NARRATION – THE WATCHER
Before the boy with visions of the future...
There was a woman with none. Only a ticking clock in her bones.
Some people enter your life with a handshake. Others with a challenge.
Elora Vance walked into Tony Stark's world with both.
And like all good things that come too soon —
She left too soon.
But her spark?
It stayed.
FLASHBACK – M.I.T. CAMPUS, 1989
Rain tapped against the sidewalks like a metronome.
Students rushed out of labs, clutching notebooks.
Tony Stark, 19, leaned on a vending machine, twirling a screwdriver and holding half a protein bar.
A girl in loud heels passed. Calm. Focused.
TONY
"Quantum exam?"
ELORA (without slowing)
"Nope."
TONY
"That bad, huh?"
She kept walking. Then stopped. Turned.
ELORA
"You're Stark."
TONY
"Guilty. And you're the first person this week who hasn't tried to copy my schematics."
ELORA
"Elora Vance. I've been too busy redesigning them."
POV – TONY STARK, AGE 19
She wasn't just smart.
She was fast. Brutal.
The kind of mind that didn't orbit mine — she collided.
We weren't friends.
We were opponents.
Fencing, but with whiteboards.
And I liked it.
FLASHBACK – MIT ROOFTOP, GRADUATION NIGHT
A shared champagne bottle. Wind biting at their gowns.
TONY
"We should build something together. Tech. Weapons. You pick."
ELORA
"Why?"
TONY
"Because we're two of the smartest people alive, and I'm bored of beating everyone else."
ELORA
"So your ego needs a sparring partner."
TONY
"Exactly."
STARK FAMILY DINNER – 1991
HOWARD STARK
"You two ever think about settling down?"
TONY (choking on his drink)
"Sorry—what?"
ELORA
"With him? I'd rather date an AI."
TONY
"Which I could build. A charming one."
MARIA (smiling)
"She keeps up with you."
TONY
"She tries. I'm still faster."
Elora kicked him under the table. Hard.
FLASHBACK – FUNERAL, 1991
The rain came again.
But colder this time.
No jokes. No circuits. No brilliance.
Just silence.
And grief.
She cried once. That was enough.
ELORA'S JOURNAL – 1994
I told Tony today.
"You're pregnant?" he asked. "With what, a prototype?"
I laughed. Then I told him about the cancer.
We sat in silence for three hours.
The next morning, the top floor of Stark Tower had a lab with my name on it.
"If you're going to die," he said, "at least die productive."
I punched him. Then I hugged him.
We don't do love.
But we do this.
HOSPITAL ROOM – 1995
ELORA
"Name him Nolan. Not Junior. Not Anthony."
TONY
"What do I look like—my dad?"
ELORA
"Promise me... let Pepper raise him."
TONY
"Pepper? She eats spreadsheets for breakfast."
ELORA
"She's got a better heart than both of us."
TONY (quietly)
"…Fine. But he gets my brain."
ELORA (smiling)
"God help us."
POV – PEPPER POTTS, PRESENT DAY
Elora's last words weren't poetic.
They were instructions.
"Don't let Tony drown."
She didn't.
Not then.
Not now.
And Nolan?
He reminded her of both his parents.
Too smart.
Too proud.
Too alone.
She raised him anyway.
She was there when he took his first steps —
Straight toward a drawer full of soldering wires.
Typical Stark.
STARK TOWER – NIGHT
Nolan lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.
After the arc reactor.
After the vision.
After everything.
NOLAN (softly)
"Why didn't I get her memories too?"
A knock at the door.
PEPPER
"You awake?"
NOLAN
"Kind of."
PEPPER
"Wanna talk?"
NOLAN
"…Only if you brought snacks."
She held up a bag of popcorn.
PEPPER
"You're lucky I love you."
NOLAN
"Yeah. Thanks for not letting me be weird alone."
PEPPER
"You get that from your mom."
NOLAN
"You mean genius?"
PEPPER
"I mean terrifying."
NARRATION – THE WATCHER
They never loved the way stories usually tell.
No rings. No vows.
No fairy tale.
Only brilliance.
Only connection.
Only sparks.
And from that —
Came a boy with both their minds,
And more.
Elora Vance is gone.
But her spark?
It's still building.