Four Seasons Hotel, Washington DC-
-May 8, 2010, 1200h local-
"...And Stern's face... when he heard I want him to step down... It's almost like... he shat himself." Tony wheezed out between laughs.
Naruto was in front of Tony, laughing his guts out too. Rhodey is at one corner of the room, trying to hide his laughter. It took them almost five minutes before they calmed down.
"Didn't know you're a lawyer—a good one at that." Rhodey told Naruto.
"I got a whole bunch of covers, from hobo to CEO. Nobody knows what I might need..." Naruto answered. "Though, to be honest, I didn't make the arguments. If it were just me, I'd just make Stern disappear and be done with it."
"Then how'd you made the plan?" Tony asked, brushing off how easily Naruto said his statement.
"I got some help from my girlfriends, Pepper, and Jarvis." Naruto replied.
"So a spy, a criminology student, a former super secretary, and a supercomputer? That could work." Rhodey mused out loud.
Naruto and Tony gave an agreeing nod. Naruto was about to take out ramen when his phone rang. He took out his phone and saw that it's Erik calling.
"Sorry, I had to take this..." Naruto said while walking out of the room and answering the phone. "Erik, talk to me."
"Hey, we just passed the border." Erik answered.
Erik and Bruce are currently in the pickup truck Erik received from his contact.
"What took you guys so long!?" Naruto exclaimed.
"It's fucking hard to make sure no one's following you. All the cameras, satellites, and agents don't make it any better..." Erik countered. "Those SHIELD agents are good, not as good as me, though."
"How long would it take you to reach Culver?"
"With still keeping out of SHIELD and the military's radar? A week. It's harder to move around in the US than in Mexico..." Erik replied. "It would be easier if you just drop us there."
"You can do it. You're the bloody Killmonger."
"Fuck you, man. You're enjoying this too much." Erik said before dropping the call.
Naruto released a short laugh before getting back inside.
"So who is it?" Rhodey asked, genuinely curious.
"Some guy who's helping a guy I know."
"That's not mysterious at all." Tony said while drinking his beer.
"You'll find out about it soon enough..." Naruto replied while opening up a beer of his own. "When are you going back to LA?"
"Tonight." Tony answered with a serious expression.
"So you're going to tell her, huh?" Tony gave a small nod to Naruto's question
"Tell who what?" Rhodey interjected.
"Like our blonde friend said, 'You'll find out soon enough.'"
-Stark Mansion, Los Angeles, California-
-May 8, 2010, 2300h local-
"Mrs. Potts..." JARVIS called out. "Mr. Stark has just arrived. He requests for you to meet him at the garage."
Pepper is currently on their bed, reading the company reports on her tablet. She hasn't expected Tony to come home that night. The senate hearing finally shed some light on Naruto's weird behavior in the past week. Corporate law and contracts, procurement law, military contracts, and all the other things they could think of. She stood up from the bed and took her bathrobe.
"Tell him I'll meet him there."
"Of course, Mrs. Potts."
Pepper walked out of the room and down the stairs. She punched in the garage door code to unlock it. She saw Tony in his jeans and tank top combo while drinking the green shake he's been downing more frequently in the past three months.
"You know that I'm not kissing you without brushing your teeth first, right?" Pepper said while pointing at the green shake.
"I don't like drinking this nasty too." Tony replied.
"And you still haven't told me why you're drinking it."
Tony scrunched up his face due to his anxiousness. He scratched the back of his head before pulling two rolling chairs from behind him and facing them to each other.
"Have a seat, Peps..." Tony said as he sat on the chair. "You may not like what you're going to hear."
"May?"
"Well, it depends on your mood."
"You're making me nervous, Tony."
Tony took another sip of his chlorophyll shake.
"I need you to run the company."
"I already am."
"You're not listening. I'm trying to make you CEO."
Pepper's jaw dropped when she heard what Tony said.
"Have you've been drinking?"
"Only the Chlorophyll shake..." Tony answered. "I hereby irrevocably appoint you chairman and CEO of Stark Industries effective immediately. Yeah, done deal. Okay? I've actually given this a fair amount of thought, believe it or not..." Dum-E arrived while holding a tray with champagne and a pair of glasses. Tony stood up and walked towards Dum-E. "Doing a bit of headhunting, so to speak, trying to figure out who a worthy successor would be. And then I realized it's you. It's always been you..." Tony opened up the champagne and poured some on both glasses."I thought there'd be a legal issue, but actually, I'm capable of appointing my successor. My successor being you..." Pepper just kept staring at the glass."Congratulations? Take it, just take it."
"I don't know what to say." Pepper let out after she took the glass.
"Don't say anything..." Tony said as he took a sip of the champagne. "I need the time anyway."
"Time for what?"
Tony released a sigh and slumped on his chair.
