— –Tony Stark– ––
Tony had to admit, the kid wasn't exactly what he'd expected.
Somehow, he'd built up a mental image of Alex as some kind of younger version of himself. Maybe it was wishful thinking; an optimistic idea that, by nudging this kid down the right path, he could somehow erase some of his own past screw-ups. Mistakes he'd only recently come face-to-face with in the cave.
But Alex Montclair wasn't Tony Stark, b not really. Sure, their stories overlapped in places, but losing your parents at twenty-one was vastly different than losing them when you're still figuring out basic algebra. Stark had been forced to grow up quickly, but he'd at least had a foundation. Alex, meanwhile, had lost his mother as a kid, then his father barely into his teens, and judging by the drunken stories he'd spilled tonight, he'd basically been forced to stumble through life ever since.
Maybe it was the whiskey loosening the kid's tongue, but Alex had unloaded more than enough to paint a grim picture of his past. Tony caught inconsistencies, little gaps or exaggerations, but he chalked those up to the alcohol, not dishonesty.
'It's my fault he ended up like this.' Tony thought bitterly. If he'd pushed harder for tighter oversight, maybe he could've caught the reckless idiot whose negligence had caused the accident that ruined the Montclairs. And if he started down that path, he'd have to admit there were probably dozens, no, hundreds, of other people out there, damaged by his careless choices. How many families had his weapons torn apart?
Tony sighed deeply, swirling what remained in his glass, half-listening to Alex's slurred yet oddly captivating rambling. Whether or not Alex had actually intended it, his brief mention of the Arc Reactor months ago had probably saved Tony's life. Those blueprints etched freshly in his memory had been his lifeline in that damned cave, and Tony wasn't exactly used to owing favors. Credit where it was due, though, Alex had earned a drink or two.
But maybe Tony had let it go a bit too far.
"Okay, that's enough drinking." Pepper interjected suddenly, snapping Tony from his thoughts as she walked over with a disapproving glare. Snatching the bottle right from Tony's hand, she shook her head firmly. "Tony, look at him. You're going to put him in a coma at this rate."
Pepper was right. Alex was currently half-slumped sideways on the couch, eyes glassy, barely clinging to consciousness. Tony guessed she'd gotten caught up in Alex's story just as much as he had, at least until the kid abruptly pivoted to ranting about how his house was definitely haunted.
At that point, even Pepper's sympathy had limits.
"Yer a real hero, Tony." Alex declared drunkenly, his speech an amusing combination of reverence and sheer inebriation. He raised his empty glass theatrically, swaying precariously on the couch. "I'm gonna… build stuff someday… jus' like you."
"Maybe with fewer drinks next time, kid." Tony rolled his eyes fondly, chuckling under his breath.
Alex ignored him, suddenly lunging forward with an intensity that almost toppled him completely off the couch.
"No, y'don't get it." He whispered loudly, leaning in conspiratorially. "I actually built one… the, uh, the shiny thingy, the reactor thingy. In m'house. With, like… cheap-ass chemicals an' stuff. Actually works. Pretty cool, right?"
"Oh? " Tony raised an eyebrow, barely containing his amusement. "I'm sure it does."
"No! Seriously!" Alex protested loudly, suddenly looking very determined. Before Tony could stop him, the kid lunged for one of his briefcases, swinging it onto the coffee table with far more enthusiasm than coordination. The briefcase collided with one of Tony's half-empty whiskey glasses, sending it crashing spectacularly to the floor, glass and alcohol scattering everywhere.
"Ah, shit." Alex muttered, staring blankly at the wreckage he'd caused. "Whoops."
Pepper let out a resigned sigh, briefly closing her eyes as if silently counting to ten. Tony, meanwhile, merely raised an amused eyebrow, already mentally preparing a sarcastic joke. But before either of them could say another word, Alex's awkward chuckle turned into a strangled groan as his face paled dramatically.
"Oh, oh no—" Alex began, panicked eyes widening, before swiftly turning and vomiting onto Tony's pristine, custom-upholstered couch.
