###
Time: 8th of March, 2004
Location: Basement 1, Stark mansion, Malibu, California
##
"Are you really sure about this?" Leo asked, arms folded and camera in hand, brows raised like a seasoned critic despite being nearly nine years old.
Tony Stark, clad in a silvery skeletal exo-frame, glanced at his son and gave a mock salute. "Of course I'm sure. When have I ever not been sure?"
Leo blinked at him. "Want me to bring out the list?"
Tony chuckled. "Just hit the record."
Grumbling under his breath, Leo pressed the button on the camcorder and aimed it at his dad. "Recording. Against my better judgment."
Across the room, Valeria Richards stood behind the lab's safety console, her blonde hair tied in a tight ponytail, oversized goggles covering half her face. Her white lab coat fluttered as she adjusted the dials and checked the screen filled with data streams.
"All systems stable," she called out, voice crisp with excitement. "You're clear for test number... seven."
Tony raised a gloved hand. "Day seven of testing—attempting vertical lift using thruster output set at ten percent. Let's take it easy this time."
"Ten percent?" Leo interjected. "You sure about that? You might just learn how the floor tastes like. "
Tony hesitated. "...Fine. Five percent with caution."
Valeria grinned. "Initiating countdown. Three… two… one… Ignition!"
With a deep mechanical hum, the boots of Tony's suit sparked to life. A gust of air blew dust across the basement floor as a brilliant blue glow erupted beneath his feet.
Then—woosh!
He shot up with all the grace of a soda can in a microwave, hovered mid-air for four shaky seconds, and promptly lost control.
"Agh—nononono—!"
The suit whined and sputtered before Tony plummeted.
But just before he could faceplant into the reinforced floor, Travis, their ever-loyal robotic butler, zipped in with perfect timing. A pair of metallic arms extended from his back, catching Tony mid-fall like a sci-fi ballet dancer saving his partner.
Tony dangled in the air, wide-eyed, breathing hard.
"I... almost became a pancake," he muttered.
Leo lowered the camera. "Wow. It's almost like someone warned you about the thruster thing."
Valeria burst out laughing. "You looked like a confused rocket trying to moonwalk!"
Tony groaned as Travis gently lowered him to the nearby couch. He collapsed onto it with a dramatic sigh and chugging a glass of water like it was the elixir of life.
Leo grinned and teased. "Maybe you should add 'graceful landing' to the checklist."
"I'll add that right after 'don't panic in midair' and 'don't let your eight-year-old be right again,'" Tony replied, wiping his brow.
Valeria stepped over, her tablet in hand. "Okay, jokes aside, the problem's in the thrust-to-weight ratio again. I think the balance calibrator's still off by a fraction."
"Fraction?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow.
Leo looked at the readings too. "Hmm… Maybe it's the boot accelerators? The impulse is kicking in too fast."
Tony nodded, fingers tapping the side of his temple. "Could be. Or maybe the dampeners are misaligned. They did shift a little after last night's tweak."
"Or," Valeria said, walking up to the whiteboard and scribbling quickly, "maybe it's the central processor lag. There's a micro-delay between your neural feedback and the thruster's reaction."
Tony paused, staring at her equation. Then his eyes lit up.
"You little genius. That's actually… brilliant."
Valeria beamed. "I do try."
Tony stood, already unstrapping the forearm gauntlets. "Alright, kids. Back to the drawing board."
Leo shut off the camera with a smirk. "You're lucky you have us."
Tony winked. "Luck? Nah. It's all part of the plan."
Valeria giggled. "Sure. Plan for faceplant testing."
#
Time: 27th of March,2004.
Location: Same.
#
Basement 1 buzzed with quiet energy. Panels hummed, servo-motors clicked, and mechanical arms carefully latched the final plates onto Tony Stark's Mark I suit. The polished chrome finish reflected the overhead lights like silver lightning. The faceplate snapped shut with a hiss.
"Jarvis," Tony said, voice muffled through the helmet, "status update."
"Power core at 93% capacity. Boot calibration optimal. Altitude thruster sensitivity remains within tolerable margins," Jarvis replied smoothly.
Tony's HUD flickered to life, overlaying data streams across his vision. His gaze scanned the basement, locking briefly onto Leo and Valeria standing near the main console.
Leo, holding a tablet linked to the suit's systems, looked up and gave a sharp thumbs-up. Valeria, decked in her oversized goggles and a white lab coat that reached past her knees, gave an excited wave, her eyes sparkling behind thick lenses.
Tony's heart swelled a little. "Well," he said with a grin behind the mask, "I think it's time to take this baby for a ride."
