In the comm channel, Tony's voice came through thick with exaggerated complaint, the burble of water audible in the background.
"Today is my big day, the Stark Tower clean energy project launch ceremony! Is a little attention too much to ask?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "What kind of trouble are you stirring up now? You're never where you're supposed to be. Isn't the Iron Man suit enough to keep you busy?"
"What do you mean 'not where I'm supposed to be'?!" Tony nearly shot upright underwater, his voice jumping a full octave. "This is where I'm supposed to be! This is advanced technology! Clean energy! Do you have any idea what that means? Something only I, Tony Stark, could pull off. Anywhere in the world!"
Then came a thunderous BOOM, and a streak of red and gold exploded out of the water, rocketing straight toward Stark Tower.
Tony talked the entire way back. Arc Reactor this, clean energy that, isotope isomers , technical terms tumbling out one after another until Hermione's head was spinning.
The suit touched down smoothly on the helipad at the top of Stark Tower.
Tony had barely stepped out of the armor when J.A.R.V.I.S. spoke up. "Sir, Agent Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D. is waiting in the lobby."
"Tell him I'm not here."
No hesitation. Not even a pause. "I'm technically still not inside the building."
He shed the armor and strode into the room, circling Hermione twice with an appraising look.
"You've gotten taller?"
"I'm serious — what are you eating? You're shooting up way too fast."
Hermione shot him an irritated look. "I'm almost fourteen. If I don't grow now, am I supposed to stay short forever?"
She planted her hands on her hips and glared.
Tony and Pepper glanced at each other. Something quiet passed between them , a shared flicker of feeling neither of them put into words.
Time really did move fast. That little girl was almost a young woman now.
The elevator doors slid open with a DING. Coulson stepped out.
Tony's face went dark instantly, like someone had switched off a light.
He didn't even get a word out before Pepper and Hermione were already moving toward Coulson with open smiles.
"Hi, Phil!"
"Hi, Son of Coul!"
The corner of Coulson's mouth twitched. He bore it with practiced patience.
Ever since Thor had called him that, Hermione had latched onto it like she'd made a great discovery, deploying it every single time she saw him. It never stopped being awkward.
"Ahem." Coulson cleared his throat and steered things back to business. "Mr. Stark, this matter is serious. I need to speak with you."
"What happened?" Pepper asked.
Hermione cut in before Coulson could answer. "What else? Bald Egg must've gone and lost something important again."
She pursed her lips.
"He lost the Tesseract."
"The Tesseract?" Tony's brow went up. "Didn't that thing sink to the bottom of the ocean?"
Hermione shrugged. "Bald Egg quietly fished it back out again."
"I literally just got back. Hadn't even settled into my seat before his call came chasing after me." Her tone carried a thin edge of annoyance. "Fury contacts you personally, but sends an agent to me. What — I, the great Iron Man, rank below a teenage girl now?"
Tony's voice had gone just slightly sour.
Pepper gave him a look.
"How old are you? You're really going to compete with little Hermione over this?"
"Didn't you hear Phil say it's serious?"
"Phil?" Tony caught the word like a reflex. "When did you two get on a first-name basis? I thought his name was just 'Agent.'"
Pepper and Hermione looked at each other and rolled their eyes in perfect unison.
Pepper took the data drive Coulson offered and loaded it onto the holographic projector.
With a WHOOSH, light bloomed in the air, and profile after profile materialized around them. Captain America. Hulk. Thor. Combat footage rolled , clip after clip of raw, staggering destruction.
Tony had always been confident, always assumed these people were manageable. Seeing it laid out like this, though , the actual scale of what they could do , something in his chest went quiet.
"These guys," he muttered, rubbing his chin. "They're something else."
Then he noticed a cluster of files he couldn't open. Marked Level 9 Clearance. The thumbnail on the cover was a black wand he recognized immediately.
"This..."
Tony and Pepper exchanged a look. Neither of them said it out loud.
Coulson caught their expressions. "That's the Witch's file. Only a handful of people have clearance to access it."
"I didn't have the clearance originally either, but I've worked with her directly, so I'm outside the restricted scope." He paused. "Given your relationship with her, though, you probably already know most of what's in there. There's not much point keeping it from you. I'll authorize the unlock now."
A tap. Verification. The files opened.
Scene after scene of Hermione in action filled the projection. Taking down the Iron Monger. Dropping the Hulk and the Abomination. Standing alongside Thor to bring down the Destroyer.
Watching the Hulk's raw devastation, the Abomination's violence, the sheer scale of the Destroyer , Pepper's hand came up to cover her mouth.
"Oh my god."
"She deals with things like this? Regularly?"
Tony's expression had gone hard. "S.H.I.E.L.D. is sending Hermione up against these things? She's a child. It doesn't matter how much magic she has — that's not okay."
Coulson had no good answer for that. "I'll raise it with the Director. But right now, the priority has to be recovering the Tesseract."
"Looks like you've got a lot of work ahead of you tonight." Pepper moved to Tony's side, her voice quieter now.
She turned to Coulson, and her expression settled into something firm. "I don't care how important the Tesseract is. You are not putting Hermione in danger."
Coulson's expression shifted, a little tired. "The Witch has already turned down the Director herself."
Pepper let out a slow breath. Some of the tension left her face. "Good."
She looked around the room. "I need to get to D.C. , still three sites left to finalize for the clean energy towers. Phil, if it's on your way, could you give me a lift?"
"By car?" Coulson started to answer, but Hermione was already shaking her head.
"Too much trouble." She stepped over to Pepper and flicked her wrist.
A portal crackled open in the middle of the air, edges sparking with light. Through it, clear as a window, was Washington D.C.
Surprise crossed Pepper's face , just for a moment , and then it was gone.
She was used to this by now.
"Thank you, little Hermione." Pepper smiled, and walked through without breaking stride.
➤ Next: The Helicarrier — Face to Face
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