The Second Stark [COMPLETED STORY]

-twenty four-

  I got out of the shower and put on the fresh clothes that I brought in with me. My shoulder hurt to touch, but I was stabbed by a needle. As a doctor, I should know why it's still swollen, but I had no clue.
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  I rubbed my arm as I walked back into the living room. It was pouring rain outside, I mean it was May. Nobody was in there, so I went to find Tony.
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  Jarvis told me that he was on his floor, so that's exactly where I went. I knocked on the door and heard a crashing noise and after about 30 seconds, a flustered Tony came to the door. Something was up.
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  "What was that?"

  "I fell."

  "Over what?"

  "Uh, a thing on the ground."

  "What are you hiding Anthony?"

  "Nothing," he rubbed his neck. When he removed his hand, I could see a purple maze spreading up towards his head.

  "What the hell is that?"

  "What?"

  "The purple crossword puzzle on your neck!"

  "Tattoo?" I grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer and examined the marking. Definitely not a tattoo.

  "Let me in," I shoved him to the side and looked at his desk. A briefcase was spilled on the ground.
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  I picked up the case and opened it. Palladium. Why would Tony need palladium? That stuff is really toxic in amounts this big, it's a carcinogen. He doesn't need to be around it.
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  "Palladium?"

  "Yeah, for a new model I'm working on."

  "You have palladium poisoning don't you?"

  "No, I don't have palladium poisoning."

  "Show me your chest."

  "What? No!"

  "Anthony, show me now."

  "You don't need to-" I ripped his shirt open and almost screamed.

  "What the hell is that and why is it inside of you?!"
 
  "Uh, it's a thing I made."

  "Is that an Arc Reactor?"

  "Possibly."

  "Powered by palladium. You do have palladium poisoning! Why would you lie to me?"

  "You don't need to worry Athena, I know what I'm doing!"

  "You're going to die Tony!"

  "No, I am not."

  "Hand." He held out his left hand to me. I grabbed a blood toxicity checker thing from his desk and pricked him with it.

  "78% Tony!"

  "That's unusually high." His eyes wandered around the room.

  "My god! Get that thing out of you right now!"

  "I can't, I'll actually die if I do."

  "Explain yourself."

  "There's shrapnel heading to my heart, this is the only thing stopping it from entering it. The palladium powers it and that's the only suitable element for it."

  "You've tried everything else? Nothing works?"

  "Nothing."

  "I'll fix it, give me some time. Be careful and consume chlorophyll."

  "I already do."

  "Then keep doing it." I marched out the workspace furious, but determined to save my big brother.
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  Tony meant the world to me. If I couldn't help him, he'd eventually die. He'd be poisoned or get cancer or some other of the many illnesses caused by palladium. What was he thinking? Is he absolutely mad? He could've gotten the shrapnel removed!
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