"Sir," Jarvis interrupted, "May I remind you that the outdoor propulsion data remains incomplete. Initiating flight protocols before finishing the walking subroutines is statistically—"
"Sometimes" Tony cut in, voice cheeky, "You gotta learn to run before you can walk."
Leo raised a brow. "I actually agree with you, Dad."
Tony gave him a mock salute in appreciation.
"But," Leo added, narrowing his eyes, "Don't try breaking any altitude records unless you want your suit to break you."
Tony coughed, suddenly turning to the side as if the wall was extremely interesting. "Pfft. Who'd do that?"
"Not you, obviously," Leo said, shaking his head. "You'd never do something reckless and over-the-top."
"Of course not," Tony replied, clearly trying to sound innocent.
Valeria was clutching her stomach trying not to laugh too much.
Tony gave a final check. "Alright. Let's see what these thrusters can really do."
He lowered himself slightly, fingers clenched, and with a steady burst of energy, the thrusters ignited. Blue-white light flared from his boots and gloves. Slowly, Tony lifted off the ground, hovering above the floor with perfect balance.
"Garage door, Jarvis."
"Opening now, sir."
The large metal panels of the garage door peeled open, revealing the twilight sky beyond. With a subtle tilt forward, Tony blasted out, slicing through the air like a silver comet.
Leo stared after him, the echo of the thrusters fading into the distance. His face tightened slightly.
Valeria noticed. "You've got that same look my mom gets whenever my dad tries to test one of his experiments next to the kitchen."
Leo blinked and turned toward her. "Let me guess… it exploded once?"
"Once?" Valeria gave him a dry look. "Try four times."
Leo chuckled. "Yup. Definitely sounds like something uncle Reeds would do."
He sighed dramatically and placed a hand over his chest. "Us children have to take care of our reckless, overgrown parents."
Valeria giggled and nodded. "It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it."
She quickly turned away, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as her cheeks flushed pink. Maybe one day, I will marry Leo.. she thought. Then immediately shook her head. Nope! Don't think like that! Bad Valeria!
Leo, oblivious to Valeria's dilemma, was already focused on the screen where Jarvis constantly gave an update.
#
High above the coast of Malibu, Tony soared. The suit responded to his every motion with precision and grace. The ocean glistened below him, waves crashing in hypnotic rhythm. A distant ferris wheel spun lazily, its lights twinkling in the dusk.
"Whoo!" Tony shouted, spinning mid-air like a triumphant missile. " Now— This is living!"
He adjusted his angle and started climbing, higher and higher into the sky.
"Sir," Jarvis's voice came in, clipped and urgent, "at current velocity and altitude, you are approaching the icing threshold."
Tony paused, glancing at the temperature readings.
"Icing?" he muttered. "Already?"
"I recommend returning to lower altitude before the suit's surface integrity becomes compromised."
He hesitated. The thrill of breaking boundaries teased at him.
But then Leo's voice echoed in his mind—Don't try breaking any altitude records...
Tony sighed. "Alright, alright. No world records today."
With a smooth pivot, he leveled out and began his descent, the Malibu coastline coming back into view.
"Let's head home, Jarvis."
"Very well, sir."
##
Time: April 2nd, 2004
Location: Outer Space, Aboard Marvel
##
"Stabilizing orbit… now." Ben Grimm's gruff voice came through the intercom. "We're locked in, folks. Anchoring procedure successful. Cosmic storm's holding its path—right where we expected it."
From the main viewport of the Marvel, the swirling colors of the cosmic storm painted the void with strokes of violet, gold, and deep blue. Like a living aurora, it pulsed against the black canvas of space, circling the outer edge of Saturn's orbit.
"Good job, Ben," Reed Richards said, fingers flying across a control panel. "Prepare the ion field stabilizers. We don't want any stray particles slipping through."
"Already on it, Stretch," Ben replied, cracking his knuckles as he adjusted the stabilizers from his side of the deck.
Reed turned toward Susan Storm, who was guiding power flow to the radiation sensors. "Susan, do we have life support isolated from the sensor grid?"
"Affirmative. All environmental systems are sealed and synced," Susan answered, her blonde hair tied back in a practical ponytail as she scanned the diagnostics.
"Perfect. Victor?" Reed looked across the main terminal.
Victor Von Doom was already at work, fingers dancing with sharp precision over the arcane-like holographic interface. "Initiating spectral analysis matrix and quantum filtration layers. Try not to fry the sensors this time, Richards."
