The spring of 2008 hit Queens like a promise. Iron Man was no longer rumor—he was headline. Tony Stark had returned from three months "missing," announced the end of weapons manufacturing at a press conference that played on every TV in the city, and then vanished back into his Malibu mansion to build… whatever came next.
Alex Kane, now thirteen, watched the footage on the living-room set with the volume low so Elena could sleep after her night shift. He memorized every frame: the arc reactor glow under Stark's shirt, the cocky tilt of his head, the way his eyes flicked like he was already three steps ahead of the reporters.
*That's the one,* Alex thought. *The biggest single upgrade on the board.*
Getting close to Tony Stark wasn't realistic—not yet. The man was surrounded by security, media, and S.H.I.E.L.D. shadows. But proximity created opportunity. Stark Industries had a massive R&D campus on Long Island, and every few months they ran public outreach events: science fairs, internship showcases, "Inspire the Next Generation" days aimed at middle- and high-school kids from the boroughs.
Alex had been tracking them since the Afghanistan story broke. When the Queens STEM Expo flyer appeared at school—sponsored by Stark Industries, featuring guest speakers from SI's engineering division—he signed up the same day. Elena was thrilled. "My boy's going to meet real scientists!"
He didn't correct her. He was going to meet a vector.
The expo was held at a high-school gymnasium in Flushing, transformed with banners, demo booths, and a mini wind-tunnel exhibit. Hundreds of kids milled around, clutching project boards and free Stark swag. Alex wore his best button-up (one Elena had ironed twice) and carried a simple poster: "Predictive Algorithms for Renewable Energy Grid Optimization." It was mostly nonsense dressed up with real code he'd written—basic neural-net sketches in Python that mimicked load balancing—but it looked impressive enough to draw attention.
He waited.
Around noon, a group of SI interns arrived—college kids in branded polos, escorting a mid-level engineer named Dr. Lena Vasquez. She gave a short talk on arc reactor miniaturization (heavily redacted, of course). Alex positioned himself in the front row, asked the perfect question during Q&A: "How do you handle thermal dissipation when scaling the reactor down without losing efficiency?"
Vasquez blinked, impressed. "Good question. We use a combination of adaptive phonon damping and—"
She went on. Alex nodded, smiled, filed every word. When the talk ended, the interns circulated to judge student projects. One of them—Ethan Caldwell, twenty-one, MIT junior, tousled hair, easy grin—stopped at Alex's booth.
"Predictive algorithms, huh?" Ethan scanned the poster. "You coded this yourself?"
"Yeah," Alex said, casual. "Just a prototype."
Ethan leaned in, eyes lighting up at the commented code snippets taped to the board. "This is solid. You've got a future in this."
They talked for ten minutes—real talk, not patronizing. Alex asked about MIT, about working at SI, about the culture around Stark himself. Ethan laughed. "He's… intense. Genius doesn't even cover it. But he'll argue code with you at 3 a.m. if you're interesting."
Alex offered a handshake. "Thanks for the advice."
Ethan's grip was firm. A single dark hair transferred to Alex's palm—barely noticeable. Alex pocketed his hand, heart hammering.
That night, alone in his room, he activated the interface.
*[DNA Sample: Ethan Caldwell, age 21. Proxy exposure to Anthony Stark (frequent direct contact). Analysis: Inherited baseline human. Occupational adaptations – High-level engineering intuition, systems integration proficiency. Trace contamination: Anthony Edward Stark genetic markers detected (hair follicle transfer via prolonged proximity).]*
*[Primary Traits Available – Anthony Stark: Genius-Level Intellect (+4.2σ), Multidisciplinary Engineering Mastery, Intuitive Design Cognition, Charismatic Manipulation (social), Arc Reactor Biocompatibility (partial). Risks: Neural overload, personality bleed, physiological incompatibility (arc reactor dependency not present).]*
*[Selective Copy Recommendations: Intellect +1.8σ (safe initial dose), Engineering Mastery +1.5σ. Defer arc reactor traits until physical maturity. Copy?]*
Alex exhaled slowly.
*Yes. Intellect first. Then engineering.*
The transfer hit like caffeine on steroids—except it didn't fade. His thoughts accelerated. Connections he'd only glimpsed before snapped into clarity: code structures, mechanical principles, physics equations he'd only half-understood. He saw flaws in every gadget in his room—the laptop's inefficient heat sink, the charger's poor voltage regulation. Ideas flooded in, unbidden but organized.
He didn't sleep that night. Instead, he sketched.
By morning he had blueprints for a modular drone: lightweight carbon frame, AI-assisted stabilization (crude but functional), battery-efficient propulsion. Nothing revolutionary—yet—but far beyond what any thirteen-year-old should produce.
He built a prototype over the next two weeks using scavenged parts from RadioShack, dollar-store motors, and 3D-printed brackets he designed and had printed at the library's new maker space (he'd sweet-talked the librarian into letting him use the machine after hours). The drone flew—shaky, but it flew—hovering three feet above his bed before the battery died.
He filmed it on his flip phone, uploaded the clip anonymously to a tech forum under "EchoKnight07." Within days it had 8,000 views and a $1,200 offer from a hobbyist drone company for the design files. He sold them.
The money went straight into the stock account. Stark Industries shares had dipped slightly after the weapons announcement—uncertainty about the future. Alex bought more. Elena raised an eyebrow at the sudden influx but didn't question it. She was too busy marveling at how "grown-up" he seemed lately.
The intellect boost sharpened everything. His EQ climbed too—not from copying, but from the sheer clarity. He read people better, anticipated needs, defused arguments before they started. When Tommy got in trouble for fighting at school, Alex talked the principal down in private. When Sofia's parents argued loudly through thin walls, he brought over cookies and distracted her with game ideas until the shouting stopped.
He helped Elena most of all. With his new mental horsepower, he optimized their budget, found her a better health plan through the hospital union, even coached her through a certification course she'd been avoiding. She aced the exam. Her promotion came with a raise.
One evening she hugged him tight. "You're growing up too fast, mijo."
Alex hugged back, copying another sliver of her warmth. "I'm just trying to keep up with you."
Inside, the interface updated:
*[Cumulative Enhancements: IQ effective ≈ 185–190 (post-Stark intellect integration), Engineering aptitude +2.3σ, Projected innovation output: Exponential.]*
*[KaneTech placeholder: Domain secured. First product line: Autonomous micro-drones for civilian use (search & rescue variant).]*
He stared at the ceiling, mind racing through possibilities.
Stark had just changed the world.
Now Alex had a piece of that change inside him.
And he was only getting started.
(Word count: 1006)