To Infinity and Beyond

Amy just finished packing her bags when somebody knocked on her hotel room door. Sighing, she went to answer it surprised to see one of her old pupils. "Nick."

Nick Fury smirked, seeing her packed bags. "Going somewhere?"

"Yep. Home. To New York. I figured you're here for damage control?" 

"I am...You weren't supposed to use your powers." 

"Tony Stark isn't supposed to be an asshole in a weaponized metal suit, but here we are. Don't worry. Amelia Coulson will have a tragic accident, and I'll just be somebody else again. Maybe I can go back to Natural History in another 25 years. Spend some time in Egypt for a bit. They got pretty cool stuff there."

"That won't be necessary. Tony Stark is dying." 

Amy froze, dropping the folded jeans on her bed. "Is that why you sent Nat?" 

"Yeah. We needed to know how serious the situation was. I'm actually on my way over to him now."

"What do you want me to do here, Nick?"

"I want you to stop running."

Amy let out a bitter laugh. "Running? All I've ever done is run. I ran after my brother and my boyfriend and they both died. I joined SHIELD because Howard asked me to. He's dead. My hands are clean."

"They're not. You care. I know you do. You care about Stark, Barton, Coulson, and Romanoff...Hell, you even care about me." 

"What's the use of caring when I have to watch everybody I love and care about die?" Amy whispered, sitting down on the bed. 

"Amelia," Nick sighed, sitting next to her. "You told me a long time ago that you promised your brother and your boyfriend that you would keep living. Having social interactions and friends...That's living. That's why you always get us gifts for the holidays and birthdays...why you're the godmother of Barton's kids. Stark needs help...He needs your help."

"He needs Howard's help," Amy corrected him. 

"You're the closest thing he got to his old man. Somewhere, I sure he remembers you. Just think about it. If you still want to leave, then I won't stop you." 

Amy watched him leave, screaming into her pillow as a million decisions ran through her head. 

Tony woke up disoriented, high above the ground. Realizing he was in a giant donut, he shrugged. "Sir! I’m gonna have to ask you to exit the doughnut," Fury ordered. 

Tony sighed, flying down. "I told you I don’t wanna join your super-secret boy band," Tony told the Director of SHIELD, his head pounding. He was sitting inside the diner, across from the eye-patch wearing man. 

"No, no, no. See, I remember, you do everything yourself. How’s that working out for you?" 

"It’s...It’s...It’s...I’m sorry. I don’t wanna get off on the wrong foot. Do I look at the patch or the eye? Honestly I’m a bit hung over. I’m not sure if you’re real of if I’m having..." 

"I am very real. I’m the realest person you’re ever gonna meet." 

Tony groaned. "Just my luck. Where’s the staff here?" 

Fury ignored him, indicating to his chest. "That’s not looking so good." 

"I’ve been worse."

"We’ve secured the perimeter but I don’t think we should hold it for too much longer," Natasha said, coming over to the table. 

Tony gawked as 'Natalie' came over, wearing a skin-tight black jumpsuit. "You’re fired." 

Natasha smiled, sitting down next to Fury. "That’s not up to you." 

"Tony, I want you to meet Agent Romanoff." 

"Hi." 

"I’m a SHIELD shadow. Once we knew you were ill, I was tasked to you by Director Fury." 

"I suggest you apologise." 

"You’ve been very busy. You made your girl your CEO, you’re giving away all your stuff. You let your friend fly away with your suit. Now, if I didn’t know better..." 

Tony glared. "You don’t know better. I didn’t give it to him. He took it." 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. He took it? You’re Iron Man and he just took it? The little brother walked in there, kicked your ass and took your suit?" He turned to Natasha. "Is that possible?" 

"Well, according to Mr Stark’s database security guidelines, there are redundancies to prevent unauthorised usage." 

"What do you want from me?" 

"What do we want from you? What do you want from me?" Natasha got up, leaving. "You have become a problem, a problem I have to deal with. Contrary to your belief, you are not the centre of my universe. I have bigger problems than you in the southwest region to deal with." Natasha returned with an injection. "Hit him." 

Natasha stuck the needle in his neck, and pushed the plunger. "Oh, God, are gonna steal my kidney and sell it?" Tony was surprised to see the angry looking rash lessen. "Could you please not do anything awful for five seconds? What did she just do to me?" 