Reed smirked. "We're not at college anymore, Doom. These systems actually work."
"Only because I helped design them," Victor muttered, eyes never leaving the readings.
Susan smiled, brushing a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. " But it does Feel like college again. You, me, and Victor staying up all night running test batches. And Tony blowing up the east lab with because he accidentally mixed some chemicals with alcohol."
Victor snorted. "If Stark had spent half as much time working as he did charming interns and showing off, we'd have had the portal gate operational before graduation."
Reed chuckled. "Come on, Victor. Even if Tony had focused, we didn't have the materials. The power grid alone would've collapsed the moment we activated the vortex core."
Victor didn't argue, but his expression stiffened. He knew Reed was right. Still, he didn't like being reminded of limits. Especially not ones from the past.
But he still muttered, "We were so close."
"Too close," Susan added, peering at the storm. "Let's make sure this research doesn't end with the lab catching fire like last time."
A soft chuckle went around the command deck.
The ship hummed as internal mechanisms activated. External arms extended from the hull, gathering particle samples and mapping gravitational fluctuations. The Marvel was alive—humming like a giant metal heartbeat in the middle of space.
Reed tapped his chin, frowning at a cluster of readings on his monitor. "Hmm…"
Susan noticed the shift in his expression. "What is it?"
"There's something... odd," Reed murmured. "In the storm's core. There's a concentrated heat signature, far more intense than anything we predicted. Right at the center."
Victor leaned over, eyes narrowing. "Let me see."
Reed pulled up the visual overlay. The swirling storm condensed on the screen, and in the core—barely distinguishable—was a shape. Brilliant, molten, alive.
Victor tilted his head. "It's probably just a heat flare caused by particle fusion. Maybe space dust compressing under magnetic pressure. Log it and move on."
Susan squinted at the screen. "It looks… like a bird. Doesn't it?"
Reed stared. The shape seemed almost deliberate—outstretched wings, fire-like tail trailing behind it.
"Maybe a falcon." Susan continued.
"More like an eagle." Reed said softly.
Victor shook his head. "You're both seeing patterns where there are none. The human brain tries to assign meaning to chaos. It's a flare. Nothing more."
Still, Reed hesitated. His fingers hovered above the console.
"Reed?" Susan asked gently.
He finally sighed and nodded. "Right. Probably a coincidence."
He already begun checking up on others.
#
Outside the ship, the cosmic storm roared silently. Particles danced like stardust in a sea of flame. In its heart, the heat signature remained steady… no, not steady.
It moved.
Ever so slightly, the glowing shape tilted its head. A faint ripple pulsed outward from the center, unnoticed by sensors.
From within the cosmic storm, Something watched with intrigued.
#
Time: April 4th, 2004
Location: Still in Space.
#
Outside the Marvel, Ben Grimm floated against the backdrop of stars, tethered by a steel-braided cable. A heavy-duty wrench was in his grip, tightening a panel on the external stabilizer.
"Grimm to base. Leo's little bots couldn't handle this part—guess I'm still the muscle even in zero-g," Ben muttered through his comm, a grin tugging at his lips.
Inside the ship, Reed, Susan, and Victor were reviewing data near the control hub when a harsh, shrieking alarm cut through the air.
Reed looked up, eyes narrowing. "What the...?"
Susan turned to the main monitor. "All sensors just spiked—energy flux, gravitational pulses… it's everywhere!"
Victor's hands blurred across the interface, pulling up a live readout. "It's the storm."
Reed's brow furrowed deeper. "It's shifted. It's moving—toward us."
"I'm aware," Victor said gravely.
Susan paled. "Ben's still out there!"
Reed didn't hesitate. "Opening comms." He tapped a holographic panel. "Ben! Get back inside, now! The storm's changed course—it's heading straight for us."
Ben's voice crackled through the speaker. "Say again?"
"I said move it!" Reed barked.
Ben immediately dropped his tools and turned toward the hatch. "I'm on it."
The stars began to vanish behind a creeping wave of swirling fire and energy. The cosmic storm, like a wall of living color, surged forward in complete silence—until it wasn't.
A sudden jolt rocked the ship.
"Gravitational pressure rising!" Victor called. "Brace for impact!"
Outside, just as Ben reached for the outer handle, the storm crashed into the Marvel like a silent tsunami. Ben was slammed against the hull. A loud metallic clang echoed through his suit speakers. His helmet struck the outer door hard. Cracks webbed across the visor.
"Ben!" Reed shouted, watching his vitals spike.
"I—!" Ben began, but the comms cut to static.
"Comm line's dead," Susan said, voice tense.
