Chapter 31: Playing Detectives

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'Man, how many times am I going to fall unconscious?' Isaiah thought as he sat on his bed. He had woken up just a few seconds ago. He looked to his nightstand and saw the calendar. It was now March 3rd, 2007.

"Fortunately, I wasn't out for long."

Looking down at his body, he was fully clothed.

'Did someone put some clothes on me?' he thought.

The last time he checked, except for his boxers, he didn't have clothes on. Suddenly, he felt someone arrive in front of his room's door and recognized them.

"May I come in, Isaiah?" the voice of the Ancient One could be heard through the door.

"Come in," the boy replied and the woman opened the door and walked through.

"How are you feeling, Isaiah?"

Isaiah sighed,

"I feel fine, but I wish I would stop falling unconscious like that."

The woman chuckled,

"Oh I wish I could tell you it will be alright, but I have a feeling that it won't."

Isaiah sighed once more.

"So?"

Isaiah raised an eyebrow at the sudden question.

"So what, Teacher?"

"Did your training bear any fruits?"

Isaiah's face suddenly lit up.

"Oh, right. I was just about to check it out."

Isaiah positioned himself into the lotus position before concentrating. Soon enough, mana was being released from within him. The Ancient One marvelled at the sight of one of the rarest energy in the universe. However, she soon noticed changes. For one, the mana now looked more visible than before. If before it was like gas, now it was like plasma. The energy envelops the boy without a sign of discomfort.

"How do you feel, Isaiah?"

The latter smiled,

"I feel great. I feel like my control over my mana has become smoother. And I also learned something new. Look."

The boy held out his hand and some of the energy that was covering him soon converged above his palm. It compressed into a small sphere before, to the Ancient One's surprise, transmuted. What was a sphere of energy was now a drop of water.

Intrigued, the woman approached the boy,

"May I?" she asked while pointing a finger at the floating drop of water.

Isaiah nodded and held out his palm to her with the drop following it. Fiona then extended her index and touched the water. Feeling the liquid on her finger, she confirmed it to be real water.

"Incredible, so you can convert your mana into water?"

Isaiah nodded,

"Yeah, but it takes a lot out of me. It will be easier to use nearby sources for my magic. Although, I just learned about the water element so it will still take time to master it and create spells out of it. But I can do this." he replied before lifting his hand again.

Closing his eyes, he concentrated. He opened his window using (Telekinesis) and pointed his palm towards the open window.

"Water...ball." he chanted.

For beginners, chants or arias could help the materialization of the intended spell. Since this was the first time, Isaiah was using elemental magic, he created a one-word aria for this occasion.

Mana coalesced once more in front of his palm before converting into water. This time it was the size of a baseball.

Fiona smiled at the sight of the waterfall, but Isaiah then chanted another one-word aria.

"Shoot."

The waterball shot forward out of the window. Unfortunately, it didn't go very far, at most a meter or two, before falling and crashing onto the head of a poor apprentice.

"What!?" he shouted in confusion when he felt his wet head. Isaiah froze when he realized what happened before suddenly adopting a sheepish expression as he turned to Fiona.

"Huh he he he. Oops?" he couldn't help saying as he looked at the amused expression on his teacher.

"Good job, Isaiah." she praised confusing the boy,

"About-" Isaiah was about to ask,

"Oh no. Not that. You're going to apologize to Apprentice Zeng for that." she quickly interrupted him. "No, what I was talking about is that you learned something and the fact that you are on the right track to understanding the elements of nature," she replied with a chuckle.

"Oh. Thank you, Teacher."

*Rumble*

"Why don't you go eat something? That training must've taken a lot out of you.' the Ancient One said when she heard the boy's stomach rumble.

"Sure. I wonder what they have?" Isaiah replied as he got off the bed.

The duo then left the room with Isaiah looking forward to eating.

***

"Finally!" Tony Stark said as he sat in one of the seats of his private plane.

