Leaning over a cluttered bench Tony Stark was humming as ACDC played in the background. Powerful guitars and drums resounded off of the interior walls of his workshop as sparks flew beneath soldering tools. A mask covered most of his face, while the faint glow of an arc reactor pulsed in his chest, beating like a heart would in a normal man.
Arcing bolts of heat and electricity flew through the air until he put his tools down and lifted the welders mask he had been wearing. The glow sourced from his work settled slowly as he leaned forwards and blew onto the freshly soldered circuitry.
"Great! That finishes all of the first steps... Jarvis, buddy, could you run a quick analysis on the components?" Tony slipped thick electrical gloves off of his hands and ran them through his curly black-grey hair.
"Of course Sir." A holographic representation of Jarvis appeared from a nearby interface and started its scans, nearby implements spinning in place before cameras and various other instruments started to carefully prod at his work. Sighing, used to the process of his best buddy, Tony sat back and hoisted a glass of rum up to his lips.
Mid-way through sculling his drink he stopped as he heard Jarvis call out once more. "Structural integrity is approximately: 97.98%, Accuracy of circuitry is approximately: 93.99%, all together I believe you have done exceptionally well, sir." Tony licked his lips before discarding his cup into a nearby trash can, his eyes glaring at the piece he had just finished.
"So there is no way to mimic Sith Alchemy using modern tools..." Jarvis's image flickered slightly before his mechanical male voice registered into the workspace once more.
"Given the information pervading the internet, it would seem that the 'Force' is a unique tool that transcends beyond physical means. Whether this is true or not is unknown at this time. However. If I may offer advice sir?" Tony nodded, his gaze piercing into the circuit he had just made still. "One does not use a chainsaw to extract a bullet, sir. Precision demands the appropriate tool. Sith Alchemy appears to fall under… a different kind of surgical method, if you follow my analogy."
Tony rubbed his face before standing up. "There has to be a scientific explanation for everything. Even the Force can't break the laws of thermodynamics… right?" Jarvis's holographic form shimmered, geometric blocks within his body shifting like a Rubik's cube in thought. "I believe, sir, you once said that anything is possible and the only reason someone says it isn't is because they lack intelligence, or information."
"Using my own words against me, are we? Is this the point we've reached...?" Silence consumed the room as Jarvis refused to answer. It grated on the playboy millionaire's mind as he twitched his right eye after receiving no answer. His mind offered little answers and honestly he didn't want to rely on the force to do too much. The thought that it could fail on him at any time niggling a paranoid itch deep within his subconscious.
Walking over to a clamp station, where his latest work-in-progress was currently clicked into he couldn't help but stare into the vacant, inactivated, visual sockets of his MK VI suit. Originally he had considered just making basic improvements, environmental... Until he discovered Sith Alchemy within that blasted game. Beyond that he now had some mystical 'force' powers that allowed him to feel people enter into his penthouse despite being in his workshop, sense when he was close to failing something... It was grating. Part of the process had always been failure and after a long life of traversing down that familiar path it was now too easy to just nail everything he tried to make.
"This 'force' is really annoying and also helpful. It's so frustrating... Makes me think I wasted all of my time learning Thermodynamics, Engineering, Physics... Why bother when the all mighty 'force' can tell you all!?" A nearby table blasted against a wall in his anger, his irises glowing ever so faintly yellow.
"Sir," Jarvis spoke, his tone calm, even reverent. "I believe you may be viewing this in the wrong light. If I may offer a parallel... consider Buddhism. Much like the Force, it is not reincarnation that shapes the person, it is the person who shapes reincarnation, through choice and intention, to reach enlightenment."
He paused, his geometric form shifting gently. "In the same way, the Force does not dictate your actions or knowledge. It reflects you, amplifies what already resides within. You are not being replaced, sir. You are evolving."
His creation's words echoed softly both within the room but also in his mind. The yellow with his Irises slowly receded as he took several moments to consider the words. Everything he had heard within the game likened the force to an all-knowing tool. The Sith were very clear on the fact that the force could give them whatever they wished... Yet, that was only one perspective, he realised. He blinked away his thoughts and finally smiled slightly.
