37Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Iron Man or Fullmetal. Everything you see here is borrowed with love. ;)
Chapter 13 – Next Steps
A few days later saw the two brothers back in Resembool, Ed keeping up his end of his bargain with Winry. He'd somehow convinced her not to take the suit apart before he could download the schematics and operating system into a suitable backup, just in case she wasn't able to put it back together again. That explanation had taken all morning, and by the end of it, Ed rather wished he had paid more attention to the computer sciences when he was in college.
The good news was that the suit's AI had all that information stored for him. Tony must have foresaw the need for it when Ed told him there was no such thing as computers, mobile phones, internet, or airplanes for that matter on his version of Earth. They had cars and electricity and automail, he had explained. And of course, alchemy. They didn't need computers, he had said. Tony had laughed at him and told him he would live to regret those words. He was right. Having the internet as an instant source of information had been extremely handy in the other world. He had gotten so used to Google for any and all inquiries his mind cared to conjure, Ed actually found himself missing it now that he was back. Ed was sure Tony would be tickled silly by it if he knew.
Ed tapped his automail fingers against his coffee mug, enjoying the sunny view from the hilltop while he pondered his next move. It had been a week since his return to Amestris, and once the whirlwind of happy reunions had died away, Ed found that he was left increasingly with a niggling feeling in the back of his head. That feeling grew stronger each day, and this morning Ed had decided to finally listen to it. What now?
He had no idea what the future held for him. Everything he'd set out to do in his life was done. But he was young, not some old-timer ready to retire. He had his whole life ahead of him, and honestly that freaked him out a little. Alchemy had been his lifeline since childhood, but now Ed wondered if perhaps he should consider turning down a different road.
The military had changed, Mustang had explained to him. It was more politics and policing now more than anything. Most alchemists had turned to lab research rather than acting as state-issued bullies. Only a select few of them remained on active duty in the case of a crisis. This was the new reform put in place by parliament, and honestly Ed agreed with it. It would help put alchemy back into the hands of the people.
But that also meant that there was no place for him in the military any longer. He was sure that if he really wanted it, Mustang would take him back as the Fullmetal Alchemist, but Ed had no desire to return to that life. It had always been a means to an end for him and his brother—not a lifetime career.
Ed sighed and frowned into his coffee mug. There really was no easy answer.
He heard the front door close and then Al joined him on the grass. Ed looked up and smiled at his brother, who smiled back.
"Thinking?" Al asked. Ever the intuitive, his little brother.
Edward gazed out at the rolling green hills of his hometown for a long moment before answering him.
"I'm trying to decide my next move," he said finally. Al nodded.
"I thought so. It's only been a week, brother, why don't you give it some more time?" Al suggested.
Ed shook his head. "It's been long enough," he replied.
Al sighed. "You never could stay in one place for very long," he said.
"I get antsy," Ed admitted with a shrug, "I need something to put my mind to. I just don't know what that is anymore." He looked over at his brother, who was grinning at him rather like he knew a secret that Ed didn't. "What?" Ed demanded.
"Nothing," Al said, shaking his head. The grin, however, remained. Ed growled at him and Al laughed. "It's just—we're scientists, brother. It's who we are. We help people, and we make the world a better place. So whatever our next move is, those things won't change."
"Huh," Ed considered that for a minute. "Yeah, you're right, Al, thanks." He grinned at his brother, who returned it. Suddenly, Ed shot to his feet so quickly the coffee in his mug sloshed over onto his automail hand. "I think I know what to do," he said.
Al followed him inside. Ed deposited the mug on the table and made a beeline for the Iron Man suit.
"When I was in that other world, I was blown away by the amount of technology they had compared to us," Edward explained, "And by the advances they had made in physics and medicine. Just the concept of computers was enough to make my head spin." Ed looked up at Al. "I don't think Tony meant for me to keep all that knowledge to myself. I think he meant for me to use it to help people," Ed said.
Ed looked over the length of the Iron Man suit, a hand to his chin.
"The first thing we're going to need is a computer," he said, "And I know just the person to help."
"You need me to do what?" Sheska asked over the phone. Once the excitement of Edward's return from the dead had ebbed, the bookworm's characteristic skepticism came rushing back.
"It's kind of hard to explain," Edward told her, "But we're building a machine that can store volumes of information in a little metal cube. I'm talking literal libraries in something the size of your toaster, Sheska." He paused, and he swore he could hear her eyes widening at the possibilities. "But I can't do it by myself. I need a programmer. I'm good with the technical side things, but I need someone with a good memory who can process and retain large amounts of information at once. Think you can pull it off?"
"Well, I…" Sheska hesitated, then made up her mind, "You've always been good to me in the past, Ed, so I'll tell you what. I've got some vacation time saved up. I'll help out for a couple weeks and we'll see how things go."
"Great, glad to have you on board," Edward replied, "See you soon, Sheska."
He hung up and grinned at his brother. Al grinned back.
"That's two down," Al said. They had asked Winry first, and though it was difficult to get a coherent answer out of her, her squeals of excitement spoke for themselves.
"Now for the hard part," Edward said, picking up the phone again, "We need investors. Good thing I know a thing or two about begging for cash," he said with a grin.
The phone rang in a small, run-down apartment just outside of Boston. Florescent light streamed in from the street, illuminating the small space enough so that its inhabitant had no need to turn on his own. The smell of stale pierogies wafted up from the floorboards. The apartment was situated above a Polish deli and always smelled somewhat of the food downstairs. The upside, though, was that the owner was generous with her leftovers at the end of each day. His fridge was full of them.
