###
Time: Late February, 2004.
Location: A Rocket Launching base owned by Future Foundation.
##
The wind howled like a ghost over the barren, icy plains as the sleek black VTOL descended onto the private helip. The emblem of Von Doom Industries gleamed on its side—a polished gunmetal symbol, sharp and cold, much like its owner.
The rhythmic hum of helicopter blades faded as Victor Von Doom descended onto the isolated launch base, his sleek personal helipad carrier gleaming like a predator of the skies. The Future Foundation logo gleamed on one tower while Von Doom Industries and Stark industries banners fluttered against the biting February wind. This alliance, forged in contracts and convenience, was a rare intersection of egos too large to fit in one room—yet here they were.
As Victor stepped onto the cold concrete, his tailored coat catching the wind, a sudden blur rushed forward.
"Uncle Victor!" Valeria shouted, her boots clacking excitedly across the pavement.
Victor blinked once, his composed expression cracking ever so slightly. A ghost of a smile tugged at his lips—rare, genuine—but he masked it within a heartbeat, settling into his usual cool indifference.
"You ran straight without any care.."Victor said dryly, producing a thick stack of hundred-dollar bills from his coat pocket. "As reckless as your father."
Valeria giggled, hugging him tightly. "I missed you too."
He allowed the embrace—awkwardly—and placed the money in her gloved hand.
"This is a bribe," she teased.
"Call it an investment," he replied. "In your future."
"You've been reading those mechanical engineering books I sent?"
"Page twenty-three of volume four," she beamed, slipping her hand into his as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Victor let her hold it.
They walked toward the entrance, the sound of heavy doors unlocking ahead. Victor's sharp eyes scanned the waiting figures—and paused.
Susan.
She stood beside Reeds, clipboard in hand, wind tugging gently at her blonde hair. She smiled when she saw him—bright, warm, effortless. The kind of smile that used to make college lectures feel like summer afternoons.
Victor gave her a subtle nod. "Susan."
She smiled wider. "Victor. It's been a while."
It always felt like not enough and too much when Victor heard her voice.
Then his gaze drifted to Reeds. Taller, leaner, and wearing that same absent-minded look like he was always thinking five seconds ahead. Victor's eyes sharpened with something unreadable.
"Reeds," Victor said simply, nodding.
"Victor," Reeds replied after a beat. His tone was cordial, if distant.
Their history was complicated— bruised,love rivalry but unspoken Respect for each other's Intellect.
Together, they stepped into the base.
The walls inside buzzed with low conversations, machines warming up, screens flickering with blueprints and schematics.
"So, Victor… how's Latveria? Still running itself without you?" Susan asked.
"A monarch prepares for absence by making sure his empire doesn't crumble." Victor replied.
"And the Defense projects?"
"Classified," he said, but his mouth twitched upward. "Let's say our tanks can walk now."
Susan laughed. "Sounds terrifying."
Victor shrugged. "Depends which side you're on."
Reed cleared his throat. "We weren't sure if you'd actually come for this."
"I had nothing better to do," Victor replied, his tone flat. "Besides, I prefer seeing where my money is going."
"Still stingy about that?" Susan asked playfully.
"Always," Victor said. "It keeps the engineers hungry."
"Speaking of engineers," Reed added, "Tony was supposed to come too."
Victor scoffed. "Of course he didn't. Likely off charming a supermodel or reinventing the cocktail shaker."
Reed hesitated.
Susan glanced at Reed, then nudged him with her elbow. "Tell him."
Reed adjusted his glasses. "He, uh… he found a breakthrough. On one of his private projects."
Victor raised a brow. "Breakthrough? Stark doesn't 'break through.' He stumbles across things, forgets them, and builds a car that drives sideways instead."
Reed folded his arms. "He's miniaturizing the arc reactor."
Victor stopped walking.
For a moment, the corridor was silent except for the low hum of energy overhead.
"The arc reactor?" Victor repeated.
"Yeah. He's serious this time. Said he won't make it for the journey."