"What did we just do for you? That’s lithium dioxide. It’s gonna take the edge off. We’re trying to get you back to work." 

"Give me a couple of boxes of that. I’ll be right as rain."

Natasha sighed. "It’s not a cure, it just abates the symptoms." 

"Doesn’t look like it’s gonna be an easy fix." 

"Trust me, I know. I’m good at this stuff. I’ve been looking for a suitable replacement for palladium. I’ve tried every combination, every permutation of every known element." 

"Well, I’m here to tell you, you haven’t tried them all."

An hour later, Tony was back in his wrecked home. "That thing in your chest is based on unfinished technology." 

"No, it was finished. It has never been particularly effective until I miniaturised it and put it in my..."

"No. Howard said the arc reactor was the stepping stone to something greater. He was about to kick off an energy race that was gonna dwarf the arms race. He was on to something big, something so big that it was gonna make the nuclear reactor look like a triple-A battery." 

"Just him, or Anton Vanko in on this too?" 

"Anton Vanko is the other side of that coin. Anton saw it as a way to get rich. When your father found out, he had him deported. When the Russians found out he couldn’t deliver they shipped his ass off to Siberia and he spent the next 20 years in a vodka-fuelled rage. Not quite the environment you want to raise a kid in, the son you had the misfortune of crossing paths with in Monaco." 

"You told me I hadn’t tried everything. What do you mean I haven’t tried everything? What haven’t I tried?" 

"He said that you were the only person with the means and knowledge to finish what he started." 

Tony looked surprised. "He said that?" 

"Are you that guy? Are you? ‘Cause if you are, then you can solve the riddle of your heart." 

"I don’t know where you get your information, but he wasn’t my biggest fan." 

"What do you remember about your dad?" 

"He was cold, he was calculating. He never told me he loved me. He never even told me he liked me, so it’s a little tough for me to digest when you’re telling me he said the whole future was riding on me and he’s passing it down. I don’t get that. You’re talking about a guy who’s happiest day was when he shipped me off to boarding school. I only had two people who cared about and that was my mom and my aunt." 

"That’s not true." 

"Well, then, clearly you knew my dad better than I did." 

"As a matter of fact, I did. He was one of the founding members of SHIELD." 

Tony looked even more surprised. "What?"

"I got a two o’clock." Fury headed to the door. 

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. What’s this?" 

"Okay, you’re good, right?" 

"No, I’m not good." 

"You got this? Right? Right?" 

Tony scoffed, very confused. "Got what? I don’t even know what I’m supposed to get!" 

"Natasha will remain a floater at Stark with her cover intact. You remember Agent Coulson, right?"

Phil Coulson stepped out, very tired from his trip from New Mexico to California. At least he would see Amy while he was here. 

Tony sighed. "Yeah." 

"And Tony, remember, I got my eye on you," Fury left, leaving Tony alone with the two SHIELD agents.  [Fury leaves]

"We’ve disabled all communications. No contact with the outside world. Good luck," Nat told Phil, leaving him alone with the billionaire. 

:Please. First thing, I need a little bodywork. I’ll put in a little time at the lab. If we could send one of your goon squad down to The Coffee Bean, Cross Creek, for a Starbucks run, or something like that, that’d be nice." 

"I’m not here for that. I’ve been authorised by Director Fury to use any means necessary to keep you on premises. If you attempt to leave or play any games, I will tase you and watch Supernanny while you drool into the carpet. Okay?" Phil asked, texting Amy. 

"I think I got it, yeah." 

"Enjoy your evening’s entertainment." He left to explore the mansion while Tony looked at the box that Fury left for him. Taking the box, he found some old tapes, putting one in. He looked at some old blueprints while the videos played in the background. 

"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. City of the Future? City of Tomorrow? City of..." Another video played. "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...Tony, what are you doing back there?" Tony looked up at the screen. "What is that?" Tony watched himself innocently picked up one of the buildings off the model. "Put that back. Put it back where you got it from. Where’s your mother? Maria?" A middle aged man came and picked up Tony, leaving. "Go on. Go, go, go, go." 

