My fault (The true story of Ultron and a buncha chaos)

Seriously, Loki? Really?

POV: Tony

I don't know what's happening, but Loki keeps sticking his hand on someone's forehead and then either dying laughing or looking bored. Judging by the faces of his victims, I decided to just avoid him. Which was relatively easy since all I had to do was lock myself in my lab. Peter had taken his bike to school, and said he'd come back when it was over, which would probably be an hour longer than the school hours since he'd said he had decathlon practice or something like that.

So I just keep working, deciding not to ask Jarvis of any more of the Ultron thing I'd dreamed about. I'd decided the whole thing must be coincidence, and maybe I'd asked some questions when I was drunk or sleep-deprived.

I kept working on some of the kid's suggestions, some of the harder webbing options and a few things I didn't want him to know I'd put on there. Constant footage I would have access to and an alarm in case he's about to die. That kind of stuff.

The next time I checked the clock, it was about a half hour after Peter's school would end. I decide to stop working, finishing my coffee and just leaving the mug on the table. The kid could care about neatness for me now.

By the time I walk into the room we'd played Kahoot in yesterday he's there already, talking to Clint about some sort of field trip.

"It's cancelled, though, because we're missing a chaperone. Which is kind of sad, but-"

"Hey, kid. I don't think I could chaperone," I said, because I had tried to manipulate my dad into doing things for me like that.

"What? Oh, that's fine. I wasn't-"

"I could," Clint offered, interrupting Peter, who looked at him a moment before speaking.

"Woah, really? Thanks, Mr. Clint!"

"Hey, kid, you feel like checking out your suit? I've been working on it," I said, somewhat surprised by Clint's pleased expression. He had to watch teenagers complain about whatever museum or lab they were visiting, where's the fun in that?

"Of course, Mr. Stark!" the kid said immediately. Clint left and I led him downstairs, running into Loki on the way.

"Ah. Are you working on Peter's spider suit still?" he said, like he hadn't been magicking everyone all day.

"Yup," Peter answered excitedly, bouncing as he walked. More than usual, I mean.

"Am I allowed to give you assistance?" he asked carefully. I didn't speak for a moment. This was a really bad idea to let Peter near him.

"Alright," I said anyways, because the kid was giving me a pleading look. Loki grinned in his unnerving way, which I didn't let phase me. Everyone at the tower was used to it by now.

"Excellent," he replied steadily. He didn't put his hand on my forehead, but I made a mental note to continue being ready to duck out of the way.

What ended up happening was me and Peter working on the suit and Loki shooting down some suggestions we'd thought of.

"Metal would make it more bulky," he said when I'd suggested armor. "Just make it bulletproof, and Peter should be fast enough to dodge fire and lasers and whatever other Midgardian weapons would permeate it."

"Why would you need an arc reactor on the outside? To show everyone where you are in the dark?"

"And tone down those colors, they're far too bright for stealth."

"Do you have anything else to say? Maybe your own suggestions?" I finally said, exasperated.

"Of course. Holograms," he said. "That's Midgard's version of illusions, correct? If you have the drone already just give it a projector."

I didn't say anything. Of course it was actually a good idea. I muttered a curse under my breath and took a look at Peter's drone to add a projector.

 "Why do you want the red and blue? Grays would make it much more unnoticeable," he added. Apparently he didn't like the colors, seeing as this was the fourth time he'd suggested to change them.

"I added an invisibility thing," Peter finally said. "It takes the colors of whatever's around it and changes to match that. Do you like it?"

He showed him the complicated bit of coding and earned a sympathetic shoulder tap.

"So long as it works. Don't hurt yourself trying to use it, Spiderling," he said. Peter nodded. I wondered if Loki was foreshadowing that something would go horribly wrong and he would be totally uninvolved. Sabotage? Never heard of it.

We kept working. Loki seemed to have run out of things to criticize and simply watched us work quietly. He was probably planning something, but I didn't let myself think about it for long.

"Are we... done?" Peter said finally. I looked at all the designs and junk. Honestly, it did seem pretty good for a Mark I.

"For now, kid," I finally said. "Let's get it printing. Set it to steel-enforced fabric."

"Your 3D printer sews?" Loki said, either impressed or simply surprised.

"Why wouldn't it?" I said, finishing off my coffee and glancing at the clock. Not too late, hardly six thirty. "Kid, we've still got an hour today."

"Oh. What were you thinking of working on, Mr. Stark?" he asked. I didn't actually have much planned.

"Do you want to test out the suit later?" I said finally. He lit up and started bouncing on his heels a little bit.

"Definitely! Where? Do I get to go on a mission?" he said, all very quickly.

"I assume I'm not invited," Loki muttered in the corner. I ignored him.

"I don't know. We could stop some random muggers. Sorry, you could stop some random muggers. I'd be nearby and I could probably step in if you were about to die," I said. 

"I'll take that as a yes," Loki continued. "I suppose I'll be staying with the rest of these idiots."

"Yeah," I said. "Yes you will."

"Good to know," he said. "Exactly how long will you be gone?"

"An hour," I said. "We established that, didn't we?"

At everyone's silence I assumed I was right, because I always was.

"Sir?" Jarvis said after a moment. "Ms. Romanoff, Vision, Pietro and Wanda are here."

I didn't say anything for five full seconds.

"What?"

Loki grinned. Seems like he didn't just change my ringtone.