"Cameras!" Reed ordered, already pulling up exterior feeds.
The image loaded: Ben floating, limp, his body tethered but drifting. The cracked visor glinted in the artificial lighting of the ship, flickering red alerts echoing around them.
Susan's breath caught. "We have to get him."
Victor stared at the screen, then at the storm raging around them. "If we open the bay now, the ship will be exposed. It's too risky."
Susan spun toward him, eyes blazing. "How can you say that? He'll die!"
Victor held her gaze, voice cool. "I'm stating the reality. Charging into a cosmic storm could take out the entire ship."
"And doing nothing might kill him anyway!" she snapped.
A moment of silence.
Then a blur rushed past the doorway.
"Johnny!" Reed called after him.
The younger Storm was already halfway to the space bay, pulling on a flight suit. "I'm going. Someone's gotta be the reckless hero around here."
Victor turned. "Are you absolutely certain—"
"I don't need your permission!" Johnny shouted back, strapping on his oxygen gear.
Victor watched him go, then exhaled through his nose. "Of course."
Susan didn't look at him. Her eyes were locked on Ben's vitals, flickering with yellow warnings. "Just bring him back, Johnny…" she whispered.
Victor lingered by the control panel for a moment longer, then stepped back. "I'll stabilize the ship," he said to Reed quietly.
Reed didn't look away from the monitors. His hands were already moving, deactivating non-essential systems. "No worries," he said, focused. "Let's keep this ship alive until they're both back."
#
Victor Doom stormed down the hallway, gritting his teeth. Surrounded by Mary Sues. he scoffed internally. Running headlong into chaos like it's some noble act...
His thoughts were interrupted by a thunderous jolt that slammed him into the corridor wall. He groaned, clutching his side as warning lights painted the hallway red. The ship AI's mechanical voice echoed ominously:
"Impact detected. Outer hull breach. Source: minor asteroid collision."
Victor pushed himself upright, wincing. His eyes caught a faint mist hissing through the metallic seam of the corridor wall—cosmic gas.
"Damn it…" he muttered, moving toward the pilot room with renewed urgency.
#
Johnny clutched Ben's motionless body, his arms wrapped around his rocky frame as they drifted back toward the airlock.
"Almost there," he whispered over and over, heart pounding in his ears. Ben's cracked helmet was fogging, his vitals flickering dangerously low.
The storm howled silently around them, a river of color and chaos.
Johnny reached the outer bay. The moment they crossed the threshold, the doors slammed behind them with a hiss. He dropped to his knees, panting, the chamber bathing in an eerie orange glow as containment protocols activated.
"We made it," he gasped, grinning faintly. "We—"
An explosion ripped through the chamber behind him.
Flames surged forward, devouring the air. Johnny's scream was lost in the chaos as fire swallowed his silhouette. The blast shook the ship to its core.
#
Reed Richards clung to a support beam as the ship was tossed again by the storm's invisible fists. A fresh alert lit the command screen:
"Warning: Hull integrity compromised. Section D-5 breached."
Reed's heart stopped. His eyes darted to the layout—D-5 was the airlock where Johnny and Ben had entered.
Susan looked up, sensing his horror. "Reed? What is it? What happened?"
Reed's voice was low, hollow. "The asteroid... it struck the section where Ben and Johnny just came in."
Susan's breath hitched. "What...?" She clutched Reed's arms. "You're saying they're gone?"
He didn't answer. Just a slow, grim nod.
Susan's strength buckled. She collapsed into Reed's chest, sobbing uncontrollably as the ship groaned around them. Reed held her tightly, grief silently wracking his face.
Then the AI voice returned.
"Critical Alert: Atmospheric contamination detected. Cosmic gas infiltration confirmed. Oxygen levels dropping."
Reed and Susan froze.
They gasped as they noticed it—their breathing was already labored. Reed checked the panel again. The ship's oxygen had begun to fall.
He glanced at Susan, then at the alert. Is this how it ends? he wondered. Not with discovery... but with silence?
A soft chime interrupted his thoughts.
"Autopilot sequence engaged. Return trajectory locked. Destination: Earth."
Reed's blurry vision widened. "Victor…?" he whispered.
But before the thought could form, his knees gave out. Susan slumped beside him. The air grew thick, glittering faintly with cosmic haze.
The control room dimmed as the two fell unconscious, the hiss of leaking gas the only sound.
But soon there was another sound. The sound of rapid mechanical thuds approaching the control room.
#
Blood streamed from Victor Von Doom's eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. Every breath was fire in his lungs. Every step was agony.
