Chapter 53 Meeting Tony

The airport was packed with tired and angry people as usual, but there was one group that kept catching everyone else's attention. Unlike the regular folk who were waiting for their planes to arrive, these men stood without any luggage and in suits. It wasn't hard to put one and one together and figure out that these men were waiting for someone important. Some were hopeful that it would be their favorite celebrity, so they prepared their phones to take pictures. The group of men noticed this but didn't seem to mind, as if they were used to such things. Ignoring the bystanders, they continued to patiently wait.

After some time, one of them suddenly got a call, and they all began to move in a singular direction. The crowd who had been watching this also began following.

"Bethany, where are you going? Our flight will be arriving soon!" One tired mom complained as they had already been here for two hours thanks to delayed flights.

"But mom! What if those guys are waiting for Justin Timberlake? Or even Ben Affleck? I don't want to miss this chance. Besides, the plane won't get here for a while; everyone knows how much United Airlines sucks," Bethany complained as she continued to run after the men along with some others who couldn't let their curiosity go.

The mother couldn't help but sigh at her daughter's antics. Having a teenager was truly hard, but she wouldn't have it any other way. Getting out of her seat, the woman gathered her luggage and followed the group as well.

After some walking, they eventually reached one of the airport's gates, where the men suddenly stopped and got into position, showing pure professionalism as a stocky man stood in front of the rest.

"Come on, Mom, it looks like they'll be arriving here!" Bethany said with her phone ready to snap as many pictures as possible. She wasn't the only one either, as many others stood ready in anticipation as people began to exit the entryway.

These newcomers were obviously confused at seeing so many people waiting for their arrival as they thought about the possible reason.

All questions were eventually made clear when a young man walked out of the group. Something about him was different, decently tall at 6'1" in height with nice features that were pleasant to look at. All in all, he was a handsome guy, but something about him felt familiar. It wasn't until someone suddenly said something, which was somehow heard by the whole crowd.

"Hey, isn't that the guy who made the Police Scouts?" Those words echoed in the room as everyone took a better look, their eyes widening in surprise.

"It is him. That's Kol Dagon!" With that confirmation, flashes quickly began to spread as a stocky man cut through the people and reached the young man.

[POV Switch]

Wow, so many people are here waiting for me. I knew I had gained some fame, but to think I now have my own paparazzi wherever I go.

"Sir, I'm here to pick you up," a stocky man suddenly said, pulling my attention as I quickly examined his appearance and easily recognized him. Happy, Tony's right-hand man and one of his best employees. In the MCU, he even hooks up with Aunt May, but I guess that won't be happening in this timeline.

"Lead the way," I said with a nod before following him as his men surrounded me for protection.

[+10 Points Meeting Happy]

On the way out, the crowd continued to grow, but Stark's men truly proved experienced as they were able to safely escort me out of the airport.

However, before we left, I suddenly heard something interesting.

"See Mom, wasn't it a good idea to come! I got so many photos," Bethany cheered as she scrolled through them and couldn't wait to share with her friends.

"Well, I guess you were right; he was famous but he wasn't a celebrity as you expected."

"Yeah, but honestly, he was really handsome, even more than that Tony Stark guy you like," Bethany said, teasing her mother who grew red.

"Shh, you have no taste; now come on, we have to go."

"Haha, no taste. You just like old playboys with goatees," the daughter quipped back as they continued bantering on the way to their flight.

I wonder what Stark would say if he heard that? I asked myself with a chuckle.

"Something funny, sir?" Happy suddenly asked, noticing my reaction.

"Nothing worth mentioning, but besides that, you don't need to call me sir; it feels weird with you being older than me. Just call me Kol," I said, hoping my request wouldn't bother the man too much.

"Of course, and you can call me Happy," he said in a good mood, which surprised me due to how quick and easy it was for him to relax, but I guess it makes sense since Tony is his boss. He must be used to a more comfortable work environment and probably prefers it at this point.

[Stark Mansion]

"I'm not crazy, Pepper; I just finally know what I have to do, and I know in my heart that it's right," Pepper, hearing this, took on a complicated expression as she reached into the bag and took out the ghost drive. She knew her boss had really changed, and if this was what it took to keep this change, then she would do whatever it took.

"You know you're all I have too." With that said, she made her exit, leaving him behind as he made a grateful smile.

With her gone, Tony was now comfortable enough to get up from his seat as he removed his shirt, revealing multiple bruise marks.

[Sir, should I call back Mrs. Potts?] Jarvis asked with concern for his creator.

"No, she doesn't need to see this." He especially didn't want her to see the bruising after her earlier reaction. She was so scared at seeing the armor with bullet holes; then imagine adding this to the mix? No need to make it worse.

