Brooklyn Boys|Marvel x Male OC

24 - Trouble

Over the next month or so, I spend a lot of time in the lab with Tony, repairing or modifying current tech, and developing new devices. At the moment, Tony and I are designing what he calls 'Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing' glasses, or as I joked - 'BARF.' I told him that when or if he presents it to the public, he should take credit for it as I'd rather not be in the limelight.

Currently; Steve, Natasha, Sam, Pietro and Wanda are in Lagos, Nigeria, tracking down some of the remaining Hydra Agents, including the infamous 'Crossbones' (who is actually Brock Rumlow), while I'm standing backstage at the presentation event. Tony chose to enlighten a group of students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as he used to study at MIT himself.

I observe from the wings, watching him show his more vulnerable side by presenting how he wished his last moments with his parents went. I sigh and hang my head, remembering the countless hours I spent with his father back in the 1940s. Tony and I had always spoke about his parents, which did surprise me after I found out what happened to them.

~•~

A hand rests on my shoulder as I stand in the wings, watching Steve enter onto the stage to his 'Star-Spangled Man' theme. I turn my head to see Howard standing next to me, a grin on his face as he watches Steve too.

"What's that look for?" I chuckle, knowing that a grin on Howard Stark's face isn't always good news.

"I never thought I'd see one of my most famous projects dancing on a stage for a USO tour," he laughs, shaking his head slightly then looking at me, "did you ever think this would happen?"

"Steve wanted to be part of the war effort," I reply, "this isn't what he wanted, but I guess it's somewhat helping."

"You must be proud of him though, right?" Howard asks, switching his view back to the stage.

"Yeah, of course I am," I smile, also watching the stage again, "I know he'd be out on the field if he was allowed to though."

~•~

"Help me out," Tony says to his audience, "what's the MIT mission statement?"

"To generate, disseminate, and preserve knowledge." The students reply.

"And work with others," he adds, "to bring it to bear on the world's greatest challenges."

About half a minute later, the crowd cheer as Tony reveals his funding of the MIT student's projects. He looks over to me and smiles as I remain in the wings, and I clap to show my support. When the crowd calm down, Tony finishes his presentation and leaves the stage with a huge grin on his face.

"Good job, Stark," I smile and hug him, "your dad would be proud."

"You think so?" He questions.

"He would be-"

"Uh, that was amazing!" One of the school's professors interrupts and begins to ask about faculty funding. Tony and I share an 'is this guy serious' look and we make up some dumb excuse to avoid the conversation. We exit the backstage area and out onto the corridor with the elevator.

"I'll meet you out the front." I nod to Tony and wander towards where we parked the car. As I walk away, my phone begins to explode with texts and notifications before it rings.

"What did you do?" I ask Steve, who is on the other end of the phone.

"Have you checked the news?" He asks.

"Tony's only just finished his presentation so, no."

"Well, you might want to," Steve informs, "and get to the compound asap."