The CEO's office at Stark Industries was as immaculate as ever. Clean glass walls, a sweeping view of the city's skyscrapers, state-of-the-art monitors and stacks of paperwork on the desk.
And of course the paperwork Tony didn't care about.
He leaned behind his desk and stared at the computer screen. There were financial reports on the screen, but his mind was somewhere else.
Just then, the office door opened and Pepper Potts walked in. She had a tablet in her hand and the typical "You've neglected something again, Mr. Stark" expression on her face.
"Have you reviewed the reports?" she asked, raising her eyebrows slightly.
Tony turned in his chair to look at him. "Of course I have. Look, right here -" he said, pointing to the screen. But instead of graphs or charts, there was a sports car design.
Pepper blinked, then took a deep breath and nodded. "Of course."
Tony shrugged nonchalantly. "They're not offering me anything exciting, Potts. If it had missiles in it, maybe I'd be interested."
Pepper folded her arms across her chest. "Is it strange that you're not interested in information about the company's finances? This is your company, Mr. Stark."
Tony stood and picked up one of the files on the desk, flipping through a few pages at random. "The company is in the black, projects are moving forward, stock is up... In short, everything is fine. So why do I still have to attend meetings?"
Pepper raised his eyebrows and shook his head from side to side. "I used to complain about you not attending meetings."
Tony smiled slightly. "Yeah, I noticed, so why don't you stop complaining?"
Pepper thought for a moment, then slumped her shoulders slightly. "Because I get it now, Mr. Stark."
Tony raised his eyebrows. "Understand what?"
Pepper's face turned serious. "I used to think you were avoiding work, but now I see your priorities have changed. Now there's Orion."
Tony paused for a moment.
Pepper continued. "Being a father is a more important responsibility than work. I used to think I should force you to be more involved with the company, but now I see that it's more important that you be there for them. Family comes first, Mr. Stark."
Tony looked at him silently. Normally he didn't expect to hear something like that from Pepper. Usually she reminded him of him responsibilities as a company executive, tried to force him into meetings.
But now?
Pepper was telling him to put his family before work.
This was very different from what Tony had expected.
"Are you encouraging me to skip work, Potts?" he asked, smiling slightly.
Pepper smiled back slightly. "No, I'm just saying that work isn't everything. Orion needs your attention more than anyone or anything else right now."
Tony nodded. "Yes... I realize that."
Pepper approached him and put the tablet down on the table. "I have some documents for you to sign. But there's no need to rush. Be with your son first."
Tony paused for a moment, then smiled. "Thank you, Miss Potts."
Pepper nodded and exited the room. Tony stood where he was for a moment.
Then he sighed a little.
Yes, he thought. Pepper was right.
He needed to be with his son.
Getting bigger, killing time
When Tony went down to the lab, he found Orion playing with small pieces of metal on the workbench. The little boy was examining one of Tony's old gadgets.
"What's the little genius up to today?"
Orion looked up and his eyes lit up when he saw Tony. "Daddy!"
Tony smiled and walked over to him. Orion showed him the small screws and wires in his hand. "What is this?"
Tony leaned down and examined the parts. "It's an old circuit board. Nothing very important."
Orion ran his fingers over the metal with great curiosity. "Does it work?"
Tony shook his head from side to side. "No, it doesn't. But we can make it work if we want to."
Orion cocked his head sideways. "How?"
Tony smiled slightly. "We'll figure it out together."
Then he looked at Orion more closely. Something was... different.
Tony knelt beside Orion. He bent down as usual to be at the little boy's eye level, but...
There was something strange.
Orion looked a bit... taller.
Tony frowned. "Hey, let me see."
He quickly walked to the nearby wall and aligned Orion's shoulder. Orion giggled slightly, trying to understand what his father was doing.
Tony measured the height of Orion's head with his index finger. Then he blinked slightly. "Wait... you... got taller?"
Orion raised his shoulders and smiled. "I'm growing!"
Tony shook his head in amazement. "Yes, I see you're growing. But isn't it happening a little too fast?"
Orion just smiled and shook his head.
