Agent Potts and the Man in the Iron Suit

I

Machines beeping, furious keyboard typing, and the buzz of conversation echoed from every wall in the large, crowded room, but it didn't faze her. She was the same as always; focused on the goal given to her.

At this moment, that goal was to navigate her way through the control center and locate her superior.

She found him near the front of the room, hovering around a monitor with several other employees, in deep conversation. Stanton Leevy, Director of the Civilian Security unit.

She stopped a few feet away, pulled her shoulders back, and cleared her throat. It was enough to catch the attention of the person closest to her, who turned to Leevy and made him aware of her presence.

He caught her gaze and nodded. "Potts. Good. Take a look at this."

Virginia Potts stepped closer to the monitor and skimmed over the pictures and text files splayed across the screen. "Is this new information on the flying metal object that had the military freaking out last week?"

"It is. We believe we've found who it belongs to." Leevy faced the employee seated at the monitor, who pulled a new tab onto the screen. It was a suspect profile on...

"Tony Stark?" Virginia exclaimed incredulously, scrunching her nose as the name left her mouth. She had never been a fan of the infamous billionaire war profiteer, contrary to the opinion of many females her age.

"As you already know," Leevy began, "Stark was recently rescued from being held as a terrorism hostage. We've gathered what information we can from press coverage, but he's been keeping to himself a lot more since then. Given the circumstances, that's not surprising. But what does a man like him do with so much time on his hands? Stark has the means, the motive, and the mind to build what can only be described as some sort of suit."

"Do you think his intentions are malicious?"

"I suspect this is his way of coping with the emotional turmoil he must've experienced. The idea is probably that this way he can protect himself if something like it were to happen again. But when does self-defense turn into making sure you're the one to strike first? And if someone with true malicious intent were to get their hands on it..."

"I understand, sir."

"Good, because I'm assigning you to the case."

"What?" Virginia exclaimed. She glanced at the photo in the file and barely refrained from rolling her eyes. When she looked back at Leevy, his eyebrows raised in slight surprise. Virginia composed herself, cleared her throat, and added, "What do you need me to do, sir?"

"We'll begin in a civil manner. Share with him our request and see if he'll comply. If he doesn't, then we'll formulate a plan to remove the suit by force."

"Of course, sir," she replied. Her eyes darted back to the photo once more. She braced herself for having to see that face in person.