Anthony Edward Barton-Stark (aedwardstark) wrote in spinningcompass, @ 2013-10-28 19:13:00 |
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Tony was in the lab going over the scans again and again and again. The results were always the same, but he kept scanning. Maybe the chip was just out of range. “You are aware of the definition of insanity, sir. Are you not?” Jarvis chimed in as Tony scanned again. “I’m not insane, I’m trying to have hope. There’s a difference.” He sighed and scratched at his chin. “Of course, sir.” Tony sighed again and stopped the scans. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You’re right, I need to stop.” He then made his way over to one of his work stations. “We need to get this chip up and running for AJ.” He cleared his throat. ~*~ Richie found himself going through a very strong sense of deja vu as he walked towards Stark Tower. Again dressed in his clothes from Alagaësia, again with Brisingr hidden beneath his coat, he walked into the building he’d spent the first fifteen years of his life calling home. This time little had changed, the foyer still appearing as it had when he’d returned the first time, and he crossed to the lift, wondering if JARVIS would recognise him this time. “Hey JARVIS, is Dad around?” “He’s in the lab, Master Richard.” Jarvis answered. “Shall I alert him of your arrival?” Richie thought about it for a moment and grinned. “No, let’s give him a surprise, hey?” “Of course, Master Richard.” The elevator doors opened. ~*~ Tony was still in the lab, bent over the chip, trying to get it working properly. He thought about just giving her the one he’d originally intended for Richie, but then he’d still need one for Richie so he had to get it working. He scratched at his chin and then got back to work. Pushing the door to the inner lab open Richie looked across and saw his father bent over something, fingers flicking out to the screen in front of him every few seconds as if checking calibrations, then his head going down again. “You sure you allowed for all possibilities?” he asked, coming to a stop a few feet behind his father, far enough that no matter what his father was doing, it wouldn’t end up damaged, or knocked over. Tony stopped what he was doing and closed his eyes for a moment. “Jarvis?’ “Yes, sir?” “Am I hallucinating?” “No, sir. It appears that Master Richard has returned.” Tony set his tools down and then spun on the stool, taking a good look at the man standing before him. Man was the only word that could possibly apply. He’d grown up considerably since the last time Tony had seen him. Rather than saying anything, he just stood up and walked over, wrapping his arms around Richie. “You ever disappear like that again and I will hunt you down and put you over my knee, you understand?” He kept his arms around Richie. Richie laughed softly. “Uh, right, I’ll keep that in mind,” he replied, knowing his father was just as aware as he was that they really had no control over their comings and goings like that. If the Island wanted to screw with them, it would. “And sorry.” He hugged his dad, somewhat glad the return this time was very different to the previous. “Seems I’ve been gone a few weeks?” he said at last, straightening up. “You left the island a couple of weeks ago, yeah.” He nodded. “But it seems you’ve been gone a lot longer than that.” He raised an eyebrow. “Damn those Apple genes. I think AJ’s the only person in the family that’s shorter than I am.” He shook his head. Richie grinned, shrugging lightly. “Yeah those genes,” he agreed. “Given she’s the shortest!” he added with a wink. He let his hands fall to his sides from where he’d had them on his father’s arms. “And yeah, been gone for about another five years,” he said, pulling a stool over to sit on. “But… “ He paused, looking at his father for a moment. “... from a different universe it seems.” “Oh?” Tony raised an eyebrow. “How do you know it’s different?” He sat back down on his stool and scratched at the back of his neck. “I met Rachel when I arrived, down in one of the deserted stores in Capdad Street.” He paused, looking down at his hands for a moment before continuing. “She isn’t the Rachel I knew,” he explained, then looked up at his father. “And I just disappeared from this timeline, instead of what happened for me, and that is…” He stopped again, this time a grin splitting his face as his eyes lit up. “... we did it Dad, we fixed the portal!” Tony put a hand on Richie’s shoulder in comfort, then smiled. “We fixed the portal?” He tilted his head. “Like, really fixed it?” His eyes lit up in that way that they always did when science was about to happen. “That’s…I can’t….shit.” He moved over to the laser keyboard on the table and started typing. RIchie laughed, pushing his stool over till he was sitting next to his father, looking at the screen. “Oh, is Howard here?” he asked. Tony grinned as he kept typing. “Text was sent as soon as I started typing.” He chuckled. “JARVIS has had instructions that if I open this file, Howard is to be immediately notified and we are to be uninterrupted unless it’s an emergency. Partially to keep me from working myself to death. Though he’s not really much help with that. Usually takes either your mother or grandmother to get us out of here to eat or shower or sleep when we’re on a roll.” He chuckled. He loved that he actually got to work with his father in the way he always dreamed. It made every abusive moment a distant memory. Again Richie laughed, shaking his head. “Shoulda known, shouldn’t I?” he said. “So… is Mom upstairs?” he asked, distracted with what his father was typing, trying to remember all the information they’d pulled together to get the generator working