"Howard...He wasn't doing anything bad," a female voice called in the background. Tony leaned forward. He knew that voice. It wasn't his mother's but it was his aunt. She wasn't really his aunt, but she was the closest thing he had to one. His godmother. She dropped out of his life when he was thirteen. Tony paid closer attention, flipping through his father's notes. 

"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 was...Everything is achievable through technology." Tony reached the end of the notebook that held blank pages. causing him to toss it away.

"This is ridiculous," Howard sighed, staring at the camera. 

"Just say what's in your heart and let's go get cake! It's your son's birthday!" the same woman ordered. The pieces fell into place as Amy walked onto the screen, wearing jeans and a sweater. Plopping herself down on his desk, she stole his glass of whiskey, chugging it down. It all made sense. He swore he'd seen Amy before. He always remembered his Aunt Amelia who his dad always called Starshine. She was always at every birthday and holiday. She vanished when he was thirteen, but he always remembered her. He then recalled seeing her at every Stark Expo throughout the years and at the hospital when his parents died. 

"I don't know what to say," Howard sighed.  

"I'll go. Tony, this is your Aunt Amelia. Happy birthday, kiddo! You're the smartest person I know. Just remember, when you are all grown up, treat a lady right. And don't be a womanizer like your dad was." 

"Hey!" 

"Shush! You'll get your turn. One day, you'll probably wonder why I don't get old like your dad. It's because I'm awesome. My gift to you is my ever-growing knowledge. I'll always be there for you, kid." 

Howard smiled and looked at the camera. "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 realize that it represents a whole lot more than just people’s inventions. It represents my life’s work. 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."

Amy was about to get in the taxi when another car showed up. Amy froze, seeing Tony roll down the window. "Get in." 

Amy scoffed. "I'm not going anywhere with you. I'm going home...To New York." 

"Aunt Amy..." Tony pleaded, causing Amy to freeze and turn around. "I need your help...Please." 

Amy waved the taxi away and turned towards Tony. "Damn it, kid..." Amy placed her suitcase in his trunk and got in the passenger seat. "How did you figure it out?"

"Nick Fury left some tapes...You were in most of them in the background."

"Nick's a nosy bastard," Amy sighed as Tony headed to the highway. 

"I still don't get it. You were always this larger-than-life person from my past. Then one day you were gone. And you still look good for being how old?"

"Don't be an ass," Amy growled. "Back in WWII, I was working with an archeologist as a student and I got in over my head. It was the height of the war. Women back then couldn't get far. My boyfriend joined the way, and I got recruited by my professor. I found a glowing cube called the Tesseract in Norway and touched it as Johann Schmidt came to grab it. I got powers. I can manipulate this blue energy...it can power weapons, and I can use it to turn myself invisible and teleport. I can also control electronic devices. But I haven't aged a day back then." 

"Why did you leave me? I needed you." 

"Your dad and I had a falling out. He was always working and I didn't like how he treated you. The final straw was when he sent you to boarding school. I guess I felt guilty."

"Why? It's not your fault Dad was a cold bastard."

"Those business trips your dad went on...Most of the time he was in the damn ocean trying to find my brother's body."

Tony blinked. "Your brother is..."

"Steve Rogers...Captain Steve Rogers. Captain America. Steve crashed into the ocean between London and New York. Your dad promised me he'd find his body. He never did. I took his passing hard. I don't think I ever fully recovered."

"You said you had a fiance..."

"He was Steve's best friend. James Buchannan Barnes, but everybody called him Bucky. He died also in the war. Losing Bucky was heart-wrenching, but losing both of them was worse. Your dad kept me together. He was my best friend. He gave me a share in Stark Industries to make sure I had money in my account. He made me promise to take care of you. That's why I always went to those Stark Expos. To make sure you were okay. I nearly went after you when you went missing in Iraq. I was at graduation from high school, and college, your first board meeting...I was actually in California for a vacation because Natasha dragged me." 

"You knew that Natalie wasn't really Natalie?" 

"Yep. She's probably one of my best friends. Coulson too. The point is Tony, I've been in your life longer than you knew. I went to France with you because I wanted to see what kind of man you became."

"A big disappointment." 

"No..." Amy chuckled. "A strong man with a really good heart. You're a hero, Tony. You're just having a midlife crisis." 