He staggered through the flickering corridor, the walls tilting slightly as gravity wavered. His vision blurred—red-tinted and doubling—but his will pressed him forward.
Is this how it ends? he wondered. After everything...?
But then a fire lit inside him.
A deep, consuming rage.
No.
Memories crashed over him—of his escape from Latveria, broken and disgraced… of every moment clawing his way back from ruin… of sleepless nights and ruthless choices made in pursuit of something greater. Of power earned through pain.
His pride ignited like dry kindling.
I refuse.
Teeth clenched, Victor pushed forward. He would not fall here. He would not be outdone. Not by fate. Not by weakness.
The pilot room doors hissed open.
He stumbled in and dropped into the main seat, his trembling fingers dancing across the console. Each movement was pain, but precision guided him. He fed commands into the system, syncing with the ship's AI. Activating Leo's emergency protocol.
The console blinked.
"Autopilot engaged. Emergency Protocol: 'Fantastic Rescue' initiated. Clogging FTL Engine on Overdrive. Warning it will cause massive strains on The FTL engine. Estimated time to reach Earth has shortened to 8 days from the initial 30 days . Deploying Rescue Droids. Please stand by."
Victor leaned back, gasping, blood drying on his face. The ship steadied as the engines realigned. The AI took over.
Stillness returned.
He stared at the ceiling, the tremors in his body finally slowing. And through gritted teeth, in a voice thick with exhaustion and defiance, he whispered:
"I am Victor Von Doom… and only I decide when it's time for my demise."
The lights dimmed.
And for a moment, the stars outside the pilot window flickered as if acknowledging the man who refused to yield.
###
Word count: 3408.
Author's note:
You expected Tony to say "I am iron man" But I expected your expectations so behold! My uno reverse scenerio.
Fun fact, this very reason of trying to ensure they get their powers on 4th day of the 4th month of 2004 actually caused this whole timeline to shift from the MCU. It was one of the first changes that made me go "Huh, This is more interesting than the MCU."
So I hope it was satisfying. My favorite chapter so far tbh. So I hope everyone liked it. If I am not tired, I will upload a second chapter today as well.
Anyways, One of the comments, I forgot which chapter but they mentioned why not let Leo have them all (They wanted the fanfic to be a harem). I told them it's not reasonably possible but my mind still wondered if I could make it work.
Then I thought of a possible way but I don't know if I should implement it. Now I need to seriously consider this, In order to avoid writing unnecessary stuff in the future.
So I need everyone's feedback. Please read everything before deciding. If I should or if I shouldn't.
The idea is to let certain love interests fall in love with Leo due to his actions that charmed them. The love would gradually grow to an infatuated level where they couldn't think of a life without Leo. They would at first be odds at each other, all trying to gain Leo's love. Then via some life trials they would gradually grow as friends before eventually becoming best friends where they wouldn't mind sharing Leo.
Leo might be a genius but that doesn't mean he was a genius in romance stuff. To him their love is merely a phase that they will eventually drop after a period of time. Basically he thinks they are all just fangirls who would eventually lose interest in him. So he wouldn't try to accept their love and avoid it, especially since he knows most of the love stories in the marvel comics seems to end in such a tragic way. He was cautious around the topic of love in marvel.
He would at most, treat them as close friends. Then eventually he realizes he has some feelings for each of them but Leo doesn't have any reason to think he could build a harem. So he would merely probe each of them to see what they think of him. Unaware that actually pushed them to try harder to gain his love because they finally managed to get Leo's interest.
Leo would then realize every single one of them have feelings for him. Knowing the dangerous situation he was in. He immediately told every single of them that he was not gonna consider any of them as potential love interests anymore to maintain their current relationship. He would do this by gathering them all together. Unaware they were all aware about each other's intention and they were already quite close to reach other.
This pivotal moment is when they would express themselves completely. Leaving Leo stunned and suspicious if someone was mind controlling them. After realizing and confirming that they are safe. He would first be hesitant since he still thinks a harem is unrealistic. But after they convinced him, he would decide to give it a try.
That is the most ideal way, I could think of implementing a "harem" for Leo. If the idea is too forced and far fetched. I won't implement. But if the is good then I will try it.
if this idea does get implemented then Wanda and Valeria is probably two of the candidates while a final third candidate could be selected. If you approve of this idea then suggest it a candidate or otherwise let me know why you rejected this idea as it will help me better understand the reader's perspective for my future fanfics.
If majority dislikes this Harem idea I proposed then I will most likely go with Valeria love route. Unless a better candidate is suggested.