"Oh, fantastic." Tony leaned back slowly, eyebrows raised in dry amusement mixed with mild disgust.
Pepper moved instantly, rushing toward a nearby cabinet, already gathering cleaning supplies. Tony, for his part, just watched Alex sink miserably to his knees, leaning his forehead heavily against the edge of the couch.
"Jus'... gimme a sec." Alex slurred miserably, eyes fluttering closed even as he spoke. A heartbeat later, he'd passed out cold, softly snoring into the ruined upholstery.
"Alright." Tony glanced up at Pepper sheepishly. "I might have overdone it."
"You think?" Pepper snapped back, but even as she spoke, Tony's attention was already drifting. The half-open briefcase Alex had brought was now tantalizingly within reach. Despite the drunken chaos, his curiosity instantly took priority.
He knelt next to the coffee table, carefully nudging the case open wider. As soon as he did, a gentle green glow emanated from inside, instantly capturing his focus and chasing away the slight alcoholic fog from his mind.
"What do we have here…?" Tony murmured, genuinely intrigued. Reaching carefully, he lifted the strange, faintly humming device from its padded casing, turning it slowly between his fingers. It was rough around the edges, clearly a prototype, but undeniably sophisticated in its own quirky way.
It certainly looked like some bizarre version of an Arc Reactor, wires sticking out haphazardly and green-tinted energy pulsing gently at its center.
"Pep…" Tony called out absentmindedly. "...you think this thing actually works?"
"What?" Pepper responded, returning with paper towels and cleaning spray in hand, her face showing her irritation. Her eyes narrowed slightly when she noticed the glowing device. "Is that something Alex brought? He said it was his 'resume.' Is it something good?"
"Yeah, something like that." Tony replied distractedly, eyes still locked onto the device. He barely registered Pepper's resigned sigh as she began cleaning up the vomit. After another moment of internal debate, Tony turned sharply on his heels, heading straight to his private lab downstairs.
Stark Tower's personal lab wasn't as comprehensive as the one back at his Malibu mansion, but it was more than sufficient to take a closer look at what the kid had cooked up. After all, even if it turned out to be some glorified science fair project, he owed Alex at least the courtesy of a proper examination.
Tony placed the strange device carefully onto his workbench, grabbing sensors and cables, attaching them swiftly.
"JARVIS, run a full-spectrum analysis." He instructed, quickly double-checking the connections.
[Right away, sir.] The AI responded dutifully.
As Tony leaned forward, observing intently, the green glow brightened slightly, indicating activity. For a brief second, he allowed himself to feel cautiously optimistic, right until JARVIS's voice quickly cut into his thoughts.
[The current voltage output is precisely 5.324 volts, sir.]
"Five volts? Seriously? I could get that from a potato battery." Tony replied dryly, feeling more disappointed than he had expected. "Okay, how's it generating power?"
[Unknown, sir.]
"You're joking." Tony shot back skeptically.
[If I were joking, sir, I might mention the possibility of explosive mishaps. But I assure you, I am quite serious. There are subatomic oscillations within the core structure that defy known methods of electrical induction or chemical power storage.]
"Any theories?" Tony asked with his eyebrows furrowed thoughtfully.
[Based on preliminary electromagnetic fluctuations, I suspect it may involve a piezoelectric-like mechanism. Possibly converting ambient vibrations or microscopic structural stresses into usable electrical energy.]
"So you're telling me it basically runs on anxiety?"
[An overly simplistic interpretation, but somewhat accurate.]
"A stress ball powering itself through sheer existential dread." Tony muttered wryly, shaking his head. "Kid's got some imagination."
[It is indeed an unusual and innovative approach, sir.]
Tony leaned closer, scanning the computer screen with renewed curiosity. JARVIS's sensors confirmed the readings: five volts, stable output, and absolutely no identifiable power source. Tony hesitated, a familiar itch in his fingertips as he considered dismantling the device for a closer look.
But he stopped himself almost immediately, recalling Alex's drunken but genuine pride over his creation. There was no way he'd disrespect that, not after hearing everything the kid had gone through. Besides, he'd just watched Alex vomit on his $50,000 sofa. Maybe the kid deserved a break.
