NARRATION – THE WATCHER
Every story begins with a choice.
One decision becomes a path. A path becomes a pattern. A pattern becomes a universe.
Some stories give us gods. Others, monsters.
And some… something in between.
In one timeline, Loki became the God of Stories, rewriting fate with the ink of regret.
In another, a girl screamed and punched open the multiverse.
But in this universe?
It starts earlier.
Not with Tony Stark.
But with his son.
STARK TOWER – MANHATTAN, EVENING
The city buzzed far below—horns blaring, neon glowing, life rushing forward.
But on the 49th floor of Stark Tower, time moved differently.
Inside a sealed-off lab, 14-year-old Nolan Stark stood over a custom bench, soldering tool in one hand, tablet in the other. Grease on his jaw. Sweat on his brow. Focus like a laser.
Hovering above a magnetic cradle was a prototype arc reactor—smaller than the one in Stark Industries' files.
Smaller than the one Tony built in a cave.
But Nolan wasn't just copying his father.
He was trying to matter.
NOLAN (to himself):
"Stabilizers holding… coil output at 38%... come on…"
This wasn't a science fair project.
It was a declaration.
"If I can power this before he even notices it's missing… maybe he'll finally see more than a walking coffee machine."
FLASHBACK – AGE 5
The first time Nolan took apart a toaster, he rebuilt it into a voice amplifier—and accidentally blasted AC/DC down the hallway.
Pepper screamed.
Tony laughed.
He got grounded for a week.
But the next day, a signed copy of Basic Circuits by Hank Pym showed up on his desk.
FLASHBACK – AGE 10
At ten, Nolan built an EMP the size of a baseball using scrap parts and a soda can—just for fun.
One night, when the Tower's security AI glitched and locked down the upper floors, he tossed the device, knocked out the grid, and opened three levels before anyone noticed.
J.A.R.V.I.S. figured it out.
So did Tony.
No punishment. No praise.
Just an upgraded firewall… and a new lab pass.
Access. Not affection.
BACK TO THE LAB – PRESENT
Now the arc reactor above him spun faster. The glow intensified.
NOLAN:
"Don't explode. Please. I brushed my teeth today."
Then—
Warning signs. Magnetic field failure. Feedback spike.
NOLAN:
"Wait—no, no, stop—!"
BOOM.
A white-blue flash. Nolan flew back, slammed into steel.
His head cracked. Everything went black.
THE VISION
It wasn't a dream.
It was memory—shards of a future he hadn't lived.
Tony in a cave.
Yinsen.
The first suit.
Fire. Pain. Hope.
Ultron. Vision. Sokovia.
Thanos. The Snap.
And a little girl.
"I love you three thousand."
THE LAB – MOMENTS LATER
Nolan's eyes snapped open. Smoke filled the lab. Circuits fried. Head bleeding.
NOLAN (groaning):
"Okay… next time, test from a distance. And maybe wear a helmet."
The doors hissed open.
PEPPER (off-screen):
"Nolan?!"
She stormed in, heels clicking like gunfire, dropping to her knees beside him.
PEPPER:
"You better not be bleeding to death. Because if you are, I'm telling your dad. And worse—Happy."
NOLAN (rasping):
"Pepper… I saw it."
PEPPER:
"Saw what?"
NOLAN:
"The future. Something bad's coming."
She stared at him. Not with disbelief—but fear.
NARRATION – THE WATCHER
And just like that, everything changed.
The boy who only wanted to impress his father…
now knows he has to save him.
Four months remain. Until the cave.
Until Iron Man is born.
But this time, someone else is already building.
That vision gave him more than knowledge.
It gave him a spark.
A power not born of this Earth…
or any one timeline.
I have watched Titans rise and Celestials fall.
But even I do not know who gave him that gift.
Whoever it was…
They did not choose lightly.
Because stories?
Stories are about to change.