Ever since he had seen the latest news about his son, he had been trying to find an opportunity to travel to New York without any problem. Happy Hogan, his long-time friend and bodyguard, had an anxious expression. When his boss told him that he was going to get a vacation, he would've dismissed it as being his normal Tony Stark behaviour. However, after years of working for him, Happy could more or less guess what was on his boss's mind. This is why when he takes a vacation, the man makes a huge show.

'Now that I think about it, he always makes a huge show.' Happy thought as he took another seat.

However, not only was Tony not bragging about going on a trip, he even ordered his bodyguard to maintain secrecy. This is why there is only the pilot, Tony and him in the plane. There is not even an air hostess for the billionaire to flirt with.

"The plane will now depart. Please fasten your seatbelts." the duo could hear the pilot's voice over the intercom.

After fifteen minutes, the plane was now at a cruising altitude and Happy finally popped the question.

"Alright Boss. Please tell me what's going on?" Happy asked.

Tony stayed silent for a moment and Happy simply waited for the explanation. Finally, the billionaire opened his mouth,

"I found Isaiah."

At first, Happy didn't know what this boss was talking about.

"Isaiah? Who's that?"

Tony got up from his seat and poured himself a drink he got from the plane's mini-bar.

"Do you remember Sarah? Sarah Sharpe."

At that, the bodyguard recalled a memory,

"Are you talking about a tall, blonde blue eyes woman? I heard she passed away in Nepal during the Disaster of Kathmandu."

Of course, he recalled, he was there when Tony and she had their relationship. He was also there when the man received the news of her death as well as her will.

Tony nodded,

"Yeah. The thing is she had a son."

It was then Happy began to piece things together.

"Wait. I remember now. In her will, she mentioned that if something happened to her son, her properties would be passed to you."

Tony nodded,

"Hm."

"Are you saying that the boy is also alive!?" Happy exclaimed.

Tony nodded.

"And he's your son?"

Tony nodded again.

Happy leaned back on his chair.,

"This is crazy! And you say you found him, where?"

"I haven't found him per se, but here."

Tony brought out a tablet.

"Jarvis. Open [Project Finding Nemo]"

"Yes sir." The Ai responded and a hidden file opened up on his tablet.

Tony then passed the tablet to Happy and the latter began to look into it. The latter shipped through the pictures and videos and saw the boy Tony was talking about.

"No way." he couldn't help but say.

Tony, however, had a slight grin and simply replied,

"Yes, way."

"And he's a mutant?"

"I'm pretty sure. I mean, how do you explain him creating portals."

Happy nodded.

"So are we on our way to get him?"

At that, Tony cringed.

"Tony?"

"Just like I said before, I haven't found him yet since he'd be pretty difficult to find. How do you locate a person who has the ability to open portals?"

"Wait. If I'm right. He is supposed to be twelve this year."

"Yeah."

"Then how did he survive. Who took care of him. I mean in this file, it's not like he was living in the streets."

At that Tony frowned,

"I don't know. I have no other information than what's in that file."

"Then is this "vacation" a cover to find him?"

To Happy's surprise, Tony shook his head.

"No. This "vacation is to find out about something else."

"What do you mean?"

"Give the tablet." the boss asked Happy obliged.

He then pulled up another file. This time, it contains information about Bianca di Angelo.

"That's the girl that was with Isaiah."

Tony nodded,

"That's right. She was with him. She even entered the portal with him which means that she knew about his powers. Maybe she even has some of her own."

"Are we going to look into her?"

"Well, not her specifically. Her home address."

"Home address?"

Happy looked at the file,

"A strawberry farm? What's so special about it?"

"That's the thing. There is nothing special about it except for the fact that there is no way to contact them."

Happy looked confused,

"How is that possible?"

"I know, right? There is also another fact that Jarvis found was a child named Perseus Jackson going there every summer."

"Perseus Jackson? Are you talking about that kid who was mistakenly labelled as a terrorist?"