"Alright, JARVIS." Tony sighed reluctantly, leaning back with his arms folded. "Give me another scan, just to be sure."
[Already completed, sir. Results unchanged. The device's energy source remains undetectable.]
Tony stared at the glowing green reactor, a strange mixture of amusement, curiosity, and slight admiration stirring within him. Five volts might not power much, but it wasn't the power level that interested him, it was how the kid had pulled it off.
— –Alex Montclair– —
The moment Alex cracked open his eyes, he immediately regretted it. A pounding ache surged through his head, sharp enough to make him groan quietly in discomfort.
"Where…?" He mumbled hoarsely, blinking several times as the room slowly came into focus. As the sleek, modern décor finally registered, he finally remembered.
Right. Stark Tower.
He tried sitting up carefully, only to wince again. How much had he even drunk last night? It couldn't have been that much… but if he was honest, his memory after the second glass was mostly a blur. Apparently, he was just that much of a lightweight.
"Great." Alex muttered bitterly, burying his face in his hands with a sigh. So much for impressing Tony Stark. All that careful preparation, thrown out the window in one drunken disaster. Stark Industries was clearly off the table, time to start brainstorming backup plans.
Dragging himself off the couch and setting aside the surprisingly soft blanket that someone, probably Pepper, bless her, had left draped over him, Alex gingerly stood and stretched, pausing only when another spike of pain shot through his skull.
"Water… helps, right?" He asked himself quietly, staggering towards the sleek open kitchen nearby. After a bit of fumbling through several cabinets, he finally found a glass and filled it from the tap, chugging nearly half of it immediately.
With a defeated sigh, Alex leaned heavily against the marble counter, resting his forehead against the cool surface. He'd fucked up royally. There was no sugarcoating it. Just when he'd convinced himself he was finally getting his shit together, last night had come along to brutally remind him otherwise.
"What the hell do I do now?" Alex whispered to the empty room, absently swirling the water around in his glass.
As if answering his rhetorical question, a sudden chill prickled sharply at the back of his neck, causing him to freeze and filling his gut with dread.
'Oh, not now.'
"Et tu, Mr. Ghost?" Alex muttered miserably, feeling even more defeated than before.
Even here, miles away from his house, he could feel it again, the subtle, menacing sensation of being watched. But unlike the quick chills he'd felt before, this time the cold feeling lingered, heavy and oppressive, as if something were resting a hand firmly on his shoulder. A faint, high-pitched ringing echoed faintly in his ears, growing louder and louder until Alex clenched his teeth, preparing himself for whatever the hell was about to happen.
And then, just as abruptly as it had started, the sensation vanished completely.
Alex couldn't help but sigh, his hands trembling as he felt another wave of confusion and exhaustion. Yeah, this was it, he had reached his limit.
"I can't… I just…" He whispered softly, feeling the fight drain right out of him.
He wanted to give up, to just stop trying so damn hard and let go. But some stubborn part of him refused. There was still a sliver of determination deep down, and he clung desperately to it, even if he couldn't clearly see why anymore.
"What's even the point?" he whispered bleakly.
Survival felt meaningless. He had enough money to hide away, disappear entirely, but then what? Spend the rest of his life waiting anxiously for some inevitable disaster? In truth, he didn't really care about being wealthy or successful. He just wanted to feel safe. Secure. Untouchable.
But safety meant strength, and strength inevitably attracted attention, attention that could lead to more danger. The paradox was exhausting.
Why couldn't life just be simpler?
"Well, look who's finally decided to rejoin the living."
Alex jumped slightly, nearly knocking over his glass. He spun around sharply, immediately regretting the sudden movement as his head pounded again. Tony Stark leaned casually in the doorway, arms crossed and eyebrow raised with his trademark amused smirk.
"Sleeping Beauty finally awake, huh? You planning on staying all day?" Tony teased, glancing pointedly at his watch. "Because at this rate, I might have to start charging rent."