"You're right... I've been thinking it is something beyond science, beyond me. What if it is just a tool to allow us to forge our own paths forwards...?" The question was whispered as he rubbed the small amount of stubble that gathered around and on his chin.
"I believe that is a healthier perspective, sir. You shouldn't look to shun the Force, but embrace it and add it to your arsenal."
Tony grinned mischievously, rushing over to his recently created circuit and swooping over to his currently incomplete set of armour. Painted dark crimson and gold the exterior seemed more akin to a set of medieval armour than any of his other armour pieces had, his inspiration sourcing from Star Wars the Old Republic, where he had first discovered Sith Alchemy.
Standing in front of it, he looked at an open arm panel, the circuit in is hand floating over telekinetically as the connection cemented themselves to the board as it softly came to rest within the vastly complex mechanical construction. For the first time in a while Tony didn't feel the weight of using the powers now at his command.
In the game it was second nature to use it, a boon to accomplish what he wanted. But this was real life and it held complexities that he knew would complicate matters. He now wanted to pinch himself for being too untrusting, too cautious with a power that had done nothing on its own free will. It had always been used at his command, even in the game. Shaking his head he closed his eyes and remembered the basics of Sith Alchemy.
Alchemy was itself a principle in which matter changes forms, states or nature under the specific use of energy on certain structures within a material or element of nature. Atomic structures were some of the most basic structures to manipulate, a beginners' starting point so to speak. The Holocron flashed images of Jedi and Sith bending and twisting metals to become more physically resistant, to warp crystals and other crystalline materials to better interact with technological interfaces. One such image that emerged in his mind was of a crystal similar to quartz, yet changed in such a way that it could serve as a GPU, CPU and Storage unit in one... It was, awe inspiring.
It didn't come without rules though. The first rule was equivalent exchange, a classical concept in Physics as well as within more mythological texts. For you to change a material atomically you would need to invest energy. Once said energy is invested the wished change will either gradually come into effect or rapidly do so; depending on the materials you are working with or the amount of energy you are feeding into it. The second rule was something even more basic, equal and opposite reactions... For every change you make within and item, you must similarly change something else. There were no stipulations on whether those secondary changes needed to be bad per se but it needed to happen.
"So... no free rides. Even with the Force, you still have to pay the toll." He chuckled to himself as he sifted through the information even further.
Third rule was less of a rule and more of a suggestion, it was rather simple and the last of codified rules... Don't use it on yourself. A simple thing really, a concept that would be repulsive to most, but for Sith it was an important line to draw in the sand. His mind wandered to his companion in game for a few moments, considering whether he was once a Sith who performed Alchemy upon himself, but he threw that line of reasoning away soon after. After all, he had information to consume.
After these ground rules were understood by him the basic knowledge of Sith Alchemy poured in... To use one's mind to feel the connections between Protons, Neutrons and Electrons. Bring to heel the minute forces of friction, magnetics and attraction to sever the connections between these different particles and artificially manufacture different elements with an almost psychic-level of accuracy. Splitting Uranium would be a breeze with this power, not that you would wish to given the explosive repercussions doing so would come with.
"Hmmm, I could technically create entirely new materials with this... A super alloy that had the qualities of that quartz I saw and Vibranium..." He narrowed his eyes whilst still holding them closed. "No. Baby steps. I need to focus on the basics."
Information surged across his mind, flooding through his frontal lobe before his emotional and logical cortexes began processing as fast as they could. This continued for several hours, his concentration straining against the thundering headache that purveyed the entirety of his skull. His ears thrummed with the sound of his own heartbeat whilst his muscles twitched in pain after standing for so long in the same place, immobile.
Jarvis had tried to speak with him yet he was all but absent. Only when it struck the second our of his communion with the memories did his faithful creation contact Potts, the current acting CEO of Stark Industries. Silence continued as the man struggled with the immense codex of information and knowledge, until Pepper Potts rushed into the room followed by Happy, both of them reaching the Playboy's side in moments.
Sweat beaded down his brow and body as he gulped every now and then, his lips looking like the craggy surface of a desolate desert even in the cool, air-conditioned room.
Happy's fingers snapped inches from his face. There was no reaction, his eyelids shifting chaotically as if his eyes were jutting side to side in panic.
"Tony! Come on, man!"
