CEO??

Chapter 15

Ellie was sitting on a high cabinet, a mug cupped in her hand and her lab clothes replaced with an oversized hoodie, leggings, and fuzzy socks. She was reading an e-book with a small smile on her face. She was obviously done with her project and was just chilling while she waited for me and Shuri to return.

Connor was sitting on top of one of the tables, also having changed into a hoodie and sweats, and was grinning as he painted designs onto what I assumed was his project. It was red, and he was painting a black spider with blue webs on it. Something to do with Spider-Man then. He was singing a song with Sarah and nobody told them to stop because their voices were melodic and they sang a duet perfectly.

Speaking of Sarah, she was also done and changed into a similar outfit as Ellie. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt and leggings with fuzzy socks. She sat on the table with Connor, watching him with a light blush as they sang Rewrite the Stars.

Samuel was just finishing up his design and was lying across a different table on his stomach. His brow was furrowed in concentration as he sketched in the final details. He, too, had changed, though he was dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt. He hummed along to the song, but didn't sing with them.

Timothy was last. He, like everyone else, had changed, wearing pajama pants and a comfy shirt. He also wore no shoes. He was filming the scene, focusing mainly on Sarah and Connor, but making sure everyone was in the shot. He waved at us, being the only one to notice our entrance.

I waited until Connor and Samuel were done before speaking. "So, hi?" I said.

They all jumped, except for Tim who had seen us, and turned to us. "Hi!" he greeted.

"Where are the shoes?" I asked with one eyebrow raised. A talent that I possessed, unlike the majority of the population. Ha! Take that Parker Luck! I am unique!

They all looked at me sheepishly before pointing to the corner where I could see them piled up. "I promise we were wearing them while working," Ellie said. "We took safety precautions, but shoes are just overrated."

I laughed and shrugged. "Fine by me. I honestly work without safety precautions half the time. Now, is everyone done?"

They all nodded eagerly and Ellie climbed down from her spot on the cabinet. "Can I go first?" Sarah asked excitedly.

I nodded and she brought out what looked to be a simple braided leather bracelet with a blue gem. When she tapped the gem, however, it glowed and a hologram was projected above it, showing vital signs and other medical information.

"It is reading my vitals right now," she explained. "I designed it for the general population in case of an accident. A paramedic would know blood type and vitals immediately. The person would have to set up the blood type and some other small bits of info, but overall it is automatic. An ambulance could also keep them for a quick vital check and body scan."

"Interesting," I hummed, waving Shuri over to see it as I approached her. "May I see it?" She handed it over and I inspected the bracelet. The design was wonderful; I wouldn't have known it was anything special until she showed me. "How did you do the design?"

She blushed and fiddled with the hem of her shirt. "Oh, I modeled it after a bracelet I was given by my brother before he passed. The gem is the technology, and the leather is imbedded with sensors and keeps track of pulse and such."

"Did you fit the tech inside the gem?" Shuri asked.

"Oh, no! The technology is designed to look pretty. It's made from easily obtained materials so it can be accessible to the public."

I handed it back with a smile. "Thank you, Sarah. Ellie, can I see what you've done?"

She nodded and produced a set of blueprints. "I finished the blueprints but I didn't have time to build a prototype. Building's not my specialty," she explained. "It's a design for a set of hearing aids that will actually block out noise rather than enhance it. It's meant for Spider-Man who has enhanced senses. I heard Spider-Man gets sensory overloads, and figured that these would help. They are able to be adjusted by either voice command, manual adjustment, or automatically sensing your vitals and determining the best level."

I was impressed again. These were something I had thought about but waved it off, thinking that it wasn't important enough to design when I could be working on Dad's arm or Mom's widow bites. Shuri gave Ellie a bright smile, knowing that they would help me greatly and I would never work on them because I didn't think I was important enough to take priority.

"Ellie, I'm giving you a space in here to make these. Let me, Darren, or Shuri know if you need any materials that you don't have already stocked. Make a list of what you need. If you can't find one of us, either talk to Friday or ask someone nearby where we are," I said. "Spidey would love these. He's been getting overloads at least once a week, and these will help tremendously."

She grinned and Timothy showed me what he had made. It was a formula for a serum that he said could theoretically, with testing and such, allow Bruce to control when he turns into the Hulk. They would still be two separate beings, but Bruce would be able to be angry without fear of killing someone. I grinned. These guys were working their way into a whole new team that works under me directly.

He had also made an AI that was very advanced for his time limit. He had built it into a StarkPad that he had commandeered and apologized for that, but I was delighted. It was excellent. He had named it Gibbs, which stood for, "Genius, Intelligent, Brilliant, and unBeatable System."

Sam had made a design for a water filter that was able to determine between harmful and harmless minerals and substances and let the harmful and helpful ones through. He made a design for a small scale and a large scale product.

Finally, Connor showed me his. It was designed to fold up into a small case, but when it unfolded, it expanded into a laptop that had all the aspects of a whole computer setup. He had worked with Timothy and put his AI into the computer. "It's for Spider-Man!" he claimed with a grin. "He's my favorite hero! He turned down being an Avenger to help regular civilians like me and my family! He saved my sister from being raped a month ago."

-------------------------------------

Thoughts?