"Huh?" Alex asked blinking hard. He'd been so wrapped up in his own thoughts he hadn't even heard Stark approach. "Oh, I, uh, about last night, I mean… sorry about the, uh…"
Tony waved him off dismissively, rolling his eyes with a casual laugh.
"Relax, kid. Honestly, if anyone here owes an apology, it's me. Pepper already spent the morning tearing me a new one about corrupting innocent youth or something like that."
"Still, I didn't exactly leave the best impression." Alex cracked a faint smile, embarrassment fading slightly.
"You puked on a fifty— well, on one of my more expensive couches. That's not an impression anyone forgets." Tony deadpanned before letting out a chuckle. "But trust me, I've done worse. Consider it a rite of passage."
Alex relaxed a bit more, the tension slowly easing from his shoulders. Stark glanced him over quickly, wrinkling his nose dramatically.
"All jokes aside, kid, you really should hit the shower. I had my assistants bring you some fresh clothes." Tony said with a mock shudder, stepping back. "Come find me once you stop smelling like last night's mistakes. We've still got things to talk about."
With that, Stark strolled off as casually as he'd appeared, leaving Alex standing awkwardly by the counter. Alex took another slow sip of water, feeling a bit less anxious now that Tony had seemingly brushed off last night's disaster.
He took a few more moments to gather himself before heading toward the shower, hoping the hot water might clear his mind. And surprisingly, by the time he returned to the living room, he did feel somewhat refreshed, though the embarrassment lingered stubbornly in the background.
Tony was already waiting, lounging comfortably on a completely different couch from the one Alex had ruined the night before. Apparently, replacing vomit-covered furniture took Stark less than twenty minutes.
But what immediately grabbed Alex's attention was what Tony held in his hands, the briefcase containing his Aether Core.
'Oh shit.'
But wait, wasn't that the whole reason he'd brought it? Maybe this was actually a good thing. He was clearly overthinking again.
"You built this?" Tony asked, raising the device and turning it thoughtfully between his fingers.
"Yeah." Alex admitted, stepping closer to get a better look. "Materials aren't ideal, actually, they're terrible, but it was all I could scrape together on short notice. The output's stable, though weak. Consider it… well, a very early prototype."
Tony nodded slowly, examining the softly glowing core from every angle.
"Five volts of continuous, uninterrupted output." Tony remarked casually. Alex nodded again, slightly impressed that Tony had already tested it. "Alright, I give up, how does it work?"
"It's, uh.." Alex hesitated briefly, then allowed himself a small, confident grin. "…built around a resonance system. Not mechanical vibrations exactly, more like… field harmonics."
"Field harmonics?" Tony asked skeptically.
Alex gave a casual shrug, growing more comfortable now that they were talking science.
"Basically, certain configurations of materials can resonate with localized quantum fields. If you get the alignment exactly right, it allows you to pull out a trickle of energy. It's not really stored or generated, just extracted."
Tony stared at Alex blankly, clearly trying to wrap his head around the explanation.
"So, let me get this straight." Tony began, waving the glowing device around theatrically. "You're telling me this little thing is casually sipping energy straight from the fabric of space itself, like some cosmic juice box?"
"Yeah. Basically." Alex chuckled faintly, relaxing further.
"You realize that's not exactly how quantum field theory is supposed to work, right?" Tony answered as he narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"You tested it yourself, didn't you?" Alex retorted playfully, gaining more confidence by the second. "I bet you spent a solid fifteen minutes staring at your sensors wondering where the hell the energy was coming from. Admit it, you know it works."
"Alright, smartass." Tony gave a short laugh. "You sure it's not just some clever piezoelectric stress-conversion gimmick?"
"An anxiety battery?" Alex snorted, shaking his head with amusement. "Funny guess, but no. The main idea is zero-point energy extraction. Well... ideally, anyway."
"Ideally?" Tony paused, raising an eyebrow again.
Alex shrugged sheepishly.
"I mean, it's clearly pulling energy from somewhere, right?"
For a few seconds, Tony stared at him in silence. Then, suddenly, he burst out laughing, a genuine, hearty laugh that caught Alex entirely off guard.
