Chapter 40: Birthday

The next day, Isaiah was currently walking through the streets of Kathmandu. Today, he had decided to do that since it had been a long time since he hasn't done it. Ever since the Disaster of Kathmandu, the city has changed immensely. New buildings and construction were put in place to repair the city. However, due to the country's low funds, there are still some parts of the city where the people could see the wreckage. The bombings had also caused many homes to be destroyed resulting in an increase in homelessness. The sorcerers of Kamar-Taj would give them free meals from time to time, but there was only so much they could do without magic.

Isaiah walked through a bustling market. He saw many different sights such as a customer and clerk arguing about the price of one of the fruits the vendor was selling. He saw chickens in a cage ready to be sold. The boy also saw signs of poverty as he saw two small children even younger than him wearing dirty clothes and begging for money on the streets. He wanted to give them money, but, unfortunately, he only had US dollars which was quite useless for them. They would most likely get robbed of they were seen with that kind of money. Therefore, he decided to give them something else.

Without anyone noticing, he retrieved a box full of sandwiches that he keeps for emergencies and approached the two children. The kids, a boy and a girl, noticed him and held up their cupped hands,

"Sir... money please," the older one begged in Nepali.

Isaiah gave a smile,

"Sorry, I don't have rupees. But I can give you this." Isaiah replied in Nepali as he gave the box to the older one who gingerly accepted him.

The boy and girl looked confused, but they decided to open the box. Inside, they saw many sandwiches neatly lined up in the box. Their jaws had dropped at the sight. The boy quickly looked up and brought his hands together before dropping to his knees Isaiah who got uncomfortable,

"Thank you, sir! Thank you!" the boy thanked him as he felt ears burst out of his eyes.

He and his sister have been struggling for food for the past few days. Their father had an accident and their mother was trying her hardest to bring money home. Unfortunately, it was not enough so the children had to resort to begging.

"Wait! Wait! Wait! Don't do that. You'll attract attention." the sorcerer said as he got the boy to get up, "Just eat comfortably. You can also keep the box for future uses. The boy was about to drop to his knees once more, and Isaiah stopped.

"Stop that. I don't want that. Just eat the food, alright?"

"Okay sir!" the boy said as he wiped his tears away and turned to the girl who was drooling at the sight of the sandwiches.

The children quickly left the area and Isaiah saw them disappear through the crowd.

"That was a nice thing to do." a voice suddenly said.

Isaiah turned around and saw a man in an awkward position in an electric wheelchair that can be controlled by a joystick.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Do you speak, English? I figured you would since you looked like a foreigner. I'm sorry for assuming I'm wrong." the man quickly said when he saw the boy's confused look.

However, Isaiah quickly shook his head,

"No, I speak English. I was just surprised." Isaiah said as he stared at the wheelchair.

The man looked down,

"Oh, are you talking about my appearance? That's okay, I'm used to it." the man said with a laugh.

Isaiah could see what he was talking about when he saw many people around him openly staring at the man.

"Are you visiting the country with your family, kid?" the man kindly asked.

"Nope, I live here."

This surprised the man,

"Really? So does that mean you know this place well?"

"Yeah. You could say I know this area like the back of my hand."

Suddenly, the man looked excited.

"Then would you mind doing me a favour?"

Isaiah raised an eyebrow,

"I don't even know you, mister. Shouldn't you introduce yourself first before asking favours?"

The man, hearing the boy, froze, before laughing.

"You're right! Sorry kid. I got ahead of myself. My name is Jonathan Pangborn. And you?"

"I'm Isaiah Sharpe."

"American?"

"Yeah. So what did you want me to show you?"

Jonathan looked around and lowered his voice,

"I heard rumours about this place and I wanted to see if they were true," he said mysteriously.

Isaiah grinned at the man's tone,

"Huh. What kind of rumours?"

"Have you heard of... Kamar-Taj?"

It took him a lot of effort to keep a straight face,

"Kamar...Taj?"

The man nodded,

"Rumour has it that there is a mystical place called Kamar-Taj around here."

"In Kathmandu?"

"Yeah. Have you heard of it?"

Isaiah decided to feign innocence for now,

"I'm not sure. But why are you seeking this Kamar... Taj?"

