[1] Lions Inside | Tony Stark

five

[Jade]

During the next few weeks, Jade had done nothing but train. Ever since Tony found out what a good guard dog she was, he thought it was a good idea to call a trainer to come over to the house.

As it turns out, she didn't trust the trainer one bit. Apparently, he was Tony's cousin who he hadn't seen in many years. Both she and Pepper became quite surprised by the fact, but they said he wanted to keep a low profile.

Even his name sounded suspicious, Ryder, she knew he hadn't done anything wrong - yet - but there was just something about him that made a few warning bells in her head go off like crazy.

Other than that, Tony had continued on whatever he was working on. She remembered the two times during the past weeks when he was trying it out.

-

Tony had been working non-stop for almost two weeks in his workshop. Jade had been by his side most of the time when she wasn't being trained.

They were down in the workshop, this time closer to the cars. Tony had put on some kind of metal shoes and held something in his hands.

One of the robots held a fire-extinguisher while the other one held a camera.

Tony activated the things in his hands and Jade tilted her head when she heard a sound coming from them.

"We're gonna see if 10% thrust capacity can achieve lift," Tony said to the camera. Jade didn't like the sound of a lift, but she hoped Tony knew what he was doing.

He started counting down and when he reached one his shoes and the things in his hands gave out so much force that he flew into the ceiling. At first, Jade was worried, but when Dummy sprayed him and when she heard him groan she let out a laugh - at least to what extent dogs could laugh - before letting out a sneeze instead when Tony glared at her.

~

The next time Tony was going to try out his metal shoes (and now also some kind of big metal gloves on his arms) went a little better, though he started off by telling Dummy that he would donate it if it sprayed him without him being on fire.

Jade found it amusing that Tony had somewhat of a love-hate relationship with his machine that only seemed to do everything wrong, even though it was Tony himself who made it.

"Seriously, just gonna start off with 1% thrust capacity," Tony said before starting to count down again. Only this time when he reached one, he didn't fly into the ceiling, this time he actually hovered a bit above the ground and Jade became impressed by the technology he had created.

When he was on the ground again he decided it wasn't enough. This time he increased the thrust capacity to 2.5% before starting to hover again, this time slightly higher up.

At first, he almost lost control when he first went over the cars and then over his desk - making papers fly everywhere - before he regained control.

He flew back towards where he had started and landed. He almost fell backwards, but Jade was quick to his aid and helped him regain his balance again.

Dummy rose its arm towards Tony, but he managed to stop it before it actually did something. He looked slightly towards the camera before ending it with: "Yeah, I can fly."

-

But this time, Tony was doing something else. Instead of having the metal shoes and gloves he had a full suit and Jade had to say, she was very impressed by what he had accomplished in such a short time.

Tony picked up the piece for his face and checked that Jarvis was also in the suit.

And after checking out the suit, Tony decided that it wasn't enough. "Jarvis, sometimes you got to run before you can walk."

After counting down again he hovered above the ground before starting to tilt and fly out of the house.

Jade was quick to follow him and when she saw him flying off she accidentally transformed back into a human.

At first, she let out a laugh since Tony had succeeded, but then panic started to make its way to her heart. She hadn't been human for quite a few years and the red dress she had the last time was slightly out-dated.

She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down from the chock. Her first thought was to directly turn back into a dog, but after some thought, she realized that she might need to change her clothes.

She tried to find some money and succeeded when she remembered she had added a little pocket on the inside of her dress where she had put a few dollars.

Her ten dollars would at least be able to give her some cheap clothes from a second-hand store so she started to walk down the road she came from a few weeks ago. She vaguely remembered seeing a second-hand store when she walked through Malibu, so she started to walk in the direction.

When she found a store, she quickly walked in and grabbed the first few clothes in her size that she found.

She ended up with a pair of jeans, a green t-shirt, a grey sweatshirt with a zip, black runners and a black belt. She also took a plastic bag where she could put her dress in case she needed it again sometime.

When she walked out she pulled up the hood to hide her face and her hair that only went to her shoulders. She decided it was best to head back so that she could be there when Tony came back.

When she could see the mansion again she stopped and walked over to the earth beside the road. When she was sure no one was looking, she turned into a dog and started digging a hole. When it was deep enough she put the bag with the dress in it and covered it up with dirt again before starting to walk to the house.

When she came back the house was still vacant, so she decided to take a nap on the floor in the workshop until Tony came back.

-

A sudden crash from the floor above made her wake up in a startle and suddenly Tony came crashing through the roof in his suit, landing on his car and making the alarm sound.

Jade let out a snort of laughter when Dummy sprayed him and Tony only weakly raised his hand in protest to her.

-

Jade waited patiently for Tony until he came into the room, holding a pack of ice on his head.

She pushed gently with her head on his leg to show some kind of sympathy towards him.

He sat down in front of the screens and started talking with Jarvis about how his suit could be improved.

Jade went towards one of his cars with flames on the side and stood up with her front paws to see if there were anything besides the read seats in it.

When she looked towards him, he was watching the TV with a new interest. "Jarvis, we get an invite for that?"

"I have no record of an invitation, sir," Jarvis responded to him. Jade walked up beside Tony and saw the suit that had been painted golden.

"A little ostentatious, don't you think?" Tony said after taking a look at it. "What was I thinking? You're usually so discreet." Jade could only guess that he was sarcastic, but it was hard to hear.

Tony looked over at the car Jade looked at before and saw the red color of the seats. "Tell you what. Throw a little hot-dog red in there."

"Yes, that should help you keep a low profile," Jarvis said to him but did as asked.

Jade lost focus of their conversation when she started watching the TV but started listening again when Tony spoke again. "Don't wait up for me, honey."

She looked at the TV, then Tony and then the TV again. Even though she didn't want to admit it, she felt protective over Tony. So instead of playing dog and staying home, she decided she should go after him in case something would happen.