"Master, someone just parked in front of the gate," Cortana announced, her voice echoing through the sound system.
Arthur looked up just as every surveillance feed switched to the front camera.
A silver Audi dominated the entrance like it owned the entire block—shiny, immaculate, and obnoxiously showy.
And inside it sat someone whose fame needed no introduction.
Tony Stark.
Arthur frowned, though a small smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"What's he doing here…?" he muttered, then sighed. "Ah, whatever. Perfect timing, actually. Open the gate, Cortana."
"Already open. I estimated a 42% chance of drama, so I decided to speed things up," the AI replied, her sarcasm so subtle it bordered on elegant.
Arthur chuckled; Cortana knew him far too well.
He walked to the living room, picked up his laptop, and opened it on the table.
"Cortana, come to the laptop."
She materialized instantly on the screen—blue silhouette, confident stance, an expression halfway between professional and teasing.
"Perfect," Arthur nodded.
And then—
Saeko walked into the room.
The little girl held a panda plushie by the paw, looking curiously at the monitor.
Recognition flickered in her eyes when she saw Cortana.
"Who arrived, Daddy?" she asked, tugging softly at his shirt.
Arthur brushed her hair lovingly.
"A friend. And you're going to like him—actually, I think you already know him."
Cortana crossed her digital arms.
"'Like him' is optimistic. Statistically, children find Tony Stark interesting… until he opens his mouth."
"Very funny, Cortana," Arthur grumbled.
Saeko giggled—Cortana was just as she remembered her.
---
Outside.
Tony still hadn't stepped out of the car.
He seemed stuck in a mental loop somewhere between anxiety, pride, and pure emotional discomfort.
"Sir, your breathing is irregular. Are you experiencing a panic attack?" JARVIS asked.
"Me? Panic attacks? I don't have panic attacks. I cause panic attacks," Tony snapped.
"With all due respect, sir, your cortisol levels disagree."
Tony slapped the steering wheel.
"JARVIS, if you keep psychoanalyzing me, I will reinstall Windows Vista on you."
"Understood."
He took a deep breath, exhaled loudly.
"Okay… it's just Arthur. A friend. A normal guy… well, almost normal."
He stepped out of the car, straightened his suit with trademark flair, and rang the doorbell.
"Mr. Stark, you may come in," said a woman's voice through the speaker.
Tony blinked.
"That is definitely not Arthur's voice…"
But he entered anyway.
He walked through the living room and found Arthur closing the laptop.
"You showed up at the best possible time, Tony," Arthur said. "I actually need your help with something."
Tony opened his mouth to make a remark… but froze.
Because standing beside Arthur…
…was a little girl.
A little girl who looked like a tiny clone of him—
except for the vibrant red hair, as striking as a freshly restored classic painting.
Tony froze.
Entirely.
Utterly.
Completely.
"…what."
That was all he managed.
Saeko tilted her head, curious and completely unashamed.
"Hi, Uncle Tony."
Tony took half a step back, pointing at her like she was a holographic ghost.
"He has a kid. HE has a kid. And— oh my god. She looks exactly like him. Who allowed you to generate a child?!"
Arthur rubbed his forehead.
"Calm down. Breathe."
"I am breathing! I'm— JARVIS! Am I breathing?!"
"Irregularly, sir."
"Great. Wonderful. Perfect."
Arthur sighed and explained:
"Tony… this is Saeko. She's my daughter. But—"
He raised a finger before Tony could spiral again.
"She came from the future. Literally. Long story involving time travel, absurd circumstances, and… well, this."
Saeko smiled and waved.
"Mom said you were cool when you were younger. And that you always yelled at Dad for breaking the laws of physics."
Tony froze for two solid seconds.
Just two.
Then he snapped back to Arthur.
"You have a daughter from the future?!"
Cortana appeared on the laptop screen, resting her chin on her hand like she was watching a sitcom.
Tony opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water.
"And she called me uncle. Why?"
"From what she told me, in the future you're technically her favorite uncle," Arthur said casually.
Saeko nodded enthusiastically.
"You gave me amazing Christmas presents. And let me play with your armors when Mom wasn't looking."
Tony blinked.
"I let you?"
Before he could say anything else, something clicked in his mind.
Wait a second… that means I survive long enough for Arthur to have a daughter and for me to be her favorite uncle…
I need to ask Arthur if he knows something…
Saeko nodded.
"Yep! You always said that if anyone asked, you'd deny everything."
Tony put a hand on his chest.
"That sounds dangerously like something I would actually say."
Saeko raised her arms expectantly, and Tony, completely lost, picked her up by reflex.
She settled in his arms as if she had done it a thousand times.
Tony looked at Arthur.
Then at her.
Then at Arthur again.
"I… I need a drink."
"Not before seeing what I called you for," Arthur said, walking toward his workshop.
"But—"
"Come on, Uncle Tony," Saeko encouraged.