The man raised an eyebrow,

"You'll listen to my story?"

"Sure, but we got to get moving first, we're blocking everyone here."

"Sure."

Soon the duo began to walk away from the crowd and Jonathan began to recount his story.

"As you can see, I'm paralyzed after getting an injury in a factory. Doctors tried to help me, but there was nothing they could do. My life came crashing down as I was now confined to my wheelchair. After a long time of reflection on myself, I had some sort of enlightenment. I'd given up on my body. I thought, 'My mind's the only thing I have left. I should at least try to elevate that.' So, I sat with gurus and sacred women. One day, I encountered a Yogi in India. He told me that there was a mystical place where people perform extraordinary feats. He told me that I could find a healer for myself. And now, I'm here."

"So you came all the way to Nepal because of a rumour?"

"I know it sounds silly, but the Yogi who told me about it was no ordinary man."

"Really? Did he have superpowers!?" the boy faked an exciting look.

Jonathan nodded,

"Something like that. Which is why I came here. You know it's quite nice talking to someone about this even if it's with a child." Jonathan said as his wheelchair kept up with the boy.

Isaiah nodded,

"Mr. Pangborn, may I ask you a question?"

"Sure?"

"What if I told you can be healed."

"The wheelchair stopped as he froze. He saw the atmosphere around the kid change. If before it was an innocent aura, now it looked menacing.

"What did you say?"

Isaiah kept a knowing smile,

"What if I told you that you could be healed. Not just your mind, but also your body."

"What are you on about, kid?"

"Please answer my questions, Mr. Pangborn."

The man stayed silent and answered,

"I would do anything to gain my legs back."

"Anything?"

"Anything."

"Be careful, for what you wish for, Mr. Pangborn. The price may be high."

"It doesn't matter."

Isaiah nodded,

"Then follow me."

No one in their right mind would follow a kid like that. He didn't what compelled him, but Jonathan decided to do just that and follow the kid. Soon they arrived in front of an unassuming black wooden door.

"Wait here, just a sec. Alright?"

"Huh, sure."

Isaiah then opened the door before entering it. Isaiah quickly found his teacher who was meditating in her room. He quickly knocked on her door,

"Come in."

The boy quickly entered the room,

"Isaiah. What seems to be the issue?"

"I found a paralyzed man in a wheelchair looking for Kamar-Taj after hearing it from some Yogi in India."

"I know," she said with a smirk

"You know? Did you see it with the Eye?"

"Yes. Is this gentleman's name perhaps Mr. Jonathan Pangborn?"

"Yup."

"Help him come inside and escort him to this room. I will be back."

"Alright."

Isaiah soon went back to the door and saw the man looking around.

"Mr. Pangborn," he called to him.

"Yes!" the man replied when he saw Isaiah.

"My teacher is waiting for you,"

"That's great, but what is this place?"

The boy looked at him confused,

"Was this place not what you were searching for?"

This caught the man off-guard,

"Wait. This is Kamar-Taj."

"No. It's what's inside."

"I see," Jonathan said and was about to enter the room when Isaiah stopped him,

"Before you enter, let me give you some advice."

"Huh, sure."

He didn't know what kind of advice a child could give him, but he let him.

"Whatever you have learned, Forget about it. You should also forget about your common sense and logic. Do you understand, Mr. Pangborn?"

The man simply nodded as he didn't know what to say.

"Good, come in."

Pangborn rolled his wheelchair through the door and found himself in a room that could be found in a monastery. He was quite familiar with this type of room due to his journey to elevate his mind. Luckily there were no stairs between the entrance and the Ancient One's room. Isaiah had deliberately chosen a route where there was no sign of magic. He guided the man into the room and told him,

The Ancient One will be with you shortly. And remember my advice, Mr. Pangborn. You will need it."

"Sure." the man said hesitantly and the boy left the room.

Outside, he saw his teacher arriving.

"Thank you, Isaiah. Depending on Mr. Pangborn, this will take around thirty minutes to an hour. Will you wait in the meantime, I would like to show you something after."

"Sure! See you later." the boy said and left.

Thirty minutes later, the boy was in the library reading a book when he felt his teacher approaching.

"Teacher, how was it?"

