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The first sensation upon returning was one of profound dissonance. In the hibernation chamber, Aidan Parker's mind was a vast repository of knowledge—three years of surviving a corporate-fueled apocalypse, of mastering technologies that bordered on magic, of thinking and acting as a man in his thirties. But the body that awoke was that of a teenager. He felt the temporal whiplash, a dizzying vertigo as three years of lived experience crashed into a body that had only slept for two days. He sat up in the pod, looking at his own young hands, a strange feeling of disconnection rippling through him.
With a wave of his hand, the black microbot suit flowed off his body like liquid shadow, coalescing into two objects on the floor beside the pod: a palm-sized, pentagonal box and a square, silver fuse box containing the dormant neural-guided arrows.
He picked up the pentagonal box first. Pressing his thumb to its surface, he activated it with his fingerprint. A soft light emanated from within, and a holographic projection of a young girl in a red dress flickered into existence.
"...Mr. Morey," the AI said, her voice the calm, clinical tone of the Red Queen. "It is good to see you. Your appearance seems to have changed." She tilted her holographic head. "Your biological markers do not match my last scan. You have de-aged approximately two decades. Please explain this anomaly."
Aidan smiled. "A new world requires a new name, Ruby," he said, giving his AI her new designation. "And a new database." He picked up a network cable and plugged it into the box. "Connect to the local network. Allow full detection of this world's information and make adaptive changes to your programming. Your new home is here."
"Acknowledged," Ruby replied. Her projection flickered as she began to process terabytes of data, her programming rapidly rewriting itself to fit this new, less-broken reality.
Aidan, meanwhile, picked up his phone. The screen was a dense forest of missed calls and notifications. With a weary sigh, he began the arduous process of re-integrating himself into his own life. The first call was the most important.
"Aunt May? It's me. Yes, I know. I'm so sorry. I was… working on a project. In a place with no signal. I know. Yes, I'll be home for dinner."
The next call was to Yinsen.
"...Ethan, is there any trouble with the company?"
"Aidan!" Yinsen's voice was a mixture of profound relief and frantic stress. "No, no trouble, but the pre-orders are astronomical! We need to start construction on the factory immediately! The investors are getting nervous, the press is asking questions, and we haven't even seen a blueprint for the production line!"
"It's alright," Aidan reassured him calmly. "Summer vacation is about to start. I have the AI ready. The planning and construction can begin now."
Finally, he dialed Tony Stark.
"Let me guess which call this is," Tony's voice answered immediately. "The 'I'm back from my mysterious spirit quest and need something' call. I'm going to say this is the second time you've done this to me."
"Unfortunately for your statistics, it's the third," Aidan said dryly.
"Tragic. So, what's on your mind? Don't tell me you need another rescue."
"I was thinking of you this Sunday. There's a charity banquet I'm hosting. I'm inviting you."
Aidan raised an eyebrow. "You're inviting a child to one of your infamous parties?"
"Please. Apart from being a little naive, you don't act like any high school student I've ever met," Tony retorted. Internally, he had been doing his research. The kid's public persona was one of almost childish idealism, but his actions spoke of a ruthless pragmatism. It was a fascinating, if slightly unsettling, combination. Tony admired his intelligence, his audacity, but also saw a dangerous naivete in his dealings with the world's darker elements. He knows how to build a shield, Tony thought, but he doesn't seem to understand that sometimes, you need a sword.
"No problem," Aidan said, deciding to play into the role Tony expected of him. "Yinsen and I will be there. I'll see you in the summer." He was about to hang up. Compared to the intricate dance of corporate espionage with Isaacs, Tony's world was refreshingly simple.
"Wait," Tony said, his voice suddenly serious. "I have to ask you something. Your connection to the mutants… how deep does it go?"
"The funds for my first film, Real Steel, were invested by them," Aidan answered honestly. It was a debt he would never forget.
"Listen, kid," Tony cautioned over the phone. "I like what the Professor is doing. It's admirable. But on Capitol Hill, the X-Men are a political football. Getting too close to them puts a massive target on your back. Just… be smart about it."
"I know," Aidan nodded. "I will."
"That's it."
After the calls, Aidan turned his attention back to his AI.
"Information acquisition complete," Ruby's projection stated, her image now perfectly stable. "This world is… significantly less hostile. Mr. Parker, I am ready to receive my new core programming."
"It'll take a while," Aidan said, putting the box away. "First, I have to go to class."
The next day, walking through the gates of Midtown High, Aidan took a deep breath of the clear morning air. The peaceful, energetic atmosphere of the school was a soothing balm after the oppressive gloom of the bio-crisis world. He smiled, feeling a genuine sense of comfort.
He greeted his classmates as he entered the classroom. The changes since his last "incident" were palpable. Doreen's father had been quietly dismissed from the police force, and Doreen herself had transferred to a school in another state. The few students who had been tempted to challenge Aidan's unofficial authority now went out of their way to be polite. The campus was filled with a youthful, optimistic energy.
Two months later, summer vacation began. The first thing Aidan did was call Yinsen. It was time to build the Baymax factory. But before that, he had a promise to keep.
That evening, he and Yinsen pulled up to The Pierre hotel in a modest sedan. A valet took the key as they walked up the grand staircase. The banquet hall was a glittering spectacle of old money and new power. Crystal chandeliers dripped from the ceiling, and the air was filled with the clinking of champagne flutes and the low murmur of a hundred influential conversations. It was Tony Stark's world.
As they entered, they were immediately spotted.
"Here!" Tony waved from across the room, where he was surrounded by a swarm of reporters. The entire swarm turned its attention to them.
"Mr. Parker! Mr. Yinsen!" they called out, rushing forward.
"Mr. Parker, critics say a teenager is too emotionally unstable to control the kind of technology you're creating. What is your response?"
"Mr. Yinsen, as acting chairman, can you guarantee that Baymax Medical can deliver on the promises of the film?"
Aidan smiled politely at the reporters as he and Yinsen navigated the crowd to reach Tony's side.
"Your face doesn't look so good," Aidan observed quietly to Tony, noticing the faint, greyish pallor under his tan. The palladium poisoning, he thought. It's already started.
"Just tired," Tony waved it off with a smile. "Busy saving the world all day. Unlike you, who gets to stay in school." He put his arms around Aidan and Yinsen's shoulders. "Come on, let's get a photo!"
After the camera flashes died down, Tony addressed the press. "Stark Industries will be the closest partner of Baymax Medical Technology in the future," he announced grandly. "And these two are my closest friends."
The reporters erupted. "Mr. Stark! Does this mean Stark Industries is taking a stake in Baymax Medical?"
"Yes," Tony confirmed with a grin. "We will be performing an equity swap to show the sincerity of our cooperation."
Aidan looked at Yinsen, surprised. Later, in a quiet corner, Yinsen explained. "Other companies have been trying to strangle us in the cradle, Aidan. We've had top engineers accept our offers, only to mysteriously rescind them days later. They're trying to block our access to talent." He sighed. "Mr. Stark's public partnership is a shield. A declaration that we are under his protection."
Aidan nodded, accepting Tony's kindness. They think we need engineers, factory workers, middle management, he thought, a secret, knowing smile on his face. They think we're playing their game. They have no idea that Ruby and an army of automated drones can do the work of a thousand employees. They're trying to block a door I have no intention of using.
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