Chapter: 40

Chapter: 40

[Aldrich Killian: Leader of AIM → Level 9. Has an extreme hatred for Tony Stark. Has a keen interest in the Layla of the Fallen… Recently, he has come into a partnership with !$@%@%]

Nothing particularly groundbreaking there from my "observe" skill. Although, that blurred information did have me a bit worried. His level did put him on par with an average wizard, though. The system actually registered him as being a higher level than Captain America. I supposed that made sense. Without plot armor, I had no idea how Steve would actually beat this guy in a straight-up fight. The man could regenerate from quite a bit of damage, had super strength, and could throw burning hot plasma around. Extremis was actually pretty amazing.

"It's not what you or your cute think tank here can do for us, Aldrich… It's what we can do for you!" Tony said to the man. From the slight twitch in his facial muscles, I could tell Aldrich was doing everything he could not to openly scowl at us. Tony was taking the approach as if this man was still a fan of his… that was not the case.

"Eh-em." I cut in before the man angrily kicked us out. "I apologize for Tony; that came off as rude and condescending," I said as I leveled a small glare at Tony.

Aldrich then turned his gaze to me. "Maybe you could tell me why you two are here, then? Also, are you working for Tony now?" He added with a disappointed tone.

"I wouldn't really say working for him as much as with him at this point."

He nodded at my short explanation. "Good. No reason for a woman of your talents to be working for a failing company after all."

"Hey!" Tony exclaimed. "Stark Industries stock has never been higher!"

Aldrich just scoffed. "It's all hyped-up nonsense stock. All your investors still believe that you're going to make Iron Man sellable to the military. Once they find out that will never happen, your stocks will plummet just like they did when you shut down weapons manufacturing," the man explained. Tony looked like he was going to argue back, but I subtly pinched his side, causing him to be quiet.

If Aldrich wasn't willing to work with us, then we would have to use other means of getting his serum. AKA, Natasha sneaks in and robs them blind. The problem with that method was that we'd have to hire geneticists who would then have to spend a bunch of time reverse engineering and modifying Extremis for what we needed. AIM's scientists and researchers were already masters in the field and could provide what we needed much quicker.

"Ok, then. This is why we're here…" I started to explain. Together, Tony and I had come up with a somewhat plausible lie that didn't involve word of a potential apocalypse getting out. We said we were looking to start exploring other planets and that some would have substantially higher gravities than Earth. For that, we needed AIM's help creating a serum for the astronauts that made the trips.

Aldrich was a bit skeptical on how we would be traveling into space when agencies like NASA were struggling just to get into orbit. That was where my part came in, and I hinted at Angel's being capable of much faster methods of travel than requiring a spaceship. The man was a bit taken aback by me admitting I was truly an Angel and not just a mutant that looked like one. Apparently, the jury was still out on people's thoughts about me around the world. I hadn't exactly met any actual mutants yet since I'd been here, but apparently people were using me as a shiny example of what they could be. The video of Tony and me fighting off Voldemort at the racetrack and then me stopping the Fiendfyre spell had racked up over a billion views online so far.

Needless to say, though, the concept of actual teleportation and space exploration did get the man's attention. Even if he was an asshole/possible-super-villain, at the end of the day he was still a CEO. And like all greedy CEOs, I could tell that he was very interested in our lucrative idea. It also helped that it wasn't exactly a lie. What better way would there be for us to test our solutions than going to other planets that actually had higher gravities than Earth?

"Hmmm… Interesting," Aldrich said with an intrigued look on his face. "So you're going into the space sector then, Stark? And you need MY help so your astronauts don't keel over?" He remarked with a hint of sarcasm.

"That is correct, Killian," Tony said. "I know I treated you like shit the first time we met, and I would like to genuinely apologize for that. I was a drunken asshole back then, and I freely admit it." Tony said with some genuine humility.

…

-Aldrich Killian-

Aldrich took a moment to contemplate as the bastard Stark and the beautiful Angel waited for his response. Aldrich wasn't afraid to admit to himself that he was deeply intrigued by their proposal. If the Angel truly did have access to interplanetary teleportation, then that was an absolute game-changer! Her value had exponentially increased beyond her already impressive combat capabilities. Some of Aldrich's newest 'investors' had shown a genuine interest in her and her capabilities. They had even requested that he have bugs placed throughout his office so they could listen in on the meeting. That was the least he could do considering how much they had helped push his project forward time wise. They had given him incomplete, yet still incredibly valuable, research data from the old super soldier program that helped push the development of his own serum forward by years. Now, he could honestly say that he had created far more dangerous soldiers than Captain America ever was… just maybe not as skilled if the man's legendary battlefield exploits held true.

When he first received the request for a meeting with Tony Stark and the Angel yesterday, Aldrich had been nervous. He had no idea what they wanted from himself or AIM. His more paranoid thoughts strayed to Extremis, but they never actually mentioned it by name once. He could tell that they knew about it, of course. After all, nothing stays secret forever when money is involved. But all they wanted from him was a much more toned-down and reasonable product. That was something his researchers could honestly whip up in a month if they needed too. The question Aldrich had to ask himself was – did he agree to let go of his hatred and go into the space business with Stark, or did he deny them? Would his new 'investors' even allow him to work with Stark after their recent outing to the public?

"Do you two mind waiting outside for a bit? You've given me a lot to think about," Aldrich asked them.

"Sure." "No problem," Stark and the Angel said as they left his office.

Aldrich turned to his four bodyguards around him. "You four clear out as well. I need to make an important call." His guards were all extremely loyal ex-military that his Extremis formula had saved. They didn't voice any protest as they also cleared out of the room.

With that, he pulled out a secret untraceable phone from a hidden compartment in his desk that only he knew about. "Hello, Director Pierce. I'm assuming you were listening in on that whole conversation through the bugs? What do you think I should do here?"

XXX