Tony let out a dramatic sigh.
"Okay. Okay. I can handle this. A kid from the future, a sarcastic holographic AI… sure, why not."
Cortana appeared on the workshop display.
"If you faint, sir, I will notify the paramedics. But only after recording it for future use."
"She just threatened me, didn't she?" Tony asked.
Arthur laughed.
"That's Cortana."
Tony still held Saeko like she was a miniature nuclear device ready to detonate.
His expression was a cocktail of panic, disbelief, and an undeniable fondness he would never admit aloud.
Arthur crossed his arms, hiding a grin.
"Come on, Tony. It's not that complicated."
"Not that complicated—?" Tony pointed at Saeko.
"Arthur, time travel usually involves killer robots and temporal wars, not my friend's daughter."
Saeko giggled.
"In the future you're just a little bit gray, Uncle Tony."
"Great. Fantastic. Wonderful." He exhaled. "Alright, let's see your project before I start questioning whether this is a dream."
Arthur motioned for him to follow.
Saeko hopped down from Tony's arms.
"Daddy, I'm going to do something real quick! Be right back!"
"No explosions!"
"No promises!"
Tony narrowed his eyes.
"…she's definitely your kid."
Tony turned slowly to Arthur.
"So… I've asked this already, but let me ask again: what exactly is going on in your house? You, a legendary assassin, were smacking the Hulk around the other day, and now you have a time-traveling houseguest."
Arthur crossed his arms.
"She's my daughter."
"Yes, I gathered that—thanks. But you never mentioned having, uh… a daughter."
"Tony, I'm not kidding. She really came from the future."
Tony froze.
"Like… time machine, DeLorean, 88 miles per hour… actual future?"
"Something like that."
Tony dragged a hand down his face.
"Damn it, Arthur, my day was so normal thirty minutes ago. You should've warned me… I would've brought a gift."
Arthur patted his shoulder sympathetically.
"Don't worry. You'll get used to it."
Tony inhaled deeply, lifted a finger, and declared:
"Alright. I'm filing this under 'things I will never admit in public.'"
---
Later
The door slid open and Tony walked inside—taking only two steps before freezing like someone staring at a cross between a masterpiece and a federal crime.
"I hate to admit it," Tony murmured, examining the workshop, "but your chaos is… artistically functional. 'Genius slept here' aesthetic."
"Thanks… I think," Arthur replied, heading toward the central workbench.
The bench was buried under tools, holographic screens, circuit fragments, and an entire box of items no MIT-approved engineering manual would allow to exist in the same space.
And at the center, resting on an anti-static cushion…
…lay the device.
Small. Thin. Metallic. A soft pulse glowing at its core.
Tony approached like an archaeologist discovering alien technology.
"…Arthur… please tell me this is not what I think it is."
Arthur crossed his arms, satisfied.
"That depends. What do you think it is?"
"A phone. A pager. A… very stylish garage opener…"
Tony exhaled.
"But judging by your face… it's something worse."
Arthur smirked.
"It's a prototype."
"Okay, normal so far. Prototype of what?"
"This device, Tony… theoretically allows navigation between timelines—and maybe even parallel universes."
Tony stared at him for five whole seconds.
Then:
"Lies."
"Nope."
"It's lies."
"Tony."
"Fine, explain."
Arthur took a breath.
"The Tempad doesn't create time travel. It tracks it. It syncs temporal coordinates, divergence points, and—"
"Wait wait wait," Tony raised both hands.
"Temporal coordinates? Divergences? Are you telling me the universe works like a gigantic Google Maps—'time and space edition'?"
Arthur grinned.
"More or less."
Tony looked at the Tempad again, his expression slowly melting into the familiar look of a man about to spiral into tech-induced euphoria.
"And you need my help with what? Let me guess—you want me to help make sure it doesn't blow up your workshop?"
"Basically. I need someone who understands engineering enough to stabilize it. If I mess up, the Tempad could cause… undesirable effects."
"What kind?"
Arthur hesitated.
"Random tears in the fabric of reality."
Tony's eyes widened. Again.
"Okay, yeah… that's bad. That's very bad. That's catastrophically bad. But also… extremely cool."
Arthur laughed.
"I knew you'd say that."
Tony picked up the Tempad, turning it over, poking at the edge like a kid with a new toy.
"So… you really think this can allow travel between realities?"
"That's the goal."
Tony whistled.
"Arthur… I don't know if you're a genius… or the reason the universe eventually collapses. Probably both. Almost definitely both."
Arthur shrugged.
"That's why I called you. I need someone reliable to help me with this."
Tony smirked.
"Your words almost touched my heart."
"So? Help me keep it from exploding?"
Tony set the Tempad back on the workbench and cracked his knuckles like a performer stepping onto the stage.
"Let's work. But if I end up trapped in a universe where I'm bald… I swear I'll haunt you."
---
(End of chapter)