Pepper returned from a nearby fridge, twisting the cap off the water bottle she had retrieved. The water shook tumultuously as her hands quivered in worry. She had never seen him in such a state before and with the stories surrounding force sensitives in the outside world these days, she was deeply worried.
"Tony, please," she whispered pleadingly, pressing the lip of the bottle gently to his lips, "please respond." Happy stepped back to let her take charge, his eyes moving off towards Jarvis whose form was rotating ever so faintly.
"Jar, you got anything to tell us about what happened?" The creation of Tony stopped moving before his voice radiated outwards. "We were having a conversation pertaining to his beliefs about himself. None of your concern I assure you. I called you merely out of a sense of concern for his biological well-being."
Happy grimaced at the protective tone 'Jar' used with him. His boss, the one who payed his bills and was like a friend to the man, was suffering from something and yet that so-called 'AI' wouldn't give up a single damn detail... it was enough to make most men's blood boil in rage... Fortunately for the cranky piece of work the water slipped down his friend's throat and woke him from his trance.
"P-Puah, p-pah..." he coughed up the water as his hands shot to the side of his head, his fingers rubbing circles around his temples. "Ughhh, w-what's going on...?" He looked up at his female CEO and the man who drove his cars and he was looking into for running his security detachment. "Pepper? Happy? What's going on...?"
"You're asking us!? We get a call from your glorified computer saying that you are in some sort of danger and when we get here you are on your feet, dazed, completely entranced by whatever was happening... It took Ms. Potts here to snap you out of it...!"
Tony awkwardly rubbed his hands behind his head, his expression somewhat awkward and apologetic. "I was... just recalling something. A little too much, I guess." The weird atmosphere carried for a little as they stared each other off, Pepper sitting next to her boss as Jarvis stayed eerily quiet.
Happy frowned, his gaze never leaving his boss as Tony fell back into that all-too-familiar 'not-going-to-talk-about-it' posture. The stiffness in Tony's shoulders, the way he avoided eye contact, it all ground against Happy's sense of camaraderie. It irritated him, but he kept his thoughts in check, letting the professionalism he had honed over the years coil his instincts into something more controlled.
"Fine," Happy grumbled, his tone a bit resigned but still firm. "We'll speak about it when you're ready. Until then, as your employee... I suggest you have someone with you at all times for the next couple of days. Just in case." Relief flashed through him as he got a nod from the man himself, his tension bleeding out before it was then filled in by the dread of having to fill paperwork once more.
"I'll be going Mr. Stark, Ms. Potts, I am sorry to have met you again in such circumstances... Good day." He walked out of the room in a minor huff as Tony winced a little at his attitude. What had just happened had knocked them back a little in their friendship, he could tell. That would be okay though, he just needed to buy him some of the good alcohol and tell him about his promotion... All would be well.
"Tony... I'll stay with you for the next few days..." Tony immediately looked over at his beautiful CEO, the woman practically glowing in the low light of his workshop. "You don't have to do that, Happy is just too worried is all." She shook her head immediately.
"No. You aren't getting out of this. I am staying and that is final." Her stubbornness increased his already significant headache, but that was quickly ignored by him; already being used to huge migraines.
"Are you going to join me in bed as well then...?" He waggled his eyebrows a little and curled his lips into a grin, his chest softly glowing in this moment.
Her face flushed and comprehension and embarrassment flushed through her. The embarrassment wasn't sourced from his words though, no, more upon the thoughts that intruded her mind... It was such an off-handed remark from him that it collapsed her sense of professionalism and she found herself answering truthfully. "Sure..."
He coughed directly into his hands as he stopped his hand drifting closer to the water bottle, his eyes opening wide and staring into her eyes, questioningly.
"S-sorry, what?"
She flushed before moving forwards and pushing him onto his back, on the couch.
"I said, sure." She bent down and their lips drew closer, Tony finding himself surprised and mildly shocked by the forwardness of his CEO and, secretly, the woman he loved.
They met eachother for the first time, physically, as Tony felt warmth surge through his chest. This was unlike any other time he'd been with a woman... This one was the one, he knew it. And more than anything he was excited at the prospect of bringing to fruition even a small fragment of his future vision; even if it lead to his death.
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