"The moment the shrapnels decided to embed themselves near my heart, my life started ticking down. This right here..." Tony tapped the miniature arc reactor. "is the pause button. This stops the shrapnel from piercing my heart.." He downed the rest of the champagne. "and apparently, it's killing me too."
Pepper bolted out of her chair and lifted up Tony's tank top. She saw the blue-grey geometric-like veins spreading from the arc reactor.
"Oh my god, Tony!" Pepper exclaimed with tears running down her eyes.
"I use Palladium to power the arc reactor..." Tony replied while reaching for Pepper's hands. "Apparently, using heavy metals to power a reactor shoved in your chest can cause heavy metal poisoning." He continued in a jesting tone.
"Is this why you always have your shirt on?"
"Yup..." Tony answered. "I need you to run the company for me Peps. I need to find a substitute for the Palladium."
"Does anybody else know about this?"
"Well, Naruto knows about it."
Tony heard a snort from Pepper.
"Of course he knows it earlier than your wife." Pepper stated in a half-joking tone.
"It's not my fault that Naruto has some weird eye stuff that can somehow see 'life force.'"
Pepper released a sigh and leaned into Tony's chest.
"Is there anything Naruto could do?" Pepper asked.
"Most probably but he wants me to exhaust my option for now..." Tony replied. "He said he could bring me back if the worst happens."
"That doesn't exactly fill me with confidence."
Tony hugged Pepper tighter into him and started kissing the crown of her head.
"What are you going to do for now?" Pepper said in a quiet voice.
"Research mostly..." Tony replied with a shrug. "I'm going to look for other possible sources of energy that could work as a substitute..." He continued. "I might even make an old school electromagnet attached to a battery or an outlet."
Pepper released a short laugh before looking back up to Tony.
"And the great Tony Stark would never use something as primitive as a battery-powered electromagnet. It just has to be an over-engineered magnet..." Pepper said and kissed Tony on the lips. "Brush your teeth before going to the bed."
-Stark Mansion, Los Angeles, California-
-May 10, 2010, 1000h local-
Naruto just Hiraishined to his room and is now practically skipping towards the Stark Mansion boxing ring.
Tony had texted Naruto that Happy has somehow talked him into a boxing session. And with Naruto being a good friend as he is, he won't miss a chance on seeing one or both of them getting beat up. He might even give a lesson himself.
Naruto was about to enter the exercise room when he noticed something peculiar.
"Nat?" Naruto whispered himself before sprinting off towards the exercise room but stopping just right outside of it. He could feel Tony and Happy in the ring, Pepper standing near the couch, and Nat approaching from the other entrance.
"The notary's here..." Naruto could hear Pepper say.
"Hey, Jarvis. Can I ask you a question?" Naruto asked in a quiet voice.
"Of course, sir." JARVIS replied in an equally quiet voice.
"You know anything about the Notary?"
"According to the company files, the Notary's name is Natalie Rushman from the Legal Department. Formerly employed by Hammer Industries. Mrs. Potts is currently considering Ms. Rushman to be her assistant." JARVIS answered.
"Thanks, JARVIS." Naruto said.
"You're welcome, sir"
Naruto turned the corner and saw Natasha stepping into the ring with Happy while Tony stepped out of the ring. Tony sat down on the couch beside Pepper. Naruto approached quietly from behind the couple.
"Who is she?" Tony asked Pepper.
"She is from legal. And she is potentially a very expensive Divorce if you keep ogling her like that." Pepper threatened.
"I can use an assistant, boss." Naruto interjected as he walked towards the open couch.
Tony and Pepper both simultaneously looked at Naruto, surprised by his sudden appearance.
"You're a bodyguard. You don't need an assistant." Pepper stated.
"You don't know what I do in my free time. Maybe I need one..." Naruto replied before glancing at 'Natalie.' "Besides, you don't need a reason to have an assistant like that."
"You've got like two girlfriends." Tony countered in a disbelieving tone.
"And they might not mind another one." Naruto answered after turning his head back to the couple.
As soon as Naruto finish his statement, the trio heard someone dropping in the boxing ring. Naruto looked back at the ring and saw 'Natalie' holding happy in an armbar.
"Oh my God, Happy!" Pepper shouted.
"I just slipped." Happy tried to defend his remaining ego.
"You slipped?" Tony asked incredulously.
"Yeah."
"Looks like a TKO to me." Tony said while looking at 'Natalie' stepping out of the ring.
"I just need your, signature..." Tony took the papers and signed at the dotted line. "and a fingerprint, right there."
'Natalie' double-checked the signatures and fingerprints before closing the folder.
"Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" 'Natalie' asked.
"No."
"Yes..." Pepper interjected. "That will be all, Ms. Rushman. Thank you very much."
'Natalie' started walking out of the room when she heard Naruto say something.
"I'll walk you out."
Naruto followed behind 'Natalie', surprising Tony and Pepper with how forward he's currently being.
"What the hell is he doing?" Pepper asked.
