[Under the Island]
Tony walked into his most restricted lab, the one place even Natasha and the Widows weren't allowed to enter. It's a big lab that covered hundreds of meters under the island and it took Tony seven months to build that place because it wasn't that easy to work underwater while hiding.
This was where he worked on the impossible.
The doors sealed shut behind him, reinforced with layers of titanium and energy shielding. No one could break in. No one could spy.
Because what he was building here?
It wasn't just for the world.
It was for himself.
Tony leaned against the cold metal counter, rubbing his temples.
The headache was back.
It had disappeared years ago after that one conversation. But now? It was creeping in again, stronger than before.
And something else had changed.
His connection to technology was growing. At first, it was just a feeling—an awareness of the machines around him. But now? Now he could control them. Move them with a thought. Like a technomancer.
He clenched his fists.
He knew what was happening.
He didn't have much time.
Pushing off the headache, he moved inside. Before him were massive monitors, flickering with streams of data, holographic blueprints of a spacecraft hovering in mid-air.
This was it.
Project Starfire.
The project he had been working on for years.
A ship unlike anything on Earth.
Not a simple rocket. Not a modified military-grade vehicle.
A true deep-space vessel, built to withstand the cosmic radiations that no human technology had ever dared to face.
Tony exhaled, gripping the edge of the table. His head throbbed, but he pushed it aside. He was too close now.
[Project Starfire – Progress So Far]
✔ Power Source:
Tony had designed a new Arc Reactor, capable of supplying unlimited energy to the spacecraft. It would power the ship's engines, weapons, defense systems, and life support—making it completely self-sufficient in deep space.
✔ Engine Development – 40% Complete:
The spacecraft's engine was designed to draw power directly from the Arc Reactor. It would allow long-range space travel without relying on fuel. The challenge now was optimizing its efficiency to withstand high-speed interstellar movement and extreme conditions.
✔ Cosmic Radiation Research:
Tony had been studying cosmic radiation absorption and manipulation, testing how it interacted with different materials. Understanding this would be key to future enhancements for both the ship and its crew.
✔ Crew Selection:
He had been monitoring Susan Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm. Without Reed Richards, they never reached their full potential. Tony planned to bring them into something far greater.
[What He Still Needed]
❌ Testing Ground:
The island was too risky. He needed a vast open space, a desert or remote area, where he could build, test, and launch the ship without destroying his base operations.
❌ Final Engine Components:
The technology he needed didn't exist yet. He had to build it from scratch and he needed more resources.
❌ Recruitment:
The Storms and Ben Grimm didn't know it yet. They were busy working on their own projects.
...
[Present time]
Tony sat on the chair and resumed working on one of the most crucial parts of his project.
The holographic blueprint of the Cosmic Radiation Containment Chamber flickered before him, lines of code shifting as he refined its design in real-time.
This was the key.
Cosmic radiation wasn't just dangerous, it was unpredictable. Tony knew that exposure to certain cosmic waves could trigger genetic anomalies, but he wasn't interested in mutations.
He wanted control.
If he could trap, harness, and weaponize a portion of cosmic radiation, he'd be on the verge of unlocking a new energy source, one that could change the world and bring evolution.
But there was a problem.
Cosmic radiation didn't behave like any other energy on Earth. It wasn't like electricity, nuclear power, or even gamma radiation. It was something older, rawer—almost alive.
Which meant he had to build something capable of containing the uncontrollable.
Tony rubbed his temples. The headache was worse now. He took out a bottle from his pocket and popped out two pills and swallowed it with a bit of water. Then he continued to focus on the task.
[The Cosmic Radiation Containment Chamber – Progress]
✔ Energy Field Stabilization – Completed
Tony created a customized force field matrix, capable of shifting between different frequencies to contain cosmic radiation without breaking. This would allow controlled exposure instead of full-blown disaster.
✔ Vibranium-Alloy Shielding – Concept Phase
Lack of Vibranium.
✔ Quantum Energy Dampeners – Concept Phase
If cosmic radiation had unpredictable energy surges, he needed something to neutralize those spikes before they could destroy the containment field.
✔ AI-Controlled Adjustments – 70% Complete
The chamber would need an AI smarter than any existing system to predict radiation shifts before they happen. Hermes and Elena were advanced, but Tony was already upgrading the AIs even further.
---
[10:00 PM]
The blue glow of holographic displays flickered across Tony's face as he stared at the intricate schematics of the Cosmic Radiation Containment Chamber. His fingers twitched slightly, subconsciously adjusting the design in real-time. He barely noticed.
His mind was running on overdrive, pushing through exhaustion as usual.
Then, his comms beeped.
[YELENA: "Stark. It's 10 PM. Get your ass up here. You need food."]
Tony blinked, his gaze flicking to the time display on one of the screens. 10:04 PM.
Huh.
Hadn't it just been 6 PM?
He sighed, running a hand through his hair before responding.
[TONY: "I'm in the middle of something."]
[YELENA: "I don't care. You can science yourself to death later. Eat first."]
[TONY: "I'm fine."]
[YELENA: "Really? Because according to your biometric monitor, your stress levels are spiking, your heart rate is slightly elevated, and I bet you haven't taken a proper breath in the last five minutes."]
