Chapter 86: Internee

[Third Person's PoV] 

Tony and Melissa were recorded flying across America, assisting Stars and Stripes with her hero work. They helped as many people as they could, quickly becoming an internet sensation once it was revealed that Iron Man and Tony Stark were one and the same.

In one scene, Tony and Melissa were seen flying around a toppled building, repairing the damage by wielding red lasers. After completing the repairs, they took off into the sky once more.

As the sun began to set, Tony and Melissa stood before Stars and Stripes. "Good work, you two. Let's call it a day. Today, I wanted you both to learn that helping people is the main focus of being a hero, not just battling. That's why I didn't let you fight anyone but me today. From what I saw, I'm confident you've learned that lesson well. Tomorrow, things will get a bit more intense as you'll truly start facing villains."

Stars and Stripes gave them a final pat on the shoulder. "Once again, you two were great out there. The people seem to love you."

With that, they said their goodbyes to Stars and Stripes before blasting off into the sky. She watched them go with her hands on her hips, a large smile on her face.

As they flew through the air, Melissa said, "I'm going to visit my dad before heading back home."

"I'll visit mine before doing the same," Tony agreed.

"I'll see you back home, then," Melissa said, leaning in close and making a kissing sound as she tapped her helmet against his cheek. "Bye, love you."

Tony didn't even get a chance to say it back before Melissa's legs shifted into rocket thrusters, and she blasted off.

Tony laughed, shaking his head as his own legs transformed into thrusters. He veered slightly to the right, away from Melissa, before turning invisible.

When he arrived at his parents' backyard, Tony deployed giant thrusters to slow down, landing safely. His nanotech shifted back into his reactor, returning him to his regular clothes.

The guards and maids in the backyard were startled at first, taking combat positions. But when they saw it was Tony, they relaxed.

"It's nice to see you again, Young Master," a guard by the door nodded toward Tony.

"Yo, Patrick," Tony said, giving the man a high five as he entered the house.

The guard looked at his partner in confusion. "My name is Daniel…"

Inside, Tony grabbed his sunglasses from his pocket and began searching for his parents, eventually finding them in the kitchen. As he approached, he heard them talking and giggling in a lovey-dovey way, causing him to make a disgusted expression. When he peeked inside, he found Howard feeding Maria a chocolate-covered strawberry, which she happily ate while Baymax prepared more in the kitchen.

"Yuck, y'all do this when no one's looking?" Tony asked, startling them with his presence.

"My God, Tony, you almost gave me a heart attack!" Howard said, holding his chest.

Maria wiped the chocolate from her lips with a napkin and approached him with open arms. "Tony!" she said happily, giving him a hug.

"Hello, mother dearest," Tony said, returning the hug with a few pats. With Howard, he simply exchanged a fist bump.

"Hey, I saw you on the news," Howard said with a smirk.

"I'm on the news?" Tony asked curiously.

Howard scoffed, "When someone with our name does something, it's always on the news."

Tony pulled out his phone and searched for his name, finding a headline that read: 'Genius Philanthropist, Master Inventor, Now An Awesome Hero? What Could Be Next?'

"Damn, it's only my first day interning…" Tony muttered.

Howard chuckled, "Like I said, when someone with our name does anything, it's front-page news."

"So why are you here? I thought you'd head home straight from your internship," Howard asked.

Tony scoffed, "And risk Mom being angry at me for not visiting while I'm nearby? Do I look like I have a death wish?"

Howard laughed loudly, "Smart kid."

Maria pouted slightly, "I'm not that scary…"

Both Howard and Tony looked at her for a moment before twirling their hands side to side, saying in unison, "Ehhhhh."

They chuckled as Maria rolled her eyes. "Anyway, are you staying for the night?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Sorry, I can't. I have a commitment after this."

"Aww," Maria said sadly. "At least eat something while you're here. You must be starving after your internship, and I won't take no for an answer, young man."

"Sure," Tony said, not minding.

"Good," Maria nodded.

...

After eating, Tony said goodbye to his parents. "I'll visit you guys tomorrow as well."

After a final farewell hug, Tony flew back home through the night skies. "Friday, where is Melissa currently?" he asked.

"She's still spending time with her father, Boss," Friday replied.

"Alright then, send Mei Hatsume a message. We can begin her internship. Arrange a ride to pick her up since it's pretty late."

"Right away, Boss," Friday said.

It didn't take long for Tony to arrive home. As soon as he did, he headed to his lab to organize some things.

"Boss, your intern has arrived," Friday informed him.

Tony went upstairs and opened the door to find Mei Hatsume standing there with an excited expression and a large suitcase in hand.

"Are you sure you're here to intern and not to move in?" Tony asked with a chuckle as he helped her with her things.

Mei giggled happily. "These aren't just things—they're my babies that I hope to improve!"

"I had a feeling," Tony said, amused. "Anyway, come on in. Sorry for calling you over so late."

Mei shook her head. "It's fine! I know you have your own internship to worry about. I don't mind."

Tony led Mei to his lab, and her eyes lit up with excitement. "Ooooh, so this is where the baby-making happens!" Mei said, practically bouncing on her feet.

"What does this do? And that? Why is it shaped like that? Can you take that apart and put it back together so I can see how it's made? What's this made of? Why is it so shiny? What's the purpose of this?"

Mei darted around the lab, pointing at various gadgets and asking a million questions before Tony even had a chance to answer.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down!" Tony said, motioning for her to calm down.

Mei rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. "Sorry, I just get really excited when it comes to stuff like this."

"I don't mind your enthusiasm," Tony assured her. "Enthusiasm and inventing go hand in hand, so you have nothing to worry about. But you do need to slow down a bit. Let's start with the basics."

Mei nodded eagerly and sat in an available chair, pulling out a notebook and pen from her luggage.

"First things first," Tony began, "when dealing with support items, you need to focus on three key aspects: functionality, looks, and portability."

Mei wrote down "Functionality," "Looks," and "Portability," drawing an arrow towards them and writing "Important" next to it. She then raised her hand.

"Yes?" Tony asked.

"I understand why functionality and portability are important," Mei said with a serious expression, "but why do looks matter? It shouldn't matter how my babies look as long as they work as intended."

"It's for your buyers—or in other words, the heroes," Tony explained. "Heroes care deeply about how they appear to the public. They don't want to carry around items that make them look unreliable or, worse, like an idiot. And the public—the ones being saved—also care about how the hero looks. They want to feel confident in the person saving them, and appearance plays a part in that."

"I see," Mei said, nodding as she wrote it down.

...

When Melissa arrived home, she didn't find Tony on the top floor. "Friday, is Tony home?"

"Yes, ma'am, he's down in his lab—"

*Boom!*

Friday's words were interrupted by an explosion, startling Melissa. She rushed down to the lab to see black smoke rising toward the ceiling and Tony shouting.

"Damn it, Mei! I told you to do it slowly! There's no need to rush!"

"I'm sorry!" Mei cried out in apology. "I got too excited when I was close to finishing, and it exploded!"

Melissa blinked, trying to process the scene. "Huh?" she muttered to herself.

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