properly. “She might be at the farm. Was last time I checked.” He nodded. “Maybe you could text her, let her know you’re back.” He then stopped typing and looked at Richie. “You’re going to need a place to stay…” Richie gave his dad a grin. “Rachel’s offered me a room at her apartment, so I’ll stay there for the moment…” He stopped and looked at his father, a little puzzled. “Dad, is she OK? I mean, she seems really… I dunno, different?” He couldn’t describe it, trying to figure out how the two Rachel’s had been so different, as if something had happened. “Has anything happened to her here?” Tony took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I try not to meddle in the affairs of the other islanders when it comes to things like romance, especially given that my relationship with your mother is my longest to date, but….I think she’s having some boy troubles. I’m not completely sure.” He shrugged. “But half the island is having some kind of relationship woes, I think.” “Believe me, Dad, that doesn’t change much,” Richie said, shaking his head. “But then there are things different now, here, from when we were growing up, so I don’t know if the timeline us kids grew up in will even happen now. Like Howard… “ And as if in answer to Richie’s summons Howard stepped into the lab, his eyes widening as he looked across and saw Richie, a much older Richie, sitting next to Tony talking. “So it’s true!” he cried out walking across the lab with his arms outstretched, hugging Richie as soon as he reached him, the younger man only just making it to his feet him time. “Hey Marcus!” Richie returned, using the name they’d used when visiting Manhattan and laughing as he slapped his grandfather on the back. “You know if you’re not careful you’re going to end up younger than both of us!” he added with a cheeky grin. “Nothing wrong with that, dear boy, but look at you! You’ve certainly grown some, what, five years?” he said, looking from Richie to Tony and back at Richie again. Tony double checked the screen and nodded. “Yes, five years. And healthy as a horse.” He smirked. “Or I guess I should say Pony.” He chuckled at his joke, then turned back to the screen and started typing again. “Richie, why don’t you tell your grandfather the good news?” “Howard, yes!” Richie said, turning to his grandfather and explaining what he’d just told his father about the alternate realities and the portal they’d successfully created, pulling Brisingr out from under his coat and laying it on the table, the leather scabbard shielding the blade, but nothing able to hide the brilliant blue stone that was encased in the hilt. “So this is the thing that made the difference you mean?” Howard said, seeing the blue and immediately recognising it as similar to that of the Tessaract. “Tony? This?” he said, pointing at the blue stone that was emitting a soft blue light, which it hadn’t done earlier, “this is the same colour blue, isn’t it? What are the energy readings?” Tony took a look at the readings, then went over to another screen and pulled up something different. He started moving back and forth, comparing them. “Low level gamma…” He muttered to himself as he compared the findings. He then looked at Richie. “I think that what the original Tessaract was made from was something bigger and this is a piece of that.” He stared at it as he scratched the back of his neck. Richie looked at both the other men, not sure whether he should tell them what they had tried in the other universe, then decided things were always changing anyway so took a deep breath and launched into it. Tony listened, making notes as he did. “This is all….fantastic.” He smiled. Howard stood staring at Richie at first then came over to stand at Tony's shoulder, the figures and formulae appearing on the screens around them as the youngest Stark explained what he could remember from all that time ago. "How did you contain the energy, and then direct it?" Howard asked, already having seen what inadequate containment could do. Richie laughed and shook his head. '"That was the challenge! And you two nearly blew up the lab!" He smirked as he added, "and you made me promise I'd never tell anyone, in particular Mom!" Tony chuckled. “That sounds about right.” He kept his eyes on the screen as he typed. He’d always been able to do two or more things at once. Richie looked at Howard, an eyebrow raised. “Don’t blame me!” his grandfather joked, raising his hands as if in defeat while he walked up to look directly over Tony’s shoulder. Soon all three were in deep discussions regarding the requirements of the containment fields to operate the portal generator. Tony was smiling brightly as he kept working. “Jarvis, start working on simulations.” “Of course, sir.” Jarvis answered. “Three dimensional in the main area of the lab.” He finished a couple of equations, then pushed back from the table and smiled. “Come on.” He then moved to the center of the lab. “The first simulation is ready, sir.” Jarvis said before the 3D images appeared. Howard was still a little in awe of what his son had created in the way of Jarvis, and smiled when he heard his friend’s voice and then the images start to appear. He walked closer to look into the angles of the containment field, a frown deeply creasing his forehead as the lights of the simulation reflected in his eyes. “Wait! Why not make it assymetrical?” he asked, looking around at Tony and Richie. “And if we can match the shape of the container to the nuclei’s directional pull… “ He covered the floor to where the screens were, studying them, eyes searching for the figures. Tony pushed his chair back from the desk and motioned to the computer. “Go right ahead. You could probably make the changes better than