Chapter 9
Four weeks after Tony’s arc reactor was removed from his chest and he compressed it, so it laid flat on top of his chest, as if nothing had changed, weeks after he had comforted her after she had finally explained what had really happened on the battlefield, for the first time in his life, he heard a girlish squeal of fear from his wife.
“What is it?” he asked, rushing into their bedroom.
Her hands were still up in the position of where she usually had them when casting casual magic. He saw it was her usual health scan she did to everyone in her small family of three, at least once a week, often daily. There was a soft glow around her that said she was healthy, all except the swirling purple glow around her stomach. “What is it? Is purple for bruises?”
“No, and even if it were, not this distinctive purple.” she said in a daze. In shock, he realized.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
He lightly tapped her shoulder, slightly afraid of her non-reaction. What was it? What had happened that showed up on her medical scan? “Tony…” She started, then trailed off, her mouth forming words, but the rest of them coming out wordlessly.
“What is it”
“Tony, I’m pregnant.” She said, blinking herself out of her daze.
“Pregnant?” he double-checked.
“Pregnant.” she said. “Like when a man and a woman,”
“I got the talk already, thank you very much.” He rushed to cut her off.
“Well, I’m pregnant. Four weeks.”
“I’m going to be a dad?”
“Are you sure?’
“Sure about what?”
“That you want to be. I was thinking more along the lines of getting an abortion. It’s only 4 weeks, it’ll be legal everywhere.”
“Wait, an abortion?”
“Yeah.”
“I mean, I’m not against it on principle, but why would you want to get one? That’s for unwanted potential kids.”
“I’m not sure this is a good idea.”
“We’ve succeeded as much as parents can with Teddy. Why not have our own?”
“Well, the kid will be alive, I’m not worried about that. But my complicated genetics? Doing various insane shit is practically on the life to-do list for my family, not to mention the fact that, well, I’m half alien.”
“You told me.”
“Yeah, well, it turns out my father’s genetics are also a bunch of weird shit, including a blood adoption, and those aren’t done anymore. Haven’t been for an impossibly long time.”
“What’s that?”
“Blood of the parents and a potion to change the genetics of the child to make the child as if they were their biological child*, at least in part. I have the bloodlines of, well, my mother, who, as a muggleborn witch was essentially both human and witch, and my father, who has the bloodlines of the royalty of three different planets and therefore species, Jotun, Vanir, and Aesir, as well as three more different types of magic mixed in there.”
“That’s why you never let any of your blood escape your grasp.”
“I’m very dangerous, Tony.”
“So am I.”
“Not like you. There’s a reason in my father’s homeworld, it’s discouraged to have cross species relationships, and it’s not because the different species aren’t similar enough to safely interbreed. It’s for control. Unlike common mythologies, being half norse god and half witch, I have the strengths of both and a lot less of the weaknesses. I was born inherently stronger, magically and physically. I was born to be dangerous. Even without my immortality I would be very hard to kill and was geared to live, well, if she hadn’t been murdered, my mother would have lived for about two centuries, Professor Dumbledore died at 178 and it was no surprise he had lived that long. My father is well into his fifteenth century and looks to be far younger than you, at least last time I saw him when I was 10. My lifespan would have been 5 millenia at least, likely longer.”
“Whoa. And with the enhanced healing thing you gave me?”
“Around two centuries if nobody forces you to die first.”
“And Teddy?”
“Well his father had a bit of an extra enhancement on top of being a wizard, so for him, likely around two and a half or three centuries. Darcy is nearly impossible to kill, and has a lifespan of about 5 millenia, likely longer, it’s why I don’t coddle her and let her do the whole assassin spy thing she does.”
“And our kid?”
“I don’t know. Are you sure you want it?”
“Of course. I love Teddy, and I’ll love our kid. Do you? It’s your body, and just as much your kid if not more. Do you want it?”
“Him or her. Of course. I just wasn’t sure we wanted to…”
He just kissed her in response. “Now according to the internet I have to learn how to do foot rubs for when your stomach swells up to the size of a watermelon.”
“Don’t worry about that. It’s an old charm, basically a disguising charm layered with a feather-light charm and a space-folding enchantment. Until I am ready to pop our baby out or if I want the baby bump, I can make it so that it is as if it wasn’t there.”
“That is a life-changer.”
“Yeah. That it is.” she said, as it finally sunk in and she rubbed her stomach in wonder.