"More like an end-of-life crisis. What do I do know, Aunt Amy...God, that sounds weird. I'm just gonna call you, Amy. Maybe Starshine?"

"I hated that nickname. Still do." 

"What do I do now, Amy?"

"You stop being a spoiled child, and start being a man." 

"Does being a man involve me not escaping SHIELD?"

"You ran from SHIELD? Where are we going?"

"To buy strawberries. I like strawberries. And so does Pepper."

"Ah...You know girls like flowers." 

Tony didn't say anything, but stopped at a small shop. Amy sighed, getting out of the car and following him. "How much?" Tony asked in Spanish. 

"$6. Six," the vendor answered, also speaking in Spanish. 

"I don’t have any dough. Here." 

"You are a billionaire and you don't have your wallet on you?" Amy scoffed as Tony took off his watch. "Stop!"

The Strawberry Man shook his head, eyes wide as Tony continued to try and offer his watch. "No, sir, that’s too much." 

"No, it’s fine. Take that. It’s fine" 

"No, señor." 

"Take it. Take it. I don’t like people handing me things. If you just drop that there, that’d be great." 

Amy took the strawberries, following Tony out the door. "Are you Iron Man?" the Strawberry Man asked. 

"Sometimes," Tony shrugged. 

"We believe in you!" 

"You're exhausting," Amy confessed, looking at Tony. 

Tony simply smirked. "I hear that a lot."

"Funny thing is that I used to say that to your dad." Amy looked out the window as the Tony drove to the HQ of Stark Enterprise.

"It was an illegal seizure of trademark property," Pepper said to the partner on the phone as Amy followed Tony in. 

"Miss Potts?" her PA warned. 

Tony rolled his eyes. "Relax." 

"Mr. Stark-" 

"Is here." 

"He refuses-" 

"I don’t. It’s fine. I’ll just be a second."

Pepper could feel a migraine coming on. First from the heat that the company was taking, and second was the fact that Tony was here. "Listen, it’s our position that Stark has and continues to maintain propriety ownership of the Mark II platform." 

"When Mr Stark announced he was indeed Iron Man, he was making a promise to America." 

"No, the suit belongs to us." 

"We trusted that he would look out for us." 

"Yeah, but you’re not-" 

"He obviously did not."

Pepper squeezed her eyes shut, her headache worsening. "Burt..." 

"And now we learn that his secretary-" 

"Yes, it does." 

"...a woman named Virginia 'Pepper' Potts, has been appointed as CEO of Stark Industries. What are her qualifications?" 

Pepper whimpered as the news reporter continued to bad mouth her and Stark Industries. She felt like she was failing, something she's never done before. "News reporter: Miss Potts has done nothing to manage this terrible..."

"Mute," Tony told the TV, muting the news. 

"No...Burt...Burt...Burt, listen to me. Don’t tell me that we have the best patent lawyers in the country and then not let me pursue this!" 

Tony went to the boxes that SHIELD gave him, looking for something. "Make yourself useful. You know Dad better than me."

"You're an ass, you know that?" Amy growled, digging through the boxes. "What exactly am I looking for?"

"Anything that details an Arc Reactor. I don't want to die, Amy. Just look for something that can save my life." 

Pepper glared at the couple as they shuffled around. "I'll get this stuff out of here," Tony volunteered as Pepper glared at him. 

"Well, then, tell the President to sign an order. We’ll talk about it at the Expo."

"Tony, look," Amy said, pulling a sheet back as she recognized what Howard was working on so long ago. She could almost see it. Her lounging next to his workbench as he worked day and night when she would come over. Most times before they parted, she would just come over because she hated being alone. "He would work on this day in and day out. This was one of his greatest projects. That and a flying car that crashed." 

"Hammer’s giving some presentation tomorrow evening. Will Tony Stark be there?" Pepper asked. 

Tony pulled out a chair, sitting down. "Will I?" 

"No, he will not. Bye." 

"I would like to be. Got a minute?" 

"No." 

"Come on, you just got off the phone. You’re fine. 30 seconds," Tony pleaded. 

Pepper huffed, and started to count down. "Twenty-nine Twenty-eight." 

"I was just driving over here, and I thought I was coming to basically apologise, but I’m not." 

"God, your an asshole," Amy muttered under her breath. 

