Your Little Stark

Ch•13-Remodeling

"What is it?" I ran up the stairs as fast as my legs would carry me. Dad was standing at the center of the living-room. A large, three-layered model city design sat on the floor beside his feet. I paused in front of the fire place, recognizing the piece of the old video of his father "wow... is that...?"

"The key to the future?" Dad finished for me, removing his white blazer from his shoulders and tossing it onto the couch "help me get this downstairs, would ya?" he asked, already expecting me to help. I nodded, bending down to the floor and gripping the sides. Dad and I lifted up the model gingerly. There were three of them that we needed to transport down to the basement "I'll go backwards, you got the front?" he asked, positioning himself in preparation to descend the stairs. He would go first ahead of me.

"Think so"

      "Careful around the fingers, it's a bit abrasive" he warned, walking backwards on his feet. He took one step at a time, keeping the table leveled. I am sure that he is doing most of the work, I'm barely strong enough to hold this. If he was struggling, he didn't show it. I adjusted my grip "Watch out for the wall, careful" he nodded his head.

"I saw this in that video" I told him, glancing down to my feet to make sure that they were connecting with each stair "where did you find it?"

      "At Industries-" he enlightened "-in my old office, or- Peppers new office. Whatever you want to call it. Do you got it? Feels like you're slipping!"

"I got it"

"Don't drop it on me, Jessi!"

"I'm not!"

Once we reached the workshop, Dad and I set the first layer down in the center of the shop. It was massive. I wiped the sweat from my forehead and took in the detailed model city for a brief moment "come on, kid, two more" he patted my shoulder. We then retraced our steps to the living room in order to bring down the final two. They were just as heavy. Once it was all finished, which felt like hours, I sat down on the floor and caught my breath. Dad blew off a layer of dust which had settle on the of the model "Jarvis? could you kindly Vac-U-Form a digital wire frame? I need a manipulatable projection"

"What's does that mean?" I asked, looking at the map from my place on the floor.

"It means... this" Dad rested his hand against the chair just as blue holographic rays form Jarvis's systems scanned across the table. I stood up with interest and watched as the blue scans settled everywhere on the model, into every crevasse. I moved to stand next to him.

"1974 Stark Expo" Jarvis informed "Model scan complete sir"

"How many buildings are there?" Dad asked, lifting up the complete holographic scan of the table. It glowed blue in the air as Dad moved it towards the open area of the workshop with his hands. All this technology was still relatively new to me. I continued to trail him across the room, allowing my hand to press into the hologram as he passed by me. It felt like nothing.

"Am I to include the Belgium Waffle stand?"

"That was rhetorical. Just show me" Dad set the hologram down in the air, then gave it a spin it in the air as he did so. The hologram positioned itself onto its side so Dad could get a horizontal, front facing view "What does that look like to you, Jes?" he asked me, not taking his gaze away from the model.

      "An atom" I said confidently, bringing my fingers up to my chin. Dad whipped his head around to me in complete shock "that or... a map of DisneyLand"

"How in the world did you guess that?"

"We just... started a new unit in science. Atoms" I smiled.