Tony sighed slightly. "That's great. Yesterday you were just learning how to eat breakfast and now you're growing. What's next, college applications?"
Orion thought, then nodded. "What's college?"
Tony laughed and put his hand on Orion's head. "It's where you go in the future."
But Tony had a feeling.
Orion was growing up. And maybe... faster than expected.
What... what did that mean?
Tony took a deep breath.
His son was growing. Time passed quickly. And he, as a father, had to witness it every moment.
Every moment.
Tony was deep in thought when he was startled by a sudden voice.
"Sir, we need to talk."
Jarvis' voice was as calm as ever, but this time there was a hint of seriousness in it. Tony raised his head and looked up at the ceiling as if he could actually see Jarvis.
"I'm listening, Jarvis."
"Sir... I think we'd better talk about this in private."
Tony frowned and gave Orion a quick glance. The little boy was still playing with the circuit boards on the table, his tiny fingers tugging at the wires inside. Tony understood immediately why Jarvis had said what he had.
Orion couldn't hear.
Tony leaned over and touched Orion's shoulder. "Hey, little man. Now I've got some business to discuss, but you can take a look at my toys here (I know they're state of the art, but they're still toys). But don't blow anything up, okay?"
Orion nodded with a smile. "Okay!"
Tony got up and went into the private conference room at the side of the lab. As soon as he closed the door, Jarvis' voice sounded again.
"Sir, I've discovered some anomalies in Orion's development."
Tony leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. "Yeah, I've noticed that too, the little guy's grown two centimeters in almost a week. If he keeps growing at this rate, he could be taller than me by next month."
Jarvis' voice remained serious. "Sir, it's more complicated than that. Orion's body development is approaching that of a four year old."
Tony's eyes widened slightly. "Four years old? But... he's only a few weeks old!"
"I know, sir, but his bone density, muscle mass and motor skills are developing rapidly. His brain activity is exceptional for his age. But the most remarkable thing is..."
Jarvis paused briefly.
"What?" Tony asked impatiently.
"I found an energy flow in his body that we've detected before, but we still can't quite identify it."
Tony frowned. "Wait, you mean that... that strange energy we first found? The one we noticed when Orion was still in an egg?"
"Yes, sir, but now it's radiating differently. Before, that energy was more like a potential. But now... it's like it's starting to become active."
Tony took a deep breath. "So what does that mean?"
"I can't draw any firm conclusions yet, sir, but I can tell you this... Orion is not following the growth process of a normal human child. And the consequences for his body... we don't know."
Tony started to walk, shaking his head slightly. He paced the room.
"So is this energy harming him? I mean... is it affecting his health?"
"Right now I can't detect any negative effects, but the accelerated growth process can be hard on his body. I can't imagine what the long-term effects will be of his organs and bone structure developing so rapidly."
Tony ran a hand through his hair. This was a lot more complicated than he had thought. He knew Orion wasn't normal, that was obvious. But this acceleration of the growth process...
Something was happening.
And Tony didn't know why.
"Can you look into this further, Jarvis?"
"Of course, sir. I will continue to monitor Orion's biological data and analyze any changes in his growth rate, but I suggest you continue to raise him in as natural an environment as possible. If he shows any abnormalities, we can intervene immediately."
Tony took a deep breath and nodded.
"Okay, Jarvis. Keep an eye on him. Let me know if anything changes."
"Of course, sir."
Tony stood where he was for a few more seconds. Then he opened the door and walked back into the lab.
Orion still sat on the table. But as soon as Tony walked in, he looked up and looked at him curiously.
"Dad, what happened?"
Tony smiled slightly. "Nothing, little man. Just some boring business talk."
Orion tilted his head to the side. "You never did like boring conversations."
Tony paused for a moment, then laughed. "Yeah, you're right. So let's drop it and do something more fun, shall we?"
Orion's face lit up. "Fun things?"
Tony laughed and walked over and picked him up. "Yes. I think it's time I spent some time with you."
Orion giggled and laid his head on his father's shoulder.
And Tony knew that no matter what happened in this moment... he had to be there for his son. He would do everything to protect him.
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