Reaching his freezer, he pulled out some ice packs before placing them on his wounds, causing him to flinch. "Argh, I need to strengthen the suit and have it better distribute impact damage. Jarvis, add that to my to-do list," Tony asked as he thought about his recent battle. The Mark 3 was a Great Leap Forward, but those F-22s reminded him that he can always do better. Yeah, it was able to take on bullets, which was impressive, but he needed to find a way to distribute or even erase the damage it caused on him within the suit.

[Of course, sir, and Happy has sent a message that they have arrived]

"Huh, so the kid is here. Well, let's go meet them."

On the way to Tony's home, I had no choice but to admit that he had the best house out of all superheroes. It was sophisticated and futuristic at the same time, as it literally hung at the edge of the cliff. Too bad it gets destroyed by Killian in the third movie, truly a waste.

Eventually, the cars began to slow down as we reached the house's entryway.

"We're here," Happy said as he parked us.

Stepping out of the car, I saw the legend himself exiting his house. He looked full of confidence as he walked over with his shades and classic goatee.

"Nice Job, Happy," he said before looking at me. "You must be Kol. How'd you like the touch-ups?" Tony asked, referring to the Scouts 'redesign'.

My eye twitched hearing his nonchalant attitude to literally changing my work without permission. Not even counting the fact that he was able to take my design with just a video. Yet I couldn't really bring myself to get angry at the guy, especially because I knew that this was just the way he was.

Refocusing on his question, I responded, "They were pretty good, but some things were a bit over the top."

Tony looked surprised by this and even a little offended, but I could tell he wanted me to explain.

"The scout's flexibility and energy consumption were good additions, but I can't say the same when it comes to the flying tech and redesign of its appearance."

Tony nodded, agreeing with the flying part. What kind of Cop needed to fly anyway? But the aesthetic choices didn't seem to fly well with him.

"There's nothing wrong with the appearance of anything; it makes the robot more serious. Something people appreciate," Tony added.

This is true, but at this stage, it's too early.

"It can be appreciated, but not so early, especially not when people still have certain fears about the Scout. It's also why I made it look more like a rabbit, as people consider them harmless and easier to approach." Besides, Tony's redesign looks like Ultron, and not movie Ultron, but the comic Ultron… which doesn't have the most friendly face.

I could already imagine all the children it would scare by just being in the street.

"Hmm, point made. Happy, order us some pizza while I talk to our guest," Tony said before gesturing to me to follow him as we went into his house.

[+10 Points Meeting Tony Stark]

"Nice place you got here," I said as we entered his house. Some would only appreciate things that looked nice, but as someone with tons of technological knowledge in my head, it allowed me to grasp just how advanced his house was.

"Your scanners are also pretty sophisticated," I said, noticing a certain piece of tech on the wall.

"Right? I designed it myself, but I'm curious, can you figure out all of its capabilities?"

I recognized this as a test and gladly welcomed the challenge as I put my full focus on the device. It was very similar to scanning tech used in Mission Impossible and Kingsman with some differences due to being made by different people.

In fact, this equipment made me think about my security as I made some ideas to make something better.

"Well, it obviously records you like a camera would, except it takes that a step further by honing in on a person's eye. Nice call; the iris is a perfect identification measure due to it having unique patterns like a fingerprint. Then you also have some other things like thermal vision. All in all, pretty advanced for being so small."

"Nice catch, and yeah, the biometric scanning method was something I recently made as well. I doubt anyone else has anything at its level yet."

Tony continued to boast about his fancy ring camera, while I couldn't help but laugh to myself. Despite all these measures, Fury was still able to infiltrate this guy's house, so in the end, the project was kind of useless.

Looking at his device, I decided to mess with him a bit after he edited my Scout without permission.

"Well, it really is good, too bad it's not perfect… I can see this catching about 99% of people, but let's be honest. Usually, it's that 1% we need to be worried about."

Those words stopped him in his tracks as he gave me a complicated look.

"Why do you think it's not perfect?" He asked, not at all scared of what I had to say.

"Well, because you never accounted for someone possibly having better technology. With the right stealth tech, someone would be able to enter and exit without triggering any of your defense mechanisms. If I was you, I'd try and make a sort of energy detector rather than just heat vision."

"Haha, kid, you had me worried for a minute there. No one has that sort of tech yet." I laughed as he was about to lead me further into the house, but I saw this as a chance to make a real impression.

"Want to test it?"

He just raised an eyebrow at this, but I knew he was giving me confirmation.

"Where's your restroom? I'm gonna need a minute."

~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

Hey guys it's been a minute and yes I am alive 🥴 but sadly I'm not ripped… but I did lose 6 pounds so that's good I guess.

Also I wanted to ask a quick question that I have asked on my patreon.

Do you guys want me to edit and rewrite the novel fixing many of its mistakes such as?

Inconsistent NZT

Early decisions related to his company

Or should I stick with how it is and continue with what I have?