Pepper just balked. "You didn’t come here to apologise?"

"Look, that goes without saying, and I’m working on that. But I haven’t been entirely upfront with you, and I just want to try to make good. Can I move this? This is crazy. It’s like a Ferris wheel, going. I’m trying to get some-" 

"No." 

"Do you know how short life is? And if I never got to express...And by the way, this is somewhat revelatory to me. And I don’t care...I mean, I care. It would be nice. I’m not expecting you to..." Tony was getting flustered, his face burning. He felt like a total chump. "Look, here’s what I’m trying to say. I’m just gonna say it." 

"Let me stop you right here, okay? Because if you say 'I' one more time, I’m gonna actually hurl something at your head, I think. I am trying to run a company. Do you have any idea what that entails?!' 

Tony nodded his head. "Yes." 

"People are relying on you to be Iron Man and you’ve disappeared, and all I’m doing is putting out your fires and taking the heat of it. I am trying to do the job that you were meant to do. Did you bring me strawberries? Did you know that there’s only one thing on Earth that I’m allergic to?"

Tony winced. "Allergic to strawberries. This is progress, Pepper. I knew there was a correlation between you and this." 

"I need you-" 

Tony fet his heart beat faster. "I need you too." 

Pepper glared at him. "...to leave now." 

"That’s what I’m trying to-"

Natasha came in, entering in front of Happy and interrupting their moment. "Ms. Potts?" 

"Hi, come on in," Pepper sighed, glad for the interruption. 

"Wheels up in 25 minutes." 

"Thank you." 

Happy looked over at Pepper. "Anything else, boss?" 

"I’m good, Hap," Tony called out. 

"No, I’ll be just another minute." 

"I lost both the kids in the divorce." Tony looked at Happy, who shook his head. "Are you blending in well here, Natalie? Here are Stark Enterprises? Your name is Natalie, isn’t it? I thought you two didn’t get along?" 

"Tony," Amy hissed, causing Pepper to glare daggers at her. 

"No. That’s not so." 

"It’s just me you don’t care for. No? Nothing?" 

"Actually, while you’re here maybe you and Natalie could discuss the matter of the personal belongings." 

Natasha smiled. "Absolutely." Pepper and Happy left, leaving the three others alone. "I’m surprised you can keep your mouth shut." 

"Boy, you’re good. You are mind-blowingly duplicitous. How do you do it? You just tear things...You’re a triple imposter! I’ve never seen anything like you. Is there anything real about you? Do you even speak Latin?" 

Amy and Natasha shared a secret smile as Natasha said something in Latin to prove her point. 

"Which means? Wait. What? What did you just say?" Tony asked. 

"It means you can either drive yourself home or I can have you collected. See you later, Ames. Sorry you got dragged into this." 

"Bye, Nat," Amy waved. 

"You’re good," Tony called after her. "Seriously she's good."

"Thanks. I trained her myself."

"You were with SHIELD?"

"Your dad conned me into it. I have many personal pet projects in SHIELD. Natasha, Coulson, Fury..."

"You trained Eye-Patch? Has he always had the eye-patch?"

"Nope. Work incident." Tony nodded, looking at the model, covering one eye.

"Jarvis, could you kindly Vac-U-Form a digital wire frame? I need a manipulatable projection," Tony asked as he and Amy were back in his workshop. 

"1974 Stark Expo model scan complete, sir." 

Tony lifted the projection up so he could see it better. "How many buildings are there?" 

"Am I to include the Belgium waffle stands?" 

"That was rhetorical. Just show me." 

"How do I move it?" Amy asked, looking underneath the model. Tony snapped his fingers, causing it to spin and lift upright. "What does that look like to you?" Amy asked. 

Tony looked closer. "Not unlike an atom. In which case the nucleus would be here. Highlight the unisphere. Lose the footpaths. Get rid of them." 

"What is it you’re trying to achieve, sir?" 

"I’m discovering...Correction. We're rediscovering a new element, I believe."

"Whoa, wait. Lose the landscaping, the shrubbery, the trees," Amy murmured as she flicked things away.

Tony began to flick certain things away as well, both set of hands moving in perfect harmony. "Parking lots, exits, entrances. Structure the protons and the neutrons using the pavilions as a framework." 