I could.” He smiled. Neither of the other two men had any clue exactly how big of a deal it was that Tony was actually doing that. “Richie, what do you think?” Richie looked at his father pushed back from the desk and stared for a moment, Howard stepping in and starting to make some adjustments. He gave his father a wink and nodded, amused at the stream of consciousness pouring out of Howard as he fiddled. He pulled a surprised face as something Howard said twigged something in his memory and he stepped forward, pointing to the calculation and telling them both what had just come back to him. “It was the particle emitter at that point there, that couldn’t keep the stream constant, so this is a work-around for that problem too!” he said, looking at Tony. “Like you taught me!” “Only some of your genius can be taught, kiddo.” He chuckled. “You were born with most of it.” He got up and went over to the simulation, watching it change as the figures were entered. “I think this could actually work.” He nodded. Howard followed Tony over to the simulation and stared into it, looking at the difference and rubbing at his chin. “It could.” He turned around to Richie and asked, “is this like what we did in the other universe?” “It is, but there wasn’t the assymetrical bias, so we didn’t have the specific control over where exactly the portal would open here. As it was we ended up having to go up on the roof.” He looked at his father and grinned. “You weren’t too happy about that part of it.” Tony looked at Richie. “A portal on the roof. Gee, why would I ever have a problem with that?” He rolled his eyes and there was no mistaking the sarcasm in his voice. He scratched at his chin as he looked at it. “Maybe we can contain it better…” He bit his lip and then went over and started to enter more figures. Richie grinned at Howard’s look of confusion, quickly reminding his grandfather of what had happened that had caused the destruction on the other side of the door to Manhattan, and how the portal had been set up on the roof of Stark Tower. Howard’s face showed the realisation and he turned and crossed over to where Tony was standing at the desk. “I’m sorry, yes, we need to get that part under control,” he agreed, signalling Richie to join them. Richie did, standing behind the two of them and watching what they were doing, grinning at the feeling of deja vu that was washing over him. It had been five years, at least, and he had been immersed in a world completely devoid of even a simple watch, in the way of technology, but it was all coming back to him as he stood there. “That part there, it needs to create the anti-matter bridge, and I have this,” he said, tugging the journal out of his shirt, where it had lived for the whole of his time back there. “I kept notes, like we agreed, so I think there’s something in here…” He opened the dog-eared, leather bound journal on the desk when Howard stepped aside to give him room, and started to turn the pages carefully, straightening a few as they started to slide out. Tony stopped typing and looked at the journal, quickly reading over a few pages. “Richie, this is amazing.” He smiled and kept looking through it, carefully for a few minutes before going back to his typing. He looked back at the journal every now and then as he typed. The simulation kept changing as figures were entered. Nearly two hours later, Tony sat up and stretched. “Let’s take a look.”: He sighed. They all gathered around the simulation, Richie studying it to see if he could remember any of the other things they had spent weeks working on in the other universe, those five years ago, Howard with his arms folded, one hand fingering his chin as he waited, and looked across at Tony. Tony stood back from the simulation, and crossed his arms, completely oblivious to the fact that he and Howard were now in almost identical stances. “Alright, Jarvis, run the simulation.” Everything seemed to be going well and then after about a minute, the simulation exploded. Tony flinched a little even though he knew nothing would happen. “Is that accurate, Jarvis?” “According to all of your calculations, sir.” Jarvis answered, almost a little snooty. “Shit.” He sighed and went back over to the computer. “What did we get wrong?” He started at the beginning. “Well, sir..” Jarvis started. “Rhetorical question, J. I’ll figure it out.” “Of course you will, sir.” There was no missing the patronizing tone. Tony just glared at the ceiling before going back to scanning over the equations. Richie scratched at his jaw, fingers tugging lightly at the growth there, and he sighed, looking at Howard and shrugging lightly. “Missed something,” he said, his grandfather clapping him on the shoulder and nodding. “Rome wasn’t built in a day, Richie, but let me tell you, your father’s world and mine was sure made a whole lot better today with you being back!” He gave the younger man’s shoulder a squeeze before adding, “but if you get much older it’s really going to be even stranger when you call me Grandad!” he laughed, “Might have to stick to Marcus!” Richie nodded, laughing softly too. Even though he’d been glad to get back to Alagaesia and help fix things there, he had missed being with his father and grandfather during the weeks they’d spent working in the lab to get the portal generator built, and had often wondered whether he would ever get back to see them. He glanced up at the monitor screens and was surprised to see it was dark outside. “Jarvis? Is my Mom home yet?” "Not yet, sir." Jarvis answered. Tony kept his face to the screen, intently going over everything that they'd entered so far. "Gotcha you little son of a bitch." Tony chuckled as he started typing, having found what they missed. |