"Mr. Pangborn has decided to stay in Kamar-Taj in order to heal. Master Mordo will be in charge of showing him around and introducing him to Magic," she said with a smile.

"That's a relief."

The Teacher looked at the clock,

'It's time.'

"Isaiah. Why don't you change into your casual clothes, I would like to take you somewhere." the woman said.

Isaiah looked at her,

"Where will you take me?"

"That's a surprise," Fiona replied with a smirk.

Isaiah looked at her and took out a simple T-Shirt and a short. Summer was just around the corner and the weather was getting hotter even in Kamar-Taj. He then used (Flash Air) to swap it with his current clothes that way he didn't have to bother removing his clothes one by one. The woman smiled and snapped her finger. Her monk attire also changed into the familiar yellow hooded robe that she wore when going outside.

"Let's go to your classroom, shall we?" she asked and the boy nodded.

He put the book back in its place and they went to the classroom. Five minutes later, the duo was standing in the room. Isaiah looked at his teacher,

"Are we going to take a portal?"

"That's right."

*Bzzt* *Bzzt*

To Isaiah's confusion, he heard a buzz and saw Fiona taking out the phone his father had given her out of her pocket. She glanced at it and nodded.

"Alright, it's time, Isaiah."

"Time for what?"

Fiona looked at the boy with a smirk but she didn't reply. Soon a portal opened up and,

"SURPRISE!"

Multiple voices simultaneously shouted catching the boy off guard and making him jump back.

"What?" he looked at the other side of the portal.

There he saw Bianca holding a cake with two candles forming the number twelve lit. He saw Nico on her right. His eyes gleamed with barely controlled excitement and had a smile so wide that Isaiah feared it might tear itself off his face. Standing on Bianca's left was Percy Jackson who had a knowing smirk. Behind him was his mother who was smiling at Isaiah. Finally, standing behind the di Angelo siblings was his father Tony Stark who had his signature smirk and Happy who let out a rare smile.

"Happy birthday, kid." Happy said.

"W-What is all this?" the boy asked genuinely confused.

"It's a surprise birthday party!" Bianca replied showing the cake.

It was then Fiona spoke while looking at her student incredulously,

"I know I haven't said anything, but don't tell me you forgot what day today is?"

Isaiah looked confused when he suddenly realized,

"Wait. Today's June 2nd... It's my birthday!"

"There you go! Happy Birthday, man!" Percy said.

"Happy Birthday twelfth birthday, Isaiah!" his mother said.

"Thanks, Percy and Sally," Isaiah replied before asking in a daze,

"How are you all here?"

"You can blame your father for that. He's the one who planned this party."

Isaiah looked at his father in surprise,

"Tony?"

The man in question smiled,

"What can I say? I missed your last eleven birthdays. I had a lot of catching up to do," the man said with a sad smile.

"Is that why I couldn't read your mind, yesterday?"

Tony smirked and showed his right wrist. The boy saw a small metallic bracelet, but he see enchantments on it as well as felt the Universal energy emanating from it.

"Your teacher helped me after I contacted her so that you won't be tipped when i organised your party.

Isaiah turned to his Teacher,

"So that's why you called me this morning."

Fiona grinned,

"Guilty as charged."

It was then Nico interjected.

"Isaiah! You didn't tell me that TONY FREAKING STARK is your dad!" Nico exclaimed.

"To be honest, I just got to know about it two months ago," Isaiah replied with an awkward smile.

Nico was about to ask more questions when Bianca beat him to the punch,

"You can ask questions later, Nico." Bianca turned to Isaiah,

"Happy birthday, Isaiah," she said.

"Thanks, Bianca."

"Why don't we get inside, first?" Fiona said.

"Sure, sure. Come in!" Tony said.

The duo both walked through the portal and Isaiah found himself in the living room decorated with balloons and banners with the words [Happy Birthday, Isaiah] written on them.

Tony clasped Isaiah's shoulder,

"Happy birthday, kid. There's also one more guest who will be coming," he said with a grin.

"Really? Who?"

"Pepper."

"Miss Potts?"

"Well, originally, Rhodey was supposed to come to, but he was called back to the military. So it's only Pepper. I purposely told her to come later so everything will be ready before dumping world-changing news on her. Are you ready to officially meet her?"