"Yeah. I did a background check on him."

This time, the man pulled up Perseus's file and Happy was shocked by his records.

"Wow! Diagnosed with ADHD and Dyslexia. He practically changed schools almost every year for one reason or another. What kind of kid is he!?"

"Yup. And here's the twist. Two years ago, he started going to this strawberry farm and has been there every summer. His label as a terrorist happened just a few days after going to this place. Coincidence? I think not!"

"But how are you going to investigate that place. I mean, you can't go there yourself, since you're Tony Stark. Do you want me to go?" Happy asked.

"Not, right away." Tony quickly rebuked. "They are located in an isolated area. The trail to the place can't even be found by Jarvis since there aren't any digital devices there. I suspect something big going on and that strawberry farm may just be a cover. How do you explain a kid with ADHD and Dyslexia to go to a boring place such as a farm?

"Relatives?" Happy speculated,

"Perhaps. Then how do you explain Bianca here? They have no relation whatsoever. She used to go to a school in Maine called Westover Hall. Then, last December, she started going to this farm too."

Happy adopted his professional look,

"Boss, do you want me to bring back-up?"

"What!? No! Are you crazy!? No one is supposed to know about what we are doing. Look."

Tony brought a small device from his pocket. It was a disk the size of a penny that could be stuck on almost any surface.

"What's that?" Happy asked.

"This is a tracking device. I want you to put it on the girl."

"You... want me to put this on... a twelve-year-old girl?" Happy asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes. Since there are no digital devices. I say we put one of our own. When she gets there, the tracker will then ping us of its location and our private satellite will then give an image of her location."

"So we are going to stalk a little girl?"

Tony gave his bodyguard a disgusted look,

"Don't. Please don't phrase it like that. It makes me want to hurl."

Happy simply chuckled,

"Sorry boss. What are you going to do then when you find out what's going on?"

"I'm going to find out how Isaiah is involved in all of this."

They stood in silence for a moment before Happy broke it with a question,

"Hey, boss?"

"Yeah?"

"What are you going to do when you find him?"

Tony who was sipping through his tablet froze,

"What?"

"What are you going to do when you find Isaiah, your son?"

Tony looked down in silence. He put his tablet down and leaned back on his chair before letting out a huge sigh.

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"No. I mean what do I say to him. Do I just go like "Hey kid, I'm your dad and I just found out that you're alive! Let me take you home." Does that even make sense? Hell, I knew I knew I was a father, but I was content with simply getting updates about him from his mother."

"Why didn't bring the mother and your son with you before?"

Tony let out a hollow laugh.

"You know me Happy? I can't even keep a relationship for more than a few days. The longest one I had was Sarah and that one was only a few months. Do you know what she told me when gave me the news that I had a child?"

Happy shook his head.

"She told me that she loved me, but she couldn't be with me because I wasn't responsible enough. She didn't care about anything else. She could've lived the best life if she came with me, but she didn't care about all that. She simply wanted me to learn to be responsible so I can take on the task to be a father. I guess I failed at that, huh? She knew I knew, heck, even you know" Tony finished before emptying his glass and pouring another one.

"Hell, I don't know the first thing about being a father. The only thing I remember about my old man was his disappointed eyes every time I see him. Hell, he wasn't even around much in my life."

Happy didn't know what to say. It was rare for his boss to open up like this. Usually, he was always his arrogant and cocky self.

"Then, I guess we'll find out."

Tony snorted when he heard Happy's response,

"Yeah. I guess we will."

***

The plane finally landed at a private airport in New York to avoid any paparazzi and such. They quickly exited the airport and Happy had already arranged a car to take them away with him being the driver. Having a lot of money can give you a lot of freedom.

"So where to, Boss?"

"Go to a hotel close to Leman Manhattan Preparatory School," Tony ordered.

