A New Beginning - Endgame Fixit

Naming Harley's A.I.

"I figured it out!" Harley announced for the fourth or fifth time that day as he proudly entered the lab. Tony was working on one of the holographic computers, doing something complicated.

Tony looked up, one side of his mouth turning up into a teasing smile. "What is it this time?"

"B.T.K."

Tony shrugged. "Better than T.B.A.I.S.T.E. or whatever it was."

"I know. It's a lot shorter AND the meaning is just as cool, if not better."

"Better than 'The Best AI System That Exists'?" Tony swiped a hologram to the side. "I gotta admit, now you've got me curious. What has the master of acronyms come up with now?" He looked up expectantly, giving Harley his full attention.

Harley waited a moment longer, relishing the suspense before he blurted it out. "'Better Than Karen'."

Tony blinked, then burst out laughing. "I'm definitely rubbing off on you," he said, ruffling Harley's hair.

Harley swatted at his hand, embarrassed. "You need to stop doing that. I'm sixteen, not ten."

Tony ignored his protests, still grinning. "You and Peter ever gonna stop this crazy rivalry?"

"Nope."

Tony let out an amused sigh. "Alright, then. I'll add B.T.K. as the name, but for the record, I still think it should be pronounceable."

"If I may interject," said Friday's calm voice from somewhere in the ceiling, "The acronym B.T.K. is also used to refer to Dennis Rader, a widely-known serial killer. You might want to rethink your naming options."

"Are you kidding me!?" Harley groaned, flopping into a swivel chair. "It was so perfect!"

"Hey, maybe we can still use it," said Tony, thinking. "Just knock off the K, or something."

"BT? That just sounds dumb."

Tony tried to keep a straight face, but couldn't help but grin as he said, "I think having an AI named Beauty would be great."

Harley stopped spinning to stare at him. "OH MY GOSH, TONY, I DO NOT WANT MY A.I. TO BE NAMED BEAUTY."

"Aw, c'mon. Now I have to."

"You don't have to do anything! Just wait for me to come up with something else--"

"Too late..." said Tony innocently, waving at the holoscreen. "It's final. Now I just have to finish testing the different protocols, and you'll be all set."

Harley stared at him, dumbfounded. "You can't just..." he spluttered. "But Peter got to name his AI, and he wasn't even supposed to have it!"

Tony raised his eyebrows. "Technically, both of them are my AIs, so I can name them whatever I want."

"I don't believe this!" Harley stood and threw up his hands. "You're seriously going to leave me with that...girly name?"

"Don't ever say 'girly' like that in front of Morgan," Tony advised, raising his eyebrows. "She might publicly declare Peter her favorite brother."

Harley stormed out of the room. When he got to the ground floor he went outside, determined to be moody and stubborn until Tony changed it to literally anything else.

"Harley!" Morgan called. Harley turned towards the tree, where he saw her sitting in Peter's lap on a swing made out of webs. Except she was facing him, with her legs wrapped around his waist and her feet dangling behind him.