00091. You must pick...

Friday December 31st 1999

Bern, Switzerland

The Bern Technology Summit was possibly the best place in the world to meet scientific innovators and researchers in one place. That was the main reason Aldrich Killian had shown up. He had just laid the groundwork to create a new company called Advanced Idea Mechanics, AIM for short.

His goal in coming to the conference was to hopefully recruit a few people to join the company as business partners. So far it was only him and a stack of business cards. But he already had a few offers from the U.S. government for jobs they wanted him to consult on.

He was also excited because Tony Stark was here, someone he looked up to and admired. Tony was also scheduled to give a lecture on integrated circuits which was in a few hours. Aldrich spent his time before the lecture mingling with different people. He handed out a bunch of business cards and found a few people possibly interested in working for his think tank.

As the time for Tony's lecture approached, Aldrich moved to get a good seat. He hoped he could possibly meet Tony afterwards and so he chose to get as close as possible. He wasn't disappointed, he was in the front row slightly off to one side of the stage.

After about twenty minutes of waiting, Tony stumbled onto the stage. Aldrich was a little surprised, he thought Tony would come prepared, with some diagrams. Possibly he would use slides for the lecture?

Instead Tony wore a fancy black suit, glasses, a white plastic party hat sat on his head and he had a drink in his hand as he walked towards the podium. The lecture ended up being subpar at best. Some of what Tony talked about was cutting edge and most people didn't understand it. But the few who did found it inspirational, like Aldrich.

Unfortunately most of the lecture was just unintelligible rambling. Possibly from how drunk Tony was. But those few moments where he seemed to focus on the actual subject matter… That was when Tony showed his true genius. The people like Aldrich who understood what he was talking about were impressed. Once the lecture ended, it was short all things considered.

After the lecture, Aldrich Tried to talk with Tony as soon as he left the stage, but unfortunately couldn't catch him. Tony left the stage from the far side of it from where Aldrich sat. Aldrich also ran into a few people who wanted to talk about his think tank. So he quickly lost track of Tony and decided to concentrate on the people in front of him. He could always find Tony again later.

Tony's first goal as he stumbled off the stage was to get another drink. Once he collected his drink, he went back to the beautiful woman he was talking with before the lecture. He was pretty sure her name was Maya. He smiled at Maya as he moved close and asked, "So that project you were talking about. I would love to see it."

"You just wanna see my room."

Tony smiled as he said, "Well yes, That was part of the plan."

While Tony spent the next couple hours chatting with Maya and a few other people. Aldrich ended up doing the same as he looked for Tony, who had disappeared. Tony was trying to look at Maya's research. But mostly, he was just trying to see all of Maya and then some. So far she had kept up a strong defense. But she was slowly succumbing to his charm.

Happy turned around and said, "Half hour till the ball drops."

A random guy came from behind as he happily said, "Tony Stark! Great speech man!"

Happy quickly moved to intercept the man as Tony acted surprised as he asked, "I gave a speech? How was it?"

"Edifying" came Happy's reply as Maya said, "Unintelligible."

Happy escorted the man away, as Tony and Maya moved through the ball room. They ran into a few more people before they made it to the lobby elevators with a group of women following them. Aldrich was able to spot Tony just in time as they moved into the Lobby. Aldrich was only able to catch Tony when Tony's group stopped at the elevator.

"Oh wow. Hey, Tony."

Tony and Maya both turned around to look at the man before them. He wore a dark green corduroy jacket along with matching pants. While the white t-shirt with blue colored A.I.M. logo stood out underneath the jacket he wore. His shoulder length dirty blonde hair was mostly combed to one side and only highlighted his blemished face and large framed glasses. While his walking cane completed the look. A look that screamed nerd.

The man had a wide smile, his upper teeth protruding forward as he said, "Aldrich Killian."

He turned slightly to Maya and shook her hand as he said, "I am a big fan of your work."

Tony quipped, "Who isn't?"