After finding a hotel, Happy soon booked a room and had their luggage delivered. Meanwhile, as soon as the room was booked, Tony quickly entered the room without anyone noticing him which was quite the feat since he was really distinguishable.

"Damn! Being undercover is a pain in the ass!" he let out as he lay in the bed.

'The things I do for my son. Never thought I would ever utter those words.' he thought which elicited a chuckle from him.

*Click*

Happy had closed the door and locked it when the final luggage arrived.

"So now what, Boss?"

Tony sat up and ordered,

"Give me the date and time, Happy"

The latter checked his watch,

"Today's date is March 9th, 2007 and it is 2:50 PM, sir."

"Alright, for starters, you're going to change clothes. Something less conspicuous.

Happy looked confused,

"Huh, okay?" he replied and went to grab some clothes from his bag.

Every time, Tony goes on vacation, Happy always brought a pair of non-work-related clothes just in case.

A few seconds later, he came out of the bathroom wearing a grey shirt with a jacket on top of it. He also had some black slacks as well as grey running shoes.

"Like this?"

Tony observed him before answering,

"Meh, your fashion sense could use some work-" "Hey!" " but it will work for now."

"Anyways, Bianca di Angelo's grade finishes school at 3:15 PM. You will take this device and stick it to her bag," the billionaire said as he gave his subordinate the tracker.

"How do you want me to stick it to her bag though?"

Tony just gave him a look,

"I don't know. Pretend to bump into her or something."

Happy shrugged,

"Alright."

"Then get going and wait somewhere where no one is watching you before waiting for my signal."

"You got it, Boss!" Happy said.

'This feels so weird.' he thought as he left the room.

Tony brought out a silver briefcase from which he took out his tablet and laptop which he turned on. His tablet showed the tracking device's location and, after hacking through the CCTV cameras, his laptop showed the different cameras of the city.

Soon the time has arrived, Tony looked at his watch and saw that it was 3:15 PM. He picked up his phone and called Happy.

"Alright Happy. Are you in position?"

"Yes, Boss." replied Happy on his phone which he took out for his "acting".

Usually, he would have his earbud so that communication wouldn't hinder with his hands in case of emergency.

"Good, wait for my signal. She'll soon come out of the school."

Tony looked at one of the camera's feedback on his laptop. At 3:25, he finally saw the girl.

"Alright Happy. Go!"

Happy, who was hiding in an alley, came out of it and started walking towards the entrance of the school.

"You might want to pick up the pace. She'll soon pass the gate." he heard Tony's voice

Happy obeyed and walked a little faster. he gripped the tracker in his hand.

"There she is."

Happy soon saw Bianca come out of the gate and, acting as if he didn't see her, he bumped right into her making her fall down.

'Fuck! I didn't want to make her fall.' Happy internally shouted.

"Ow!" Bianca said as she fell down.

"Oh shit! I'm so sorry, young lady. Here let me help you." Happy rapidly said as he held out his hand.

Bianca looked at it before taking it. As Happy help her up, he quickly stuck the device to her bag.

"It's okay, sir. It happens to everyone."

Looking concerned, Happy asked,

"Are you sure?"

Bianca smiled,

"Yes, thank you for worrying."

However, Happy shook his head,

"No, it was my fault that I bumped into you."

"It's okay."

Happy smiled at her,

"Well if you say so. Have a good day, young lady."

"You too, sir," Bianca said as she left him.

Happy quickly left the area and hide.

"Mission accomplished, sir!"

"I know. You should change your career. Try to go into acting, Leonardo." Tony replied.

"And who would be beside you sir?" Happy retorted with a chuckle.

Happy looked at where Bianca went and saw her going to a blond-haired man waiting beside a car.

For a second there, the blonde-haired man looked kinda weird as if he was covered in something. He blinked and saw a normal man helping Bianca put her luggage in the car.

'I think I should get my eyes checked." Happy thought as he went back to the hotel.

Because, for a second there, he thought those things the man was covered in looked suspiciously like eyeballs.