"You're definitely a weird one, kid. But you're my kind of weird." Tony finally said, setting the core carefully back into its case. He leaned forward, growing serious again. "I'll cut right to the chase, I want you to work directly under me, as my assistant. Forget college; degrees are mostly for show anyway. If you want I can just buy you one anyway. Trust me, nobody gives a damn how many diplomas you have if you can build stuff like this. The only thing that matters is talent, and you've got plenty of it."
Alex opened his mouth, ready to instantly accept the offer, but the words caught somewhere deep in his throat. This was exactly the kind of opportunity he'd spent months obsessing over, something he'd practically driven himself insane trying to achieve, but something in his gut twisted uncomfortably, holding him back.
"I… wow. Thank you." Alex finally managed, his voice tight with hesitation. "Believe me, working under you, learning from Tony Stark himself, is pretty much exactly what I've been aiming for. It's actually kind of insane you're even offering this to me. But, uh… would it be possible to hold off on that for a few years?"
"A few years?" Tony asked with some surprise.
Alex nodded, running his fingers nervously through his hair.
"I think I still need some time to build my own foundation first. Honestly, Empire State has some of the best professors out there, and there's still so much basic theory I'm missing. I just feel like it's something I need to do for myself before diving into something this big."
"Kid, you built a battery that drinks energy out of literal empty space." Tony gave him an incredulous look, gesturing toward the Aether Core on the table. "You're way past 'basic theory.' What more could you possibly need?"
"I don't really know yet." He admitted honestly. "But that's the point, I'm still figuring it out. I mean, I think I am."
Taking a deep breath, Alex moved to sit on the couch opposite Tony, his shoulders slumping slightly as he searched for the right words.
"This… probably sounds stupid." Alex started cautiously, staring down at his hands as he struggled to explain. "But I think Empire State might give me something that's not just about learning physics or engineering. Using Stark Industries' resources would obviously let me skip ahead way faster, but... right now I need stability. I think I need somewhere safe to plant roots."
Even saying it out loud felt strangely vulnerable, but Alex knew it was true. This morning had reminded him just how fragile his mental state still was, always teetering dangerously close to collapse at the slightest mistake. He knew he owed whatever scraps of stability he had left to Tandy Bowen's patience and friendship, but he needed more than one person holding him together.
Tony watched him silently, expression unreadable, clearly weighing Alex's words carefully. Eventually, he cracked a small, understanding smile, shaking his head in quiet amusement.
"Guess you really are still just a kid after all, huh?" Tony said softly, leaning back into the couch. "You missed out on a lot. I don't exactly blame you for wanting to slow down and enjoy a bit of life for yourself first."
"Huh?" Alex asked, freezing in place. "How did you…?" His memory chose that exact moment to clear up just enough to replay snippets of last night's drunken confessions, and he immediately cringed inwardly. "Right. I probably overshared."
"Yeah, you definitely did." Tony chuckled warmly. "But don't worry, I get it." He leaned forward again, elbows resting on his knees as his gaze sharpened. "Listen, I won't push you into anything. But how about a compromise? Work for Stark Industries part-time."
"Part-time?" Alex blinked in surprise.
"Exactly. You go study, do your college thing, build your 'roots', but you'll also get access to a private lab right here at Stark Industries. I'll even set you up with a few assistants. In exchange, you let me poke around this battery of yours, maybe give me a few pointers about your weird quantum voodoo. Don't worry, anything you discover stays yours. Stark Industries won't claim ownership of your ideas. And down the line, if I ever want to put your tech to use, we'll negotiate a fair contract between us. Deal?"
"Honestly, that sounds a bit too good to be true." Alex answered.
"Good, so you're not totally naïve." Tony laughed. "But I'm serious, Alex. Consider it an investment. You're clearly going places, and I'd prefer you ended up working with Stark Industries rather than our competitors. Plus, I really want to mess around with that battery of yours."
Alex stared at Tony for a long moment, carefully digesting everything he'd just heard. Slowly, a genuine smile broke across his face.
"Okay." Alex finally answered, the weight in his chest easing significantly. "You've got a deal."