Tony rolled his eyes. He forgot that Yelena still had access to his vitals. He gave her that access a year ago after she wouldn't shut up about how he had "the habits of a gremlin." And he needed someone to keep an eye on his health other than his AI.
Now she used it against him.
[YELENA: "Get. Up. Here. Now."]
Tony exhaled through his nose. She wasn't going to let this go.
[TONY: "Fine."]
[YELENA: "Good. Also, I made dinner. If you don't show up, I'll feed it to the Widows instead."]
[TONY: "Bribery? Really?"]
[YELENA: "I learned from the best."]
Tony snorted. Alright, that was fair.
Shutting down the console, he stretched, rolling his stiff shoulders. His body protested the sudden movement—he had been sitting for way too long.
He reached for his pills again, pausing just as he popped the cap open.
Then, with a sigh, he put the bottle back down.
No.
Not now.
Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he turned toward the elevator leading up to the main facility.
...
[Flashback – Two Years Ago]
[Training Facility – Midnight]
Tony barely dodged a strike aimed at his ribs. Yelena moved like a viper—fast, precise, and hard.
Tony twisted, bringing up his gauntlet to block her next hit, but she faked left and swept his legs out from under him.
He hit the mat hard.
"Ow," he muttered, staring up at the ceiling.
Yelena stood over him, smirking. "You're slow, Stark."
Tony groaned, sitting up. "Yeah, yeah. I'm a genius, not a ninja."
She crossed her arms. "Then why are we doing this?"
Tony pushed himself up, rolling his sore shoulder. "Because you're the only one who doesn't treat me like glass."
And that was the truth.
Natasha and Melina were too careful around him. The Widows respected him, but none of them pushed him.
Yelena?
Yelena didn't hold back.
She scoffed. "So, what? You want to get your ass kicked for fun?"
Tony smirked. "I call it practical education. Can't always rely on the suit, can I now?"
Yelena shook her head, muttering in Russian, before dropping into a fighting stance again. "Fine. But if you pass out, I'm not carrying you back."
Tony rolled his neck. "I'll have Hermes call Natasha, then."
"Tsk. Don't call her. I'll carry you," She muttered under her breath.
"Huh? You said something?" He asked.
"Yeah, you better be ready for another hour of ass kicking," She cracked her knuckles.
And just like that, the first of many midnight sparring sessions began.
[Six Months Later]
It started with training.
But somewhere along the way, it became something else.
Yelena was the only person who didn't see him as just Tony Stark. She wasn't impressed by the money, the genius, the legacy.
She treated him like a fighter.
A partner.
And for the first time in a long time, Tony felt like someone besides his tech, besides his armor.
They trained. They fought.
They talked.
Not about the mission. Not about the Widows.
But about stupid things.
"Favorite movie?" Yelena asked one night after pinning him for the third time in a row.
Tony exhaled, flat on his back. "Star Wars. Empire Strikes Back. Classic."
She raised an eyebrow. "Nerd."
"Thanks," he grinned. "Yours?"
She hesitated. Then, quietly: "The Iron Giant."
Tony blinked. That… was unexpected.
He tilted his head. "Didn't peg you as a 'big metal robot' kind of girl."
Yelena looked away, rubbing the back of her neck. "I just..." She exhaled. "I liked the ending. The whole 'you choose who you want to be' thing."
Tony's smirk faded.
Because he got it.
She wasn't talking about the movie.
She was talking about herself.
The conversation stuck with him.
Because he realized, for the first time, that Yelena wasn't just a trained killer.
She was a person still figuring herself out.
Just like him.
[One Year Later]
Tony had never been great at trust.
But somehow, without realizing it, he started trusting Yelena. But he wasn't stupid enough to remove the nanites from her body.
Not just in the training room. Everywhere.
She was the only person who called him out on his bullshit and the only one who noticed when something was wrong.
Like the night he collapsed in the lab.
His headaches had gotten worse, but he hadn't told anyone. He figured he could handle it.
Then, in the middle of running diagnostics, his vision blurred, and everything went black.
When he woke up, he was in the med bay.
And Yelena was sitting next to him, arms crossed, glaring.
"Are you stupid?" she demanded.
Tony blinked. "Huh?"
"You passed out in your lab, Stark," she snapped. "And you didn't tell anyone you were sick?"
"I wasn't sick," he muttered. "Just… tired."
Yelena scoffed. "Yeah, well, next time you're 'just tired,' try not dying on the floor."
Tony looked at her. Really looked at her.
She was pissed. But beneath that?
She was worried.
Yelena didn't worry about people.
But she worried about him.
And that meant something.
"...Thanks for finding me," he said quietly.
Yelena rolled her eyes, but he saw the smallest smile.
"Yeah, yeah. Just don't make it a habit, genius."
[Present time]
The smell of roasted chicken, garlic bread, and something suspiciously spicy hit Tony the moment he stepped into the dining hall. The room was lively, Widows scattered across the tables, eating, chatting, laughing.
It still felt surreal sometimes.
Seeing them like this—normal.
They were no longer just soldiers, no longer just weapons created by the Red Room. They had personalities now. Some cracked jokes, some argued over who had the highest kill count, and some were just… existing.
It was weird.
But the good kind of weird.
"Finally," Yelena's voice cut through the noise. She was leaning against the counter, arms crossed, watching him like a mother hen with a gun.
...
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