"Howard..." Amy breathed out, seeing the finished product.

"Dad," Tony breahted out as well, enlarging the projection. "Dead for almost 20 years, and still taking me to school."

Tony snapped it down so the model fit in his hand. "The proposed element should serve as a viable replacement for palladium." 

"Thanks, Dad." 

"Unfortunately, it is impossible to synthesise." 

"Then I guess, we're gonna have to build it ourselves," Amy declared, seeing Tony nod. 

"Get ready for a major remodel, fellas. We’re back in hardware mode." 

Something about breaking things with a sledge hammer was therapeutic. "So, what have you been doing these past years?" Tony asked, drilling holes in the floor. He now wore a black wife beater and a pair of jeans while Amy wore a old t-shirt and jeans. 

"Well, traveling, finding lost artificats and skeletons. Working with SHIELD as a consultant. I do work at the Natural History as a curator by the way. To the world, Amelia Rogers died many years ago in a freak accident. Your dad made it happen. Every so years I'll have to leave and lay low. I usually go travel while SHIELD makes me a new identity."

"Ever thought about coming out of closet?"

"Not really. When I became like this, I joined the Howling Commandos because I wanted to do something good. I was already invested because Schmidt was behind everything. I really hated that bastard. And then Steve and Bucky led the way, and when they lost them, I lost a part of myself. And then Howard died, and Peggy grew old. I just shut myself away. I don't really go out much unless its to the club or cocktail hour with Nat. Oh, I have a dog!"

Tony blinked. In some ways, Amy was like him. Sealing herself away from the outside world. She was jaded about the world. Having lived so many years, she had seen so many wars and pettiness. She didn't like people. She preferred to stay at home with Konstatine, watching Netflix or reading a good book. 

"You need to get out more."

"Why when everybody I like or care about will die eventually. That's one thing about me, Tony. I'm always alone." 

"Well, that's no way to live. Stick with me and we'll go tear up the town." 

"I heard you broke the perimeter," Phil commented, coming into the room. 

"Phil!" Amy squealed, rushing over to one of her favorite people. 

Tony noticed the way Amy's face lit up, thinking she wasn't as closed off as she wanted people to think. "Yeah. That was, like, three years ago. Where have you been?" 

Phil shrugged. "I was doing some stuff." 

"Yeah, well, me too and it worked. Hey, I’m playing for the home team Coulson, you and all your Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers. Now, are you gonna let me work or break my balls?" 

Phil sighed heavily in annoyance, as he dug through a box. "What’s this doing here?" 

Tony snapped, seeing the object. "That’s it. Bring that to me." 

"D you know what this is?" 

"It’s exactly what I need to make this work. Ames, come help me with this this."

Amy dropped the hammer, going over to lift the coil with Phil. "He calls you by your nickname?"

"Well, he is my godson. Lift the coil. Go, go. Put your knees into it. There you go. And...Drop it. Drop it." Amy dropped the shield over the coil, her hands stinging. "Perfectly level. We're busy. What do you want?" 

"Nothing. Goodbye. I’ve been reassigned. Director Fury wants me in New Mexico." 

"You're going back? What is it this time?" Amy asked. 

Phil shrugged. "I don't know. First was weird electric storms. Now it might be something different." 

"Fantastic. Land of Enchantment," Tony deadpanned. 

"So I’m told." 

"Secret stuff?" 

"Something like that. Good luck. Bye Ames." 

"Bye, Phil. Be safe," Amy told him, giving him a hug. 

"Bye. Thanks," Tony said, offering a hand. 

"We need you." 

"Yeah, more than you know." 

"Not that much," Phil smirked.

After Phil left, they went back to work. 

"Initialising prismatic accelerator," Tony said, turning a wheel on top. "Approaching maximum power." Amy watched as he used a wrench as a lever, the wheel is turned, but not before cutting holes in the wall. Amy watched as the ground glowed blue. "That was easy."

"It's so beautiful," Amy said, seeing the glowing blue triangle Tony removed using a pair of pilers. 

"Congratulations, sir. You have created a new element," JARVIS said, as Tony placed the triangle into the arc reactor.

"Correction, we created a new element," Amy corrected.

"Sir, the reactor has accepted the modified core. I will begin running diagnostics."