Maya seemed surprised as she asked, "My work?"

Tony's ego took over as he pulled Maya into the elevator and said, "He means me."

"Of course." Aldrich slightly nodded as he continued, "But Ms. Williams, I've been tracking your research since year two of M.I.T."

Tony could be heard saying, "Ya were full" as happy put his arm out to block the elevator door. Aldrich nimbly moved under his arm into the elevator and Tony said, "Oh ya, he made it. He made the cut."

Happy pushed him against the wall as he asked, "What floor are you going to pal?"

Aldrich smiled as he said, "Now that is an appropriate question. The ground floor actually, of a proposal I am putting together myself. It's a privately funded think tank."

Aldrich pulled out some business cards and handed them to Tony and Maya as he finished, "Called Advanced Idea Mechanics."

"Uh, she'll take both. One to throw away and one to not call."

Maya took them both as Aldrich said, "Advanced Idea Mechanics, or AIM for short." He pointed at his shirt as he asked, "Do you get it?"

Tony condescendingly replied, "I see that, because it's on your t-shirt."

Aldrich smiled as the bell rang for the elevator. As the door opened, Tony said, "Ladies, follow the mullet."

As Maya exited the elevator she smiled at Aldrich and said, "Thank you, I'll call you."

As the girls exited the elevator, Tony quickly moved to block off Aldrich and let everyone else off. As the last person departed, he turned to Aldrich as he said, "I am titillated by the notion of working with you."

"Yeah?"

Tony nodded as he said, "I'll ditch these clowns and I'll see you up on the roof in five minutes."

Tony punched the elevator for the top floor as he said, "Just gonna get my beak wet real quick. You know what I am talking about?"

Aldrich nodded in reply as he said, "I'll see you up there."

The elevator door closed as Tony said, "Damn betcha."

It took a little bit of work, but Aldrich made his way to the roof to wait for Tony. To say he was excited would be an understatement. Tony said he was interested in AIM. and Aldrich was looking forward to talking with him about it.

After about twenty minutes Aldrich became a little concerned. Tony said he would meet him in five minutes, maybe something happened? It was possible, it was Tony after all. Everyone wanted to talk with him.

When fireworks started going off Aldrich became agitated. It didn't seem like Tony was going to show up. Then he thought, 'No, Tony would show up. He said he would.'

But it was only a few minutes later that Aldrich knew Tony wasn't going to show up. He glanced over to the edge of the building for about a minute and his face changed. He no longer wore a happy smile. It took on an edge as he walked closer to the edge of the building.

Aldrich moved to the very edge of the building. As he looked down and thought about jumping off. A voice was heard from behind him as it said, "Make sure you land on your head."

Aldrich whipped around as he asked, "What're you talking about?!?"

A black haired man was seated crossed legged on top of one of the large air conditioning units. The one he had spent the last half an hour standing next to. The man smirked as he said, "You were thinking about jumping. Only at this height you might just survive." 

The man's smirk changed a little as he said, "Well, unless you landed on your head like I suggested."

Aldrich moved back from the edge as he said, "Don't be ridiculous. I was just enjoying the view."

The man gave a hollow laugh for a few moments before he said, "I saw how you looked. It was the look of a man contemplating suicide."

Aldrich lashed out as and said, "Bullshit. What would you know about me or my thoughts?"

The man's smirk changed into a slightly hardened gaze as he said, "Knowing you doesn't matter. But that look you had… I know it well. I've had that same look myself. In a different life."

Aldrich moved closer to the man to study him. He was maybe a little older than himself. But it was hard to tell in the darkness. After about a minute of silence the man dropped off the ac unit. He landed next to Aldrich with the grace of a gymnast and a flash of jealousy crossed Aldrich's face for a moment before he looked down at the cane he used to help himself walk.

The man for his part waited a little longer before he said, "I know why you came up here tonight."

"You do?" Aldrich questioned as he looked back up.