Victor's jaw tightened. "He used to dismiss that tech as science fiction. 'Pointless spark in a box,' he called it."
"Well… now it's a very real now" Reed replied. "And getting smaller."
Victor looked away, a faint sneer pulling at his lip. "He always was late to his own potential."
Susan raised a brow. "And you're always on time, I take it?"
"I'm never late to greatness." Victor replied, voice indifferent, as though stating a fact.
As they approached the central corridor, Victor's mind spun. Stark chasing a new kind of energy. Reeds devoting himself to the first FTL engine. And he? He would not be outpaced. Not by men still chasing dreams he once considered and discarded.
He had already come up with an idea. Something grand. Something... as powerful as the sun. All in the palm of his hand.
An Artificial sun.
Fusion contained in a magnetic field, feeding off itself infinitely. It was dangerous. Audacious. Perfect.
And he knew just the right person to help him build it.
"So," Susan asked to alleviate the silence, stepping beside Victor, "what do you think of the facility?"
Victor glanced around. "Functional. Underwhelming, but not hopeless."
Susan smirked. "That's practically a compliment coming from you."
"Don't get used to it."
She chuckled. "I never do."
##
Time: March 1, 2004
Location: Basement 1, Stark Mansion, Malibu, California
##
The glow from the hovering hologram flickered against the polished walls of the lab, casting ghost-like projections of blue light across Leo's face. He sat on top of his stool barely blinking, eyes locked onto the floating egg-shaped drone no bigger than a human head. It buzzed softly, projecting a crisp 3D feed of the world's most important event—something he knew, deep down, was going to change everything.
"This is Monica Grant reporting live from Cape Azure. Moments away from history, folks—the first faster-than-light spacecraft 'Marvel', is set to launch. A combined effort by Von Doom Industries, the Future Foundation, Stark Industries, and the United States military. Onboard are some of the brightest minds of our generation—Victor Von Doom, Reed Richards, Susan Storm, Johnny Storm, and piloting the mission, none other than Ben Grimm."
Leo's brow furrowed. The voice of the anchor faded into the background, replaced by the hum of his intuition, whispering warnings beneath the surface of his mind.
This is it, Leo thought. The moment that births the age of superheroes or super chaos.
Footsteps echoed from behind.
"Be careful with that," Tony Stark said, his voice steady but tight.
Leo turned. His dad stood tall and focused, arms crossed, dressed in a black tank top and cargo pants smudged with grease. Beside him,Travis moved with deliberate precision. A faint hiss escaped as Travis lifted a container brimming with molten alloy, glowing orange with deadly heat.
"I am careful." Travis replied, his tone calm and mechanical, yet oddly human. "It's quite literally what I was made for."
Jarvis's voice chimed through the lab, dry and amused. "Indeed. Nothing says 'precision' quite like a six-foot robotic assistant with titanium limbs and a sub-millisecond reaction time."
Travis voiced "Appreciated, Jarvis."
Leo chuckled softly and looked up at his dad. "Relax, Dad. It's gonna work."
Tony eyes were fixed on the mold at the center of the chamber. Watcing with bated breath.
Leo tried again, standing up and brushing his hands on his shorts. "Jarvis and Friday both ran the numbers. This arc reactor design is the most stable you've built yet."
Tony finally glanced at him—
"I know but.." he said.
Tony looked at his son, his expression unreadable for a moment. Then he exhaled a breath that sounded like it had been sitting in his chest for days.
"It's not the reactor I'm worried about," he said, voice quieter now.
Leo tilted his head. "Then what?"
Before Tony could answer, a wave of white-blue light surged across the hologram. The countdown had ended.
"Engines igniting… And we have launch!" the anchor shouted.
The projected image showed the 'Marvel' bursting from the launch pad, a silver spear tearing through the atmosphere with a trail of fire and victory behind it.
Tony and Travis didn't even look at the hologram. Their attention was locked on the real history being made down here, in the basement.
With a soft whir, Travis moved to the mold. He shifted the container ever so slightly, tilting it forward. The molten alloy poured in a slow, gleaming stream into the circular frame, its surface crackling with promise and danger.