"Shooting his shot I think..." Tony answered. "Want to see what Naruto would do next?"
"You're not going to spy on Naruto and my new assistant."
"You're no fun."
Naruto and 'Natalie' just reached the living room when he decided to make his move. He grabbed onto Nat's free arm and spun her around before giving her a deep kiss.
"I love it when you wear that pair of pants." Naruto whispered to Nat's ear.
"I'm under... cover." Natasha countered. She is, however, returning Naruto's advances, completely invalidating her argument.
"Yeah, you should be..." Naruto's reply is dripping with innuendo. "I should've known you would take this assignment..." He continued. "I love you." He said while giving her a small peck.
"I love you, too..." Natasha returned. "Almost changed my mind, though, when I heard the third girl comment, though."
Naruto adopted a 'deer caught in headlights' kind of look.
"You know, that's just a joke, right."
"Hmmm." Natasha hummed out, making her disbelief obvious. She gave Naruto one last stern glare before smiling. "I should go. Don't want to blow my cover this early..." She added before starting to walk out of the door. "Next time you find a girl, talk to us first."
Naruto's mouth flopped close and open, effectively imitating a fish. He can't do anything but follow the leaving Natasha with his eyes.
"That's just a joke, Nat! Nat!"
-Culver University, Virginia-
-May 11, 2010, 1000h local-
"Don't we stick out too much?" Banner asked.
"No, we definitely don't..." Erik answered. "It's not like someone would notice a rusty old RV outside a prestigious university."
"Riggghhhttt." Banner drawled out.
"I taught you were smarter than that, doc." Erik continued.
Erik and Bruce, the unlikely duo as Naruto wants to call them, have been embarked on a cross-continental trip from Panama to Virginia, USA. The usual three-week journey had taken them almost three months due to Naruto's instructions to keep out of everyone's radar. Erik had opted to stay out of any populated and high-value areas. He also chose to move mostly at night, on cloudy days, or in areas with ample cover to avoid satellite surveillance.
At first, Erik thought that Naruto is just paranoid. However, the moment they entered Panama city almost a week into their trek, he noticed a few agents tailing them. They are not the usual CIA spooks; they're better. Only his training and strategic mind had allowed him to get ahead of everyone.
The duo fully expected to do their usual zigzag-hopscotch routine when they passed the US-Mexico border, but luck seemed to be on their side that time. They saw a rancher three hours in from the El Paso border control selling his old RV. After a quick check, Erik bought the RV in cash. From then on, the duo could drive the whole night without looking for a place to sleep. They were able to cut their travel time by half.
"Anyway, should we go in or something?" Erik asked.
"No, not yet. According to our latest communication, Mr. Blue is still sequencing my blood..." Bruce answered. "The whole genetic sequence changes when my blood is exposed to 'stressful' stimulus like electroshock. The difference in the sequences makes it harder to create a viable antigen."
"Damn..." Erik mused out loud. "We should drive back to the countryside. I don't want to linger here too long."
"I got a friend who owns a pizzeria..." Bruce stated. "He can house us and give us some real food for a few days."
"I don't think that's a great idea. The military might already have him under surveillance. The CCTVs certainly won't help."
"I doubt that they know about Stanley. I mostly just help him fix some stuff on the down-low. The CCTVs won't be a problem either since it's all VHS."
Against his better judgment, Erik agreed to stay with Bruce's friend. The allure of a 'real' bed and a warm meal is just too much of a temptation.
"Drive out of the city. We're going to ditch the RV before heading to that friend of yours later tonight."
-Stanley's Pizza Parlor, Willowdale, Virginia-
-May 11, 2010, 2050h local-
"He's about to close shop. Let's go." Bruce said as he was about to go out the car door but stopped when Erik grabbed hold of his arm.
"Hold your horses, Doc..." Erik took out a spotting scope and started scanning the area. He used both night vision and infrared to check his surroundings. "It's clear. I'll go out first." He continued when he found no one lurking around the area
The pair did a swift jog across the street towards the backdoor. Bruce approached the door first and knocked twice.
"Stan!" Bruce shouted. When no one opened the door, he tried again. "Stan."
This time, they heard someone scurrying from the other side of the door. When the door opened, it revealed a 5'7 seventy-year-old man with white hair and mustache wearing a sweater. This man is Stanley Lieber.
"Bruce!" Stan exclaimed before giving Bruce a fatherly hug.
"Hey, Stan!" Bruce greeted back.
"How are you, kiddo?"
"Under circumstances, just fine, I guess."
Stan nodded while giving Bruce a look over.
"I'm guessing this is not a simple visit, huh. Come inside, let's fix you and your silent friend there, a bed and a meal." Stan said with a smile.
Erik stepped forward and extended his hand to Stan.
"I'm Erik Stevens."
"Mysterious guy, aren't you..." Stan commented. "Well, come on. I can whip you up some quick meals." He added before walking inside with Bruce and Erik following him.