Stark's Shadow

Chapter 21 - Back from the Dead

"Okay, Olive," Tony takes a few steps back, leaving me alone in the middle of the room, "The first test of your new, um, let us call it a backpack. Ready?"

I nod, nervous, "Yes. But if this thing crushes me, you're dead,"

"I think you'll be dead," He corrects.

Tony turns to a camera, saying some words about the project. Then he activates it, and I appear on the other side of the room, arms coming slowly out of the bag, glowing and tightening. I'd have been crushed if it were fast enough.

"You manifested that," Tony tells me as the device crushed itself.

"Thankfully you made it work slowly, it needs to be faster if it's going to stop me, Tony," I tell him, "It needs to be perfect, okay?"

"What needs to be perfect?" Bruce says entering the room, "And why is there a metal glowing backpack crushing itself in the middle of the room?"

Tony and I look at each other, then nod, "It's the device I've been working on the past while. Olive is helping me. Has been for about a week now,"

"Three weeks, actually, sir," Jarvis corrects, Tony thanks him.

"Olive? Well, no wonder it didn't work," Bruce jokes, "She doesn't know one end of her phone from the other,"

"Thanks, Bruce," My voice drips with sarcasm.

"Will you finally tell me what it's for, Tony?"

"That's up to Olive, this is for her,"

Bruce looks at me, looking like he might beg. "It's to stop me from being able to use my powers if I ever lost control and Belladonna comes back,"

"Seriously?" He asks, "You're joking, right? You've been working on this longer than she's been here, Tony."

Tony rubs the back of his neck, looking embarrassed. He explains it was originally going to be for Peter to shrink down so he could have a smaller backpack to hide his suit in. The small bag could go in the regular bag so nobody would find the suit by accident. The new purpose is my version of the Hulk-Buster. But Tony knew he couldn't hurt me himself, so he made something to stop me without hurting me.

"Okay, so, um, Tony?" I quietly say, anxious because the vibes were so off, "I kid you not, the bag has totally crushed itself. We're probably going to have to start over from scratch."

He turns around, "Fuck, I forgot to tell it to stop. And next time we should test it with a suit, or a dummy. I'd like to not risk your life,"

"I mean, if it destroyed me it technically would have done its job,"

"It's not supposed to hurt you,"

I shrug, "It would be kind of funny," I start laughing, "You could say you made Olive oil,"

Bruce starts laughing too.

"I'm not sure if I should laugh or call your therapist and book her more," Tony says, making Bruce and I laugh harder.

Then I hear heels clicking down the stairs and Tony goes pale, "She sounds angry, what did I do this time?"

I was about to ask how he knew she was angry from the sound of her heels, but she walked in before I could.

"Hey, Pep," Tony greets, "You look tense, everything okay?"

"No, it is not okay!" She says, voice already raised, Bruce leaves, "And you know it is not okay! And you know why it isn't okay!"

Tony glances at me, then back to Pepper, "Seriously? Still?"

"Yes, of course. I think you forget how famous you both are, Tony,"