The Trickster Book 2 (Iron Man 2)

From the past. For the future.

3rd P.O.V

Tony placed the box on the ground in his lab and opened it. The first thing he saw were the plans to the ARK reactor signed by Anton Vanko and Howard Stark. He looked at the plan. It was the exact same than the one he had seen all his life.

He placed the blueprint next to him and took an old journal article with the title Soviet Scientist Vanko Defects written on it.

He took out more pictures, papers, files, maps and others. At one point he also took out three old movies in their metal box. He placed the smallest one in the box and looked at the other two.

"Maybe we should look at them." Caleb suggested from the doorway.

Tony looked up, he hadn't realized that his son had been watching him. He sighed but nodded in agreement. Caleb walked to him and sat criss-cross applesauce next to his father.

Few minutes later, Tony was sitting on a chair, looking at an old notebook of his father's and taking some of his own notes.

Caleb was sitting in front of the box, looking at the files.

"Hey! Captain America collection cards!" He felt the glare of his dad. "Fine." Caleb grumbled, putting them back. The he opened some files as the movie started.

Expo Intro.

"Everything is achievable through technology. Better living, robust heath, and for the first time in human history, the possibility of world peace. I'm Howard Stark, and everything you'll need for the future can be found right here." Howard Stark said on the white screen. "City of the Future? City of Tomorrow? City of..." He said to himself. "I'm Howard Stark and everything you'll need in the future can be found right here. So, from all of us at Stark Industries, I would like to personally..." He announced. "Tony, what are you doing back there? What is that?" Caleb and Tony looked at the screen for the first time. A young Tony was taking a building from the maquette. Howard scolded him. "Put that back. Put it back where you got it from." Howard pointed where it should be and Tony sadly put it back in place. "Where's your mother? Maria?" A woman came and took him, apologizing furiously to Howard. "Go on. Go, go, go, go." Howard turned to the camera. Tony went back to his notes. There was a cut on the movie and Caleb could see Howard drinking and asking for a second while drinking. Another cut. "So, from all of us at Stark Industries, I'd like to personally show you my ass. I'd like to... I can't... This is... I can't... We have this, don't we? This is a ridiculous way... Everything is achievable through technology."

Caleb shook his head in sadness and looked away.

The movie kept rolling, but neither were paying attention.

Tony threw the book away as there were only blank pages now.

Caleb lifted some old files. Like 1940 old.

"Who's Lilia Stark?" Caleb asked, frowning.

"Your aunt or something of the sort. She died in 1945." Tony waved him off.

"My aunt?" Caleb asked. "But you don't have a sibling. Neither did Grampa."

He looked at Tony, but the latter shrugged. Caleb sighed and took another file. He frowned.

"Hey, wasn't mom's last name Black?" Caleb asked.

At that, Tony looked up.

"Yeah. I think so." He replied. "Why?"

Caleb read the file a bit.

"Well, this file talks about a guy named Caleb Black." He read a bit more. "Apparently, he was a Colonel in the army?"

Tony nodded in realization.

"Yeah, I remember." He said. "Never met him, but your grandfather talked about him. Apparently, he did a lot of great things, but he's not from your mother's family. It would have been written in the file."

Caleb nodded.

"So who was he?"

"A friend of your grandfather. And an army men. That's all I know."

"Probably a friend of Captain America too." Caleb whispered to himself, putting the file away. "I like him." He searched some more and found some dog tags. He turned them around and saw C. Black written on it. He placed it around his neck, hiding it in his shirt.

"Tony." Tony and Caleb lifted their heads and stared at the movie. Howard's tone had seemed like he was actually talking to Tony. "You're too young to understand this right now, so I thought I would put it on film for you. I built this for you. And someday you'll realise that it represents a whole lot more than just people's inventions. It represents my life's work." Images of the maquette appeared then it went back to Howard. "This is the key to the future. I'm limited by the technology of my time, but one day you'll figure this out. And when you do, you will change the world. What is and always will be my greatest creation is you."

The movie stopped and Caleb turned to his dad, who was still staring at the screen.

"What just happened?" He asked.

"I don't know..." Tony trailed off.

Caleb went back to searching through the box for more discoveries.

Tony's gaze drifted from the screen to his son. He watched him loo through the box, in awe of what he was finding. The more he thought about it, the more Tony was scared. Scared to abandon his son. Scared to die. What would happen to Caleb if Tony died? What would happen to his son?

"Get up." Tony said, standing up.

"What?" Caleb asked. "But I wasn't finished."

"You'll finish later. We have somewhere to be."