"Yeah!"

Suddenly, Jarvis's voice was heard in the living room,

"Mr. Stark, Ms. Potts is approaching the estate. By the way, Happy twelfth birthday, Isaiah." Jarvis said.

"Thanks, Jarvis," Isaiah replied.

"Alright, buddy. I'll go get her." Tony said and addressed his son,

"Why don't you hide somewhere nearby and I'll call you when I introduce you to Pepper?" Tony asked.

"Sure, I can't wait to meet her!" his son replied and he went to get his assistant.

***

Pepper had parked her car in front of Tony's mansion and was now walking towards the entrance. She was slightly anxious at this whole ordeal. Her boss hadn't given her much information. Usually, he would give her everything and it was her job to prepare a party. Now? It was the opposite. Her only task was to buy some balloons and some customized banners for a person named Isaiah. She didn't even know who the guests were and it was literally her job to know.

She sighed,

'Just what happened to Tony?' she thought.

She was about to swipe her card on the reader when the door abruptly opened revealing her boss who had a large grin of joy.

"You're finally here, Pepper!"

The woman smiled,

"Yes. I've come for this birthday party."

"Good. Good. Come, introduce you to everyone."

When Pepper finally arrived, she was shocked. There were fewer people than she thought and half of them were kids. Tony never invited kids. Pepper looked at them wide-eyed. She could only recognize Happy amongst the people.

"Everyone! Let me introduce you to Pepper!"

Virginia groaned at the nickname. When introducing someone, one does not introduce them with their nickname. It seems like Tony forgot about it.

Everyone turned to her when the youngest of the children asked,

"Pepper? What kind of name is that?" he asked.

The woman in question quickly composed herself and corrected her boss,

"My name is Virginia Potts and I am the assistant of Mr. Stark. I was told today would be the birthday of someone named Isaiah and Tony invited me."

A bald woman raised an eyebrow and turned to Tony,

"Have you not told anything about her yet, Mr. Stark?"

Tony gave an awkward chuckle,

"I figured it would be better to tell when you're all here."

It was then Pepper had an ominous feeling. She turned to Tony,

"Tony, what's going on?"

Tony looked at her,

"Well, it's a complicated story, but, for twelve years, I have been keeping a secret. The only ones who know about it are in this room," he said as he pointed at the guests.

"Them?"

"Yup, because this secret is related to the one this party is for."

Tony turned to the room,

"It's time, Isaiah. Meet Virginia "Pepper" Potts."

Pepper didn't know who he was talking to until a young boy with black hair and blue eyes that seemed to pierce through his glasses moved. Pepper could see the child is fit for one young such as him as he walked up to her and smiled.

"Hello, Miss Potts. My name is Isaiah Sharpe and today I'm officially twelve years old."

That's when something suddenly clicked in her when she saw the facial features of the child. Her face suddenly morphed into a shocked one.

"And I'm the son of Tony Stark."

Pepper was speechless.

'A child? What? When? With whom did he sleep with? Oh god, it all makes sense now! Tony's sudden change in behaviour could only be the result of an external influence.'

"Miss Potts?"

Pepper snapped back to reality and smiled at the boy,

"It's nice to meet you, Isaiah and happy birthday."

The boy's smile brightened,

"Thanks."

Tony then spoke,

"Since this is Isaiah's birthday, let's celebrate it first!"

Everyone agreed and went to the dining room where the cake was. Tony turned to Pepper,

"I'll answer all the questions later, but I want to celebrate my son's birthday first. It's the first time, I'm throwing something like this since he was born."

"Why? If it's you, I figure you would do it every year and more extravagant."

Tony cringed,

"Because I only got to know he was alive five months ago and I found him two months ago."

"What?" Pepper was now confused.

"We'll get into details later. Come on, let's not keep everyone waiting."

Pepper followed the man into the dining room where he could see everyone surrounding Isaiah who was seated on a chair in front of the large cake. She could see the child-like smile on him. For some reason, she felt some sort of pressure in her chest,

'Just who caused such changes in Tony? What kind would it be to make a man such as Tony Stark fall for? A man who wouldn't think twice when he sees a pair of tits and ass. Or was Isaiah simply a mistake?

Why does my chest hurt?'