A Hero's Journey

Element & Expo

He stepped past the numerous SHIELD agents, giving a small wave to Phil before he walked downstairs to the garage.

"What the fuck is that?" Ghost questioned, noting the massive table with small models on it.

He is able to hear a low, "Oh, you're back." But it's very quiet. He's still mostly deaf, so what sounds he is hearing are low. Tony follows up with, "My old man left it to me. Says it's the 'key to the future'. I'm here to figure out what it means."

Ghost hums, stepping closer to the table. "So, I assume you know all about his history with SHIELD and watched all of that footage he left behind?" Ghost asks.

Tony nods. "Yep. My old man founded your little organization, and left the key to the future in my hands, along with some explanations of things in those videos. I assume you watched them before I did?" Tony asks, the sound still quiet to the larger man.

"Duh. Paranoia is a bitch." He notes, then leans down to look at the model. "Aw, this is adorable. Howard played with toys, too."

Tony leaned down next to him and blew some dust off, giving a small laugh as he did so. "JARVIS, could you kindly Vac-U-Form a digital wire frame? I need a manipulatable projection."

"You think he left you a hidden message in the models?" he asks, standing up.

"Maybe." He says as JARVIS scans the entire board, both of them waiting patiently.

"1974 Stark Expo model scan complete, sir." JARVIS says, and Tony picks it up.

"How many buildings are there?" Ghost asks.

"Am I to include the Belgian waffle stands?" JARVIS questions as Ghost follows Tony.

"JARVIS." Ghost says, like a parent scolding a child, and JARVIS just doesn't respond.

Tony puts it down and spins it, eventually it switches to appear vertical, and it moves to the center.

"What does that look like to you?" Tony questions.

"Kinda looks like an atom. What does an atom have to do with this...?" He mutters. Then he points to the center. "If it's an atom, that's the nucleus."

Tony presses it, then speaks out, "Highlight the unisphere." It gets highlighted, and Tony makes it bigger to see easier. "Lose the footpaths. Get rid of them."

"What is it you're trying to achieve, sir?" Stark's AI asked.

Ghost looked at it and paused. "I think... I think we're rediscovering a new element." He says, tilting his head to look at it again. "Yeah, I think that's what's happening here. Lose the landscaping, shrubbery and trees."

"Parkings lots, exits, entrances." Tony adds, both of them messing with the hologram to get rid of everything like that.

"Structure the protons and neutrons using the pavilions as framework." Ghost said, and JARVIS complied, leaving them staring at the hologram as it adjusted.

Tony then clapped to grab the ball and threw it out, expanding it as he looked up at it. Ghost had the same look, moving his eyes around to take in what he was actually seeing. "Holy hell, Howard." He releases.

Tony spins around, remarking, "Dead for twenty years, and still taking me to school." Tony then brings it back in, laughing and grinning down at it. Ghost has a similar expression under his mask, then he looks up.

"JARVIS, is it a viable replacement for palladium?" The white figure questions.

"It is." The AI speaks.