Tony's shoulders were tense as steel. Leo could almost hear the gears in his father's head turning.
Travis continued, his hands as steady as a surgeon's.
"Flow rate optimal," he said. "Mold temperature consistent. No structural anomalies detected."
"Of course not," Jarvis quipped. "Your entire existence is a one-man safety protocol."
"Glad I can be useful," Travis replied, monoton.
Leo hopped off his stool, silently picking up tools—pliers, a casing, micro-wires—and handing them to Tony before he even asked.
They didn't speak. They didn't need to.
Minutes passed as father and son worked in perfect synchrony, assembling each component with practiced hands. A faint glow from the newly cooled alloy lit Tony's face as he inserted the core and sealed it into the device.
The arc reactor.
Tony hovered over it, fingers trembling slightly. He took a deep breath, then rotated the button.
A soft hum. Then a burst of blue-white light.
The chamber lit up.
"Energy stable," Jarvis announced. "Output holding at three gigajoules per second. Congratulations, sir. The first successful miniaturized arc reactor is fully operational."
Leo whooped and raised his hand. "Told you!"
Tony, stunned, gave a half-laugh and returned the high five.
Friday chimed in, more solemnly. "This could power a house for fifty lifetimes."
Tony let out a shaky breath, as if he'd been holding it the entire time. "Yeah," he murmured. "We did it."
He stared at the reactor glowing on the table, his reflection dancing in the polished casing. Pride swelled in his chest, but something else—something older—twisted there too.
"Dad would've loved this," Tony said suddenly, still staring.
Leo looked up.
"My dad," Tony added. "He spent his life chasing the next great thing for humanity... he started this project years ago. Said it would change everything."
There was silence but for the quiet whir of machines.
"He missed birthdays. Broke promises. Always said it was for the greater good." Tony scoffed, bitterly amused. "I thought… maybe if I showed him I could invent too, he'd finally notice me. But all it got me was a lecture and a grounded weekend."
Leo didn't say a word. He just listened because he knew his Dad rarely shared these things with him.
Tony glanced at him, then back to the arc reactor. "I grew up resenting him. Told myself I'd never be like that. I even mocked this very project. Said it was foolish—some fantasy dream that'd never work."
Tony rubbed his eyes, blinking fast. "Guess the old man was onto something after all."
His gaze shifted to Leo, and something softer entered his tone.
"If you hadn't pushed me to take another look at this project.. if you hadn't kept bugging me about a new battery for Travis, I probably wouldn't have touched this thing again."
"I.. didn't want to be him. Not to you."
Leo stepped forward. "You're not," he said simply, wrapping his arms around Tony's waist.
Tony froze, caught off guard by the hug. But after a heartbeat, he bent down from his stool and returned it—firm, warm, real.
"Thanks," Leo whispered. "For being the best dad ever."
Tony closed his eyes,
He didn't reply.
He didn't have to.
He finally felt he found his purpose.
##
Word count: 1970
Author's note:
No, The chapters aren't getting shorter, I am merely leaving it there because I felt it was a good spot to end the chapter. I could have added more but eh.
Btw I realized an issue with the schedule. The days don't change. Like For CT and My own timezone, it's still the same day.
So it's not Monday as I thought. Rather both would be on Tuesday.
You will probably get two extra chapters next week.
Anyways. That's the last chapter for this week, See you all on 13th of May.
#
Current schedule: 8th of May (This chapter) 13th (Next Chapter), 14th, 15th. At exactly 10am Central time or Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 10Am Central Time.
Weekly Challenge: 25 Power stone/hearts for 1 extra chapter. (upto 4 at max)
Monthly Challenge: 100 Power stone/hearts for 1 extra chapter. (That's all)
Note: heart is on scribble hub and power stone is on Web novel.
An ideal Example: Let's say you usually get 12 chapters per month. If you complete the challenges then you get upto extra 5 chapters that month. Thus it could be 17 chapters a month.