— — —
The next week and a half passed by more smoothly than Alex had anticipated.
With his arrangement at Stark Industries now firmly in place, Alex found himself settling into a surprisingly comfortable routine. Most of his days were quietly spent tinkering away in his makeshift home lab, occasionally slipping into Stark Tower for quick meetings or debates with Tony, though he made sure to keep his head down whenever Obadiah appeared. The rest of the time he focused on preparing himself for Empire State University, something that brought him an odd sense of comfort.
Honestly, he genuinely enjoyed spending time with Tony. Stark wasn't exactly the mentor figure he had envisioned, if anything, Tony reminded him more of a laid-back uncle than any kind of formal boss. Their conversations rarely stayed professional for long, often devolving into spirited arguments over obscure scientific theories.
It was oddly nostalgic.
"Two more weeks, huh?" Alex mused quietly, eyes glued to the TV mounted on his lab wall. "Wonder if he'll make his big debut before classes start."
Yesterday, Tony had flown out to his Malibu mansion, presumably already hard at work on the Mark II suit. Judging by the rapidly escalating news reports detailing violent terrorist attacks across Afghanistan, Obadiah must still be supplying weapons behind Tony's back. Which meant Tony's first public heroics, complete with the iconic "I am Iron Man" announcement, couldn't be too far off.
Then, he could probably expect the whole mess with "Iron Man but evil" also known as Iron Monger to happen soon.
"There you are." A man's voice called out to him, interrupting his thoughts and causing him to freeze in place. Though, judging, by the familiar chill up his spine, he had a good guess as to the culprit.
"Mr. Ghost…?" Alex called out softly, cautiously turning his head as he slowly stepped toward the workbench where his Aether Core lay half-assembled. It felt stupid talking to a disembodied voice, but maybe he could buy himself some time.
Normally, he'd just run, pride be damned, but lately, whatever haunted him had grown bolder, chasing him further and further from the safety of his home. Nowhere felt safe anymore. This time, he was going to fight back, or at least try.
"I've been trying to reach you." The voice whispered, closer now, so close he could feel the icy breath brush against his ear. "You're a hard one to pin down. Very special, aren't you?"
Alex moved faster, fingers fumbling with urgency as he struggled to assemble the weapon he'd hastily designed around his core. The room grew colder, air thickening with a suffocating weight, but still, he pushed through the dread.
"Come here." The voice echoed one last time, soft yet commanding.
Then, just as suddenly as it had come, the feeling of being watched vanished.
Alex stood prepared, the gun trembled slightly in his grip, but after a tense moment passed with no further signs, he slowly allowed his guard to lower.
That was a mistake.
An impossibly strong hand suddenly closed around his throat, choking off his startled gasp. His vision twisted violently, reality tearing itself apart as he was flung bodily through space, landing painfully against rough, uneven stone. He coughed violently, head spinning, before forcing himself to raise his gaze to take in his surroundings.
He wasn't in his lab anymore. Instead, dim red light spilled over jagged walls of black stone, cool stale air thick with the metallic scent of earth and decay.
Slowly, Alex forced himself upright, eyes wide with horror as he finally focused on the figure standing before him.
Or rather, the creature.
Crimson skin glowed ominously beneath the red-tinted gloom, twisted horns curling upward from a proud forehead. Piercing golden eyes stared at Alex with cruel amusement, while a long, serpentine tail swished lazily behind.
A demon. There was no other word for it.
Beta Reader: @Basilisk, @Kiyan Tribe
~A/N~
Gotta remember, Alex has some stuff he has to work through, been referring to it over the past few chaps, but bro is hanging on by the edge at the moment. He won't always make the "best" choice. Even if it would have been better to have started working directly under Stark, he still needs to find a good place to stabilize.
And hey, perhaps this choice is for the best? Who's to say that Empire State won't be the gate that will open far more opportunities and branches to progress than Stark ever could have? Well, that is, if he ever makes it out of the current situation he is on lol.
Rip Alex, he got yoinked by a devil. Anyone has a guess as to who it is who kidnapped him?