The man flashed a smile before he said, "Yup. Although the fact you came up here makes me question how smart you really are… Or maybe you just don't have any common sense.

Aldrich frowned before he said, "Don't question my intelligence just because I was lied to."

The man shook his head as he said, "You have a slight point. But you're still gullible for thinking Tony Stark of all people would want to have a private meeting with you."

The man chuckled before he said, "Or maybe it was just your ego that made you think the offer was genuine?"

"What makes you think Tony Stark wouldn't want to talk with me?"

"Just look at yourself. You should easily be able to tell me why." The man glanced at Aldrich once, before he shook his head.

Aldrich tightened the grip on his cane and his eyes narrowed as he asked, "It's because of my disability?"

The man burst into laughter clutching his stomach as he almost doubled over. Aldrich was ready to leave when the man finally stopped and said, "You really are an idiot."

"I don't need to take this verbal abuse. I'm leaving."

Before Aldrich could turn around to walk away the man said, "You're not a beautiful woman Mr. Killian. If you had a nice rack and vagina, Tony might have wanted to talk with you… Maybe. But it wouldn't have been about that new company you're trying to start."

Aldrich froze as his mind went blank. Was it really that simple? Aldrich thought back to everything he knew about Tony and it clicked. He never cared about rumors or gossip, but he had heard them. He didn't think much of them before, but now it just made sense. Tony just wanted to be alone with Maya, so he could…

Aldrich let out a laugh, it was hollow and filled with self pity. The other man chuckled to himself as he said, "Glad you understand how Tony works now."

As the man waited for Aldrich to settle down, he walked to the edge of the building. He stood at the very edge of the building as he enjoyed the view below him. Aldrich finally glanced over at the other man and said, "Make sure you land on your head."

The man turned around and smirked. Then stepped backwards off the building as he waved. Aldrich's heart skipped a beat and his mouth opened wide in disbelief as the man disappeared from his view. Then Aldrich rushed towards the edge of the building and looked over it. The man stood on the side of the building smirking up at Aldrich.

The man held his hands up like he was framing a picture as he said, "The look on your face right now is priceless."

Aldrich stared at the man in utter shock. He had heard of people with powers, he had even seen some videos of them online. But this was the first time he met someone with powers in person and it had left him completely speechless.

The man walked up the side of the building and patted Aldrich's shoulder as he said, "Sorry about that. I was just having a bit of fun."

Aldrich took a few moments to compose himself as he followed the man back to the ac unit. When they were back in front of it, Aldrich asked, "Are you a mutant?"

The man shook his head as he said, "The proper term is meta human. And yes, I am."

The man extended his hand as he said, "Apologies for the late introduction. My name is Ezekiel and it's a pleasure to meet you, Aldrich Killian."

Aldrich hesitantly took Ezekiel's hand and shook it for a moment before he asked, "How do you know me and how did you know I would be up here waiting for Tony?"

Ezekiel smiled as he said, "Both of those answers are very complicated and not something I can tell you currently. But what I can tell you is I am here to offer you a job. A job that pays well and comes with a lot of perks. Perks you will never find anywhere else."

Ezekiel turned and walked back closer to the edge again as he said, "Keep in mind, it's just an offer. If you say yes, you would need to be tested and fully screened before the offer is final. But if you do accept, it will completely change the rest of your life."

Ezekiel turned around to study Aldrich as the man thought. Ezekiel smirked and walked back to Aldrich. He lifted up both of his hands before he flipped them over and opened them up. As he lifted his left arm higher he said, "If you pick the blue pill, you will never see me again and live a mediocre life."

Ezekiel held up his right hand higher and said, "If you pick the red pill… You will see things you never thought possible."

"Are you really quoting The Matrix?"

Ezekiel smirked as he said, "Pick."

As Aldrich stretched out his hand to pick Ezekiel said, " Remember, I will only offer you this chance once. Don't live to regret it."