came from space... What's to say there aren't meteors, or space debris that carry it?''

Tony stopped when he heard Jarvis, his mind clicking quickly as he quickly formulated a change to the drone he was working on, mining capabilities, a storage compartment, automatic deposits, refuels and other things that included it evading detection and quite a few other things.

He say forward, forgetting about his new ability to make toys for old hero's as he began to work, he had nothing but time while waiting for the delivery of materials he needed, so it was best he spent it doing what he did best.

Making things far ahead of the time.

-------------------------------------

It took him four hours, but he got a basic design ready for it, the plan was to have it a more mining drone that would return with deposited metal from asteroids, this drone would mark a ton of conditions off before actively starting to mine, and the person who would be watching over the drones would be Jarvis.

Stark didn't have a signal strong enough to be able to reach that far into space of course, what he could do however, was make a smaller, less intelligent A.I. that would act as a secondary Jarvis, sort of like a 'child' that remained stupid so to speak, which was easy to do as he already had the program up and running, running it through simulated testing while he worked on the drone itself.

With the help of automated helper bots like Dumb-E, it was quick work, powering it and fueling it was easy as he also made it so it could to it autonomously, simply making it so It could dumb the materials it collected into a warehouse, this included space junk as well, since even scraps could be useful in the right situation, hell he might even find some alien scrap if he looks hard enough.

By midnight he was launching the drone for it's first trial test, it would take a few days of course since he didn't make it so it could just travel at light speeds or anything, it was just a normal, however incredibly advanced mining drone. He had it mainly searching for materials he could use later, more precious metals like gold and silver, as well as giving it the ability to find Vibranium, he doubted his luck would be that good, but a tech genius could dream.

He watched the stars, sitting out onto his balcony as he sipped at a beer, his mind working over what he could be doing next... He had plenty of time before events would begin, and even then he was already preparing for them, with the knowledge of what he could make, and the knowledge of how to make it if he focused hard enough, his first suit made of nanites wouldn't be far off, that just required a lot of more advanced tech he would have to make first.

The biggest thing he was considering right now was how he might go about getting in contact with Wakanda. He didn't want them for their metal or anything, but their minds. Shuri had a beautiful, smart mind that he would love to foster into something greater, hell he could learn a thing or to from her even, the medical equipment they showed was something incredible alone, let alone the surgery tools.

He got lost in thought, he knew... A bit about the future, and there was so many things he could do to possibly change it, the biggest problem he struggled with was... Should he?

''Difficult... Isn't it? To know the future.''

He didn't jump, he sensed the magical signature and realized that only one magical person had an interest in him, for now.

The ancient one was sitting beside him in a similar chair, though she had a blanket around her, sipping what looked to be a cup of warm tea.

''It is, I know that with the prep I'm making, and the time and effort I'm putting in will lead to a better result overall, and as long as I'm careful I'll be fine but... What of Strange? I could prevent his crash if I wanted, but at the same time, that would prevent him from becoming the next... You. I'm sure that if I tried, I might even be able to save you from your death.''

He sighed, taking another sip of his beer before he sat forward. ''I could save the Winter Soldier sooner, I could teach Peter to be the best Spiderman he can be, to be a future amazing hero.''

He rubbed at his forehead. ''And, there are so many small things that can change.''

''The web of fate is fickle Tony... Don't think too hard about it, there are some things we can't prevent, and I hope... That when it comes to it, you understand there are some things we can't stop, no matter how hard we want it to change.''

She smiled softly, when Tony went for another sip at his beer, he noticed it was different, he had a teacup now and he chuckled, taking a sip of it he breathed deeply through his nose as he took in the aroma before relaxing. Leaning back as he continued to watch the stars.

''Though, it warms my heart to hear you would try and prevent my death but I... My life is burrowed, I do not see myself living past my destined time.''

''I could download your brain, I would need... One hell of a server farm for you of all people, but I could.'' He chuckled and so did she, reaching over she patted his wrist. A weight he was unsure of seemed to lessen. You wouldn't be able to tell from looking at her, but she was called 'The Ancient One' for a reason, in her time she's most likely helped a lot of people through difficult times, some far worse than what he was going through at least.

''I think that when it becomes my time, I will welcome it with open arms. I've lived quite well so far, but I'm quite tired.'' She smiled as she lifted her hand from his wrist and leaned back, sipping at her tea quietly.

''What of you, Tony? How would you prefer to pass?''

''Old and happy, and if not that. Fighting... To my last piece of armor, to my last skill, my last tooth. Putting it all on the line, so that even after it all, I can at least die knowing I did my absolute best.''

She smiled softly, sitting in silence for a bit before she spoke. ''Here is to hoping, for Old and Happy then, hm?'' She chuckled to her own little joke before she disappeared by falling through a portal.

Tony noticed how his tea turned back into a beer. He watched it a moment before dumping its contents into one of the plants on his balcony before he stood, heading back inside.

He had plans to finish, and toys to mak-... He flew around in a red suit, did that make him Santa?

He started laughing to himself, amused by the thought as he returned to his workshop, he had a few hours before he needed to actually go down, so he planned to spend the time working on the updated looks of some of the toys for Captain America, as he was still pretty popular even now.

Next chapter