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Chapter 8 - Tin Can

 Date:26/11/2008

Location: Malibu Mansion

"Alright, cool toy but umm… still haven't told me what really happened ."

Matthew was poking around at Tony's chest , his hands gliding a scalpel along the numbed oddly healed skin. The miniature arc reactor pulsed lightly, the magnetic field preventing the shrapnel from penetrating Tony's heart.

Matthew had offered to clean up the scar tissue that grew over the metal edges of Tony's new heart. And of course Tony agreed without much thought. They were sitting on a medical chair in the lab.

"Are you interrogating me under threat?" Tony joked , very much aware of the blade cutting around the metallic hole.

"Just wanting to know who to sue into oblivion," Matthew shrugged , the calm focus he gave off hid the concern he'd been harbouring since the incident.

Tony snorted mockingly, "Can't really sue dead people." He looked into the distance, contemplating exactly what or even how to say this.

" When I woke up, I already had something like this thing, " he gestured to the arc reactor, " plugged into me. a good man made it, to keep me alive. His name was Dr. Ho Yinsen, he helped me."

"The assholes that attacked me, wanted me to make a few bombs for them. But you know me, I'm not gonna reward a bully , so we made the suit instead."

"A suit? Like a tux or…" Matthew frowned his brows , the tiny film of imagination in his head painting Tony like how he'd usually look in private events. 

"Like a suit of armor, why would it be a tux?" he responded annoyed and slightly confused at the sheer oddity of it

"I'm just asking, all the satellite footage in the area was blocked thanks to the military, I only got a glimpse of it." Matthew shrugged defensively. Continuing his precise cuts.

"Anyway," Tony sighed annoyed," I made a suit out of just a box of scraps they gave me , and made it outta that terrorist hell hole. Isn't your brother awesome?" The pride was seeping off of him.

"I guess but didn't you have the same equipment they used to make the missiles?" Matthew finished his cuts , retrieving a bottle of new skin and applied it to the open flesh.

"Yeah. So what?" Tony sat up defensively, nearly knocking the bottle out of his hands.

"That means it wasn't just 'a box of scrapes' it was a box of military grade scrapes to make what? A human scaled tin man?" Matthew pulled off his gloves unimpressed, throwing them into a waste bin.

"It's a mech suit." Tony corrected looking at the work done.

"Tin can really" Matthew interjected, leaning on the desk near the large monitor.

" I'm not justifying my mech to you" he scowled from his seat.

" Never said you had too?" the teen shrugged noncommittedly 

Tony stared at him , unamused then groaned. " Whatever."

Tony pushed off the chair and stepped to the large computer in the workshop. His hands flying over the board with practiced ease.

"Jarvis bring up the blue prints on the mech," he instructed ,the A.I. responding immediately.

"Here you are sir."

"Still looks like a tin can," Matthew said from over his shoulder. They both stared at the holographic image of the mecha suit dubbed the mark 1.0 in the servers. Tank like arms and legs, a large welders hat as the helmet. It was by all standards crude in production but it did indeed somehow work. 

"Well help me fix it, since you're so good at design" tony challenged , still staring at the screen ideas for improvements flashing through his brain.

"Okay, first off," Matthew pushed Tony aside, the chair rolling in response to the force. "Take it off the company server, we no longer have a weapons division , remember." he reminded instructing Jarvis to delete any copies that were at the company and to keep the design isolated to Tony's personal server. 

"Then let's strip this to the bare bones of the idea." Matthew removed everything and like a skilled artisan he removed the overly exaggerated components. A streamline silhouette, functional additions like joints that can actually move within human capacity and a touch of a little brother clowning his elder sibling.

"Hmm, not bad," Tony mused looking at the redone design from over Matthews shoulders. "Since you're willing to be so helpful, can you change the battery too?" Tony gestured to the glowing form in his chest.

" Okay now that's pushing it . That's gross "Matthew frowned side eyeing the glowing contraption.

"Oh so now I'm gross? You literally just cut my skin away. I thought you were my little helpful brother, Matty." Tony pressed an offended hand to his chest , staring at him in disbelief.

"I am , just … that's beyond my brotherly duties" Matthew grimaced , pushing away from the console and headed for the door.

" Where are you going ?" Tony frowned , finally looking away from his new pet project.

"Out." Matthew said plainly , avoiding the scattering of furniture and lab equipment.

"Out where?" 

"Out!" he yelled back the door closing behind him as he started up the stairs. 

Tony scoffed incredulously "The little shit…" for a moment he turned quiet then yelled out sitting back onto the medical chair, where Matthew had just cleaned up his scarring " pepper!"

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 Date:28/11/2008

Location: some beach in Los Angeles

" Heard you won a title" Matthew said over the phone , staring out at the waves. The night air was calming for him , a great way to clear his currently racing thoughts.

He was waiting on something and decided he should call one of his friends. 

A bashful chuckle was heard before a voice answered back, " That was eons ago Matty."

" My bad, I was too busy dealing with my shitty life." he say self-deprecatingly 

" Oh don't say that , you actually needed that break, with your brother disappearing an' all."

The call went silent for a while , the two not wanting to touch on that topic.

" Anyway, congrats Mr. 2008 maiden Formula 1 world title holder" Matthew teased , smiling to himself, " just wanted to tell you congrats, see yuh."

" Yeah, bye Matty." the phone hung up just in time for another message to appear on his phone.

@STARK INDUSTRIES

MANDITORY BOARD MEETING IS SCHEDULED FOR NEXT WEEK..

"And so it begins," he sighed, staring at the email in resignation.

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