Bab 137: Son Of Iron 3
(Aldrich Killian POV)
"Tony Stark Does It Again!"
"Tony Stark Accepts 400 Million Dollar Deal With the DOD"
"Tony Stark: The Merchant of Death"
"AHHHHHH!" It's always Stark! Stark! Stark!
Grabbing a small potted plant, I toss it at the television across the room, barely missing as it crashes into the wall.
Taking a breath, my intercom begins to buzz. Taking a seat at my desk, I press the button to answer it.
"Yes."
[Sir, one of your security associates wants to meet with you.]
"Send him in." I buzz off the intercom, and soon enough, the security guard I have watching Maya Hansen enters.
"I assume you have something important to tell me."
"Sir, you told me to keep you updated if the doctor made any advancements in her research."
"So has she?"
The guard takes out a few files and shows them to me.
"This is useless! In a year of work and thousands of dollars of funding, she can only regrow plant parts!"
Standing up, I walk over to the man sitting in the other chair.
"Has she done anything other than her research?" The guard begins to slightly shake but answers.
"Well, sir, all of the cameras show that she's in the lab constantly and rarely takes breaks. I am watching her and listening in on her calls, and she hasn't contacted anyone."
Trying to keep my head straight, I ask again.
"Is there anything else you need to tell me? If not, get the hell out of my office." The guard frantically nods and leaves. Sitting back at my desk, I continue focusing on building my company. I wonder if I should pay the doctor a visit; it's been half a year since I last checked in on her.
I pick up the phone to call the airport for a flight to Tennessee, then stop to think. I have this doctor right where I want her. No need to jostle the pot. Besides, the doctor has no idea what I have planned for her.
I'll give her more time. If she doesn't make progress in a few years, I'll cut her funding. Smiling, I feel good about this decision. This feels right.
Right now, I need to throw all these magazines into the trash where they belong and maybe get rid of certain channels on my television.
If I hear the name "Tony Stark" again, I don't know what I'll do. I take a small hit from my inhaler, trying to focus. I need other projects besides this supposed super-soldier serum that Hansen is working on.
Turning on my monitor, I check out the cams in the lab where Dr. Hansen is working. After seeing her enter the lab at her usual time, I turn them off. I've got her right where I want her.
(Chris POV)
If I ever invent a machine to delete memories, I'm using it on myself.
Honestly, breastfeeding isn't exactly the worst thing imaginable, but it's very embarrassing. No, the worst part is the boredom.
After leaving the hospital, the nurses curiously enough, didn't take a DNA sample. I attribute that to the "favor" that random omnipotent being told me about. Maya immediately set about creating a safe environment for me.
Since she lived where she worked, there were few places she could put me that wouldn't arouse suspicion if Killian's men came around. So, essentially, the panic room became my bedroom.
The place was giving me serious Homelander test-lab vibes. If I were a normal baby, I'd probably develop issues from being stuck here.
But unlike that manchild, I actually have a parent who seems to care.
Over the next couple of weeks, Maya took small breaks that aligned with her normal meal breaks to feed me, and I also served as a kind of conversation partner—meaning, she complained to me about her research problems.
While I had trouble following her at times, it was interesting to listen to. Not that I had much else going on. Honestly, a part of me hoped she wouldn't put me in the public school system. I didn't want to go through that again.
Since I was born in October, the weather was fairly cold. Luckily, I seemed resistant to it, sparing me from worrying about freezing.
"How's my little guy doing today?" Maya asked, sitting beside my makeshift cradle.
I responded with the usual baby babble, and she started tickling my stomach, making me laugh uncontrollably.
She picked me up and began feeding me from a bottle.
"You probably won't understand anything I'm saying, but I'm thankful you're here. When I found out I was pregnant, I considered certain things… things I'm not proud of."
She paused, and I considered the possibility that I might have been close to being aborted. Not a comforting thought.
"But every time I look at you, I realize that would've been the biggest mistake of my life. And it's nice to have someone to talk to. These past ten months have been incredible. I know you'll do great things, but even if you're just a normal kid, I'd be happy with that. I love you." She finished feeding me, then held me for a while, which, I admit, felt better than I'll ever tell anyone.
With a full stomach, I grew sleepy, and as my eyes closed, I managed to babble out a word she'd been longing to hear.
"Ma-Ma."
One of her hands flew to her mouth as she almost cried, but by then, I was already asleep.
(Third Person POV)
After her baby fell asleep, Maya nearly shook with unfettered emotion.
Tears formed in her eyes, not out of sadness but out of pride.
She was thankful that her child was perhaps the best thing that ever happened to her. Despite reading countless parenting books, none of them prepared her for the reality of holding her own child.
She feared even holding him, worried she might drop him or hold him the wrong way. And the lingering dread that Killian would discover her secret, use her baby as leverage, was ever-present.
That thought alone stirred an unexpected surge of rage.
She would do anything for her Chris. And as she glanced at his brown eyes, so much like hers and, unfortunately, his father's—she vowed he wouldn't grow up a playboy like him.
She envisioned drilling in lessons on being a gentleman, but that could wait. For now, she just wanted pictures for the future. She'd managed to pick up a camera, ostensibly for documenting research, but its true purpose was much more precious.
After calming herself, she put her son in a compartment she'd prepared in the panic room. It was cleverly concealed as part of the wall, with air holes and lighting to prevent complete darkness.
She felt guilty for keeping him here but promised herself that once this was over, she'd get him a real room.
Ironically, she'd started this project with grand ideals of advancing humanity. Now, she just wanted enough money to get her and her son out of here. Priorities shift when there's something to lose.
Returning to her station, she resumed her work. Thankfully, Killian believed she was dedicated to the project, which she was. She just hadn't told him about her other guest.
Nearly two years in, she was making progress. She'd managed to create a nearly stable version of the formula, though it only worked on plant cells for now. The rate of cellular acceptance had improved by over 30%.
According to her calculations, achieving stability would take at least another decade—possibly 5-7 years with continuous funding.
Luckily, Killian allowed her a small personal fund, which she mostly used to feed and clothe her son.
Focusing again, she injected a new formula into a small piece of shrubbery. She watched as red, fire-like veins appeared along the plant stem, and a smile crossed her face as the shrubbery began to regrow, until it suddenly combusted and turned to ash.
"Damn it!" She stopped herself from yelling further, not wanting to wake her baby or teach him bad vocabulary. Silently seething, she reviewed the error.
It seemed the plant's cellular structure reacted with the compound, which disrupted the DNA rewriting process, causing a runaway reaction and, ultimately, self-immolation.
But progress was progress, and she had enough fire extinguishers to last.
She wished for a lab assistant to help parse data faster, but then she pictured her son in a tiny lab coat and suit. That thought motivated her.
She could almost see him as her future assistant, then shook her head, reminding herself to focus. Cute mental pictures later; science time now.
(So if you guys aren't catching on the favor that the random omnipotent being did was plant a kind of SEP field around the idea of the main characters, father so that unless someone is actively looking into it, no one will ever notice until the main character himself reveals it like how superheroes can have virtually half of their face exposed and not have their identity revealed. The Rob may have also mentally shifted Killian's focus so as to not focus on the main character and his mother just yet.)
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone