[Third POV, Year 2001, Broken Loop, August 1, Stark Mansion]
"Should I name the AI Skynet? Sounds badass."
"If you wanna be sued for copyright or be unoriginal, suit yourself. I know you're simple, but be more creative."
"Alright then, how would you name it?"
"It's your creation, kid. Name it yourself. Although, it's good you admire my naming sense."
"Fuck off."
Having a friendly banter with Tony, we have Adrian trying to decide on a name for the AI. He actually had a lot of good names from his past life in the egg—names like Cortana, Glados, 343 Guilty Spark, etc.
(Adrian has investigated and confirmed that Halo doesn't exist / wasn't announced yet)
"Alright, I've decided. I'll name this one 343 Guilty Spark. I'm gonna make more in the future, so I think this name will do."
"I had better names, but at least it's original. Now, with the name Spark, we have to select a voice."
"I already have one in mind. I'll implement it later. Is the robo-gundam ready?"
Hearing what Adrian said made Stark pull up a projection and show it to Adrian. In it, Adrian saw an image of an already-built robot.
"We need to meet at some point with that Klaue you talked about for the vibranium. We couldn't use pure adamantium because of its weight and limited mod capability. We had to use a watered-down version for decent flexibility. It's strong, but I wanted it more durable."
"Don't worry, kid. We'll probably be able to meet him in a month or two. He doesn't use the internet much and covers his tracks well. JARVIS hasn't found him yet."
"Alright, then it's time to import Jocasta into the robo-gundam. Meanwhile, I'll let 343 train itself with some material."
Adrian officially assigned the name of his AI in the code, took the chip from the receptor, and wrote the name on it, just like Stark had done.
"Now that I think about it, have you discovered more on the thing?"
"Somewhat. It looks like some people in the government are purposely covering tracks in individuals currently entering the States."
"An inside job?"
"More or less, but it's complicated. From what JARVIS was able to dig up, it's not the CIA or FBI. While the CIA wasn't sharing some info with the FBI, they were planning to do so. They were about a week away from it. The thing is there's no document or camera feed that recorded anything about the attack itself, except what we know. It's like the CIA itself is infiltrated."
Giving himself a mental thumbs-up for helping Tony realize other secret agencies might be infiltrated—specifically by Hydra—and preparing him better for things like the Insight plan, Adrian nodded.
"It's a little weird. Maybe we should dig deeper, although it shouldn't be our top priority. At least it looks like their plan was thwarted."
"I guess so, kid. Do you thi—"
Suddenly, the sound of a door opening caught their attention. Both Adrian and Tony snapped their heads in that direction and saw a woman entering, looking somewhat confused at the sight in front of her. Even working at Stark Industries, she hadn't seen this level of sci-fi tech with things like 3D image projections and all.
"Umm... hello? Mister Stark? I brought the donuts you asked for through that program of yours… Jarvis, was it?"
"Greetings, Miss Virginia Potts. You are correct. The designated name Mr. Stark gave me is JARVIS."
"Just in time, Potts. I had a craving and didn't want a cheeseburger this time. Bring it over."
As Jarvis and Stark spoke, Virginia Potts looked around in curiosity while walking toward the duo, who were currently whispering between themselves.
"So, you took my suggestion, huh?"
"I figured she had something remarkable. You've got good vision. After all, you chose to be my tech assistant."
"Don't pat yourself on the back over my suggestion, old man."
After a few more seconds, Potts reached their side and placed the box of donuts on the table.
"Mr. Stark, now that I'm here, I have to mention—I spotted an error in the numbers from a projection. I tried to report it to a supervisor, but he dismissed me. So did the general manager, Folan, who said—and I quote—'These numbers were crunched by Tony Stark, so why don't you just take it up with him?'"
While Potts spoke, Stark opened the donut box and grabbed one. Adrian did the same, and they both took a bite. Hearing what Potts said, Stark called out to Jarvis.
"Hey, Jarvis, show me which one she's talking about."
"Ooooh, did the great Tony Stark mess up the math?"
"Oh, come on. Do you really think so? I bet you a thousand she probably just misread something."
"Alright. Bet."
The projection from that day appeared. Potts quickly pointed out the error with her finger.
"There! The result shouldn't come out like this."
Tony looked where she pointed and asked Jarvis to recalculate. Jarvis complied and delivered the verdict.
"Sir, Miss Potts is correct. You committed a math error."
"HAHAHA! Look at that! I expect the thousand dollars in my account today."
A little surprised, Tony glanced at Potts, who, unknown to herself, had a slight smug smile on her face. Chuckling at it, Tony spoke again in a teasing tone.
"Alright, Miss Potts. Because you triumphed over me, I'll grant you something. Ask for anything. Don't be shy."
"Oh no, Mr. Stark. I was just doing my—"
"Come on, Potts. Just ask."
With Tony's insistence, Potts finally asked him to attend a specific meeting she had scheduled, which she believed was important for the company—knowing Tony tended to skip those.
"Alright then. I'll have to talk to Folan about a few things. How could he not listen to my own secretary? She holds the same authority he does in Stark Industries."
Hearing what Tony said made Potts mumble under her breath.
"Good. That guy said Stark would probably fire me and that I was just eye candy. Thank God I didn't use the pepper spray..."
What she didn't expect was for Tony to hear that, which made him laugh a little.
"Don't worry, you're not eye candy... Miss Pepper."
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Author Note: I need to keep investigating, so just a chapter of character interactions.
Please add to library and give powerstones!