The phone rang again. He wouldn't even have one if it wasn't for the fact that the extra phone line came with the lease. Anything to save a buck—college wasn't cheap, especially in this city. He answered it.
"Hello?"
"Is this Samuel Hockfield?" came a woman's voice over the phone. Sam's brow drew together sharply. He hoped this wasn't another debt collector.
"Uhh, yes, who is this?" Sam asked nervously. If she needed a payment out of him, then she was out of luck. His bank account had been scraping zero since he paid for his books last week. Not that it mattered. If he didn't find a focus of study soon, he may as well quit. Brilliant, his professors said, but lacks direction. Well, was it his fault he hadn't found any subject worth pursuing as his grad thesis?
"My name is Pepper Potts. I'm calling about a unique opportunity."
"Potts…wait, I know that name," Sam scrubbed his memory, trying to place it. "You work for Stark Industries, right?
"Yes, that's correct. I'm calling to offer you an internship with my employer."
"Your employer…" Sam echoed, dumbstruck, "But that's—you don't mean Tony Stark!?"
"He would like to offer you an exclusive internship with Stark Industries," Potts continued, "You would be helping him with a revolutionary project. Are you interested?"
"I—" Sam floundered, his mind racing. "But what about my classes?" he asked dumbly. He could have smacked himself in the face with the receiver. An opportunity like this drops in his lap and he argues against it? What was he, a moron?
"Of course the internship would replace your normal classes, and you would receive the same amount of credits needed to graduate on time. There is also a handsome stipend attached, should you accept."
"But—but—" Sam was speechless. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Why me?" he asked, bewildered.
"You'll have to ask Mr. Stark that yourself," Pepper replied smoothly, sounding amused. "What do you say?"
"Hell yes!" Sam rushed to answer, "I mean, yes, Ma'm," he corrected, remembering his manners. "Yes, absolutely, I'll take it!"
Pepper seemed pleased. "I'll arrange for transportation in the morning," she said, "The internship will begin first thing Monday morning. I trust that won't be an issue?"
"Um, no, not at all." Sam looked around his sparse apartment. Packing would only take him a couple of hours. He turned his attention back to the phone. "Um," he said intelligently, "Where am I going?"
"California," Pepper replied. There was an audible smile in her voice. "You may want to bring a pair of sunglasses."
"Uh, I will. Thanks. Thank you!"
Sam hung up the phone in a daze.
What the hell had just happened?
Tony Stark stood in front of the prototype, deep in thought. He really needed to come up for a better name for the thing than just 'the prototype.' But there would be time for that later. He had much more important things to consider at the moment.
Sam had accepted his internship. Of course he had. Tony had offered him the keys to the kingdom, after all.
Why was he doing it? He wasn't entirely sure, just that it felt like the right thing to do, and in his reformed state he was trying to follow the path to redemption. Plus, Ed would have approved. The blond would probably get all teary-eyed about it if he knew—despite his tough exterior, the young alchemist had a gooey inside. Not entirely unlike Tony himself.
Transdimensional Portal Array…naw, too wordy. What about just 'Portal Array'? Better, but still a working title.
Tony traced the transmutation circle framing the outline of the portal with his eyes. He wondered how Ed was doing. Had he found his brother? Of course, he must have. What was he doing now? Tony wished he could tell him about Sam.
Maybe he could. Maybe there was a way. A human body may not be able to jump the connection from one world to another very easily, but what about a signal? A transdimensional communicator couldn't be that hard to whip up. Not when he had the frequency to Ed's suit and the portal. If time travel was possible…how did the saying go? Anything man can conceive, he can achieve?
In other words…anything was possible.
The End.
Author's Notes:
13.1: The thought that Ed should miss Google tickles me. ;P
13.2: Sheska's appearance in this chapter was a complete surprise to me. I honestly never planned for her to show up in this fic, but her skills make her the perfect fit for what Ed has in mind. I like the idea of Sheska the computer whiz. ;)
13.3: I had to end this with a scene from Sam's new timeline. I couldn't help myself. :3
Ending Notes: Twelve years. Twelve years. (I sound like Amelia Pond when the Doctor finally showed up.) I can't believe it's taken this long. This was meant to be a silly, fun little fluff fic, not some epic spanning the course of decades. Ok, even I admit that sounded pretty dramatic. XD
The truth is, life got in the way. A LOT. When I started this fic I was still in high school. Between college and trying to figure out a career, I had to put a lot of what I loved on hold. I just didn't have time to spend frivolous hours daydreaming about fantasy worlds. Allowing inspiration became harder the more time passed… I suppose I allowed it to happen, but I was so wrapped up in trying to figure out my life that there was really no other choice. I hope that finishing this piece means I'm finally finding some balance in my life, that things are finally starting to even out and that I'm able to reintegrate more of who I was before life got in the way. I hope this ending marks a turning point, and the beginning of something new. :)
I really enjoyed writing this fic. More than I've ever enjoyed writing anything else before. I'm sad to see it go, but I'm thrilled with the results. Knowing me, I'll continue to edit and fuss over it for another few months but the important thing is that…regardless of how long it took, I made a commitment and I stuck to it. And for that, I'm incredibly happy.
I want to thank everyone who has been a part of this journey with me. You, the readers…maybe some of you read this back when it was in its early days? If so, thanks for being so patient with me. Thanks for hanging in there. :) For my new readers…count yourselves lucky. Your timing is impeccable. ;)
I hope ALL of you enjoyed this. I know I did. Thanks again! :3