###
Time: Early morning, March 4th, 2004
Location: Outside California Airport
##
The crowd outside the arrivals terminal was a blur of motion—tourists dragging suitcases, families reuniting with teary eyes, business travelers barking into phones. But Valeria Richards wasn't focused on any of them.
Her wide blue eyes scanned every face like a scientist scanning data—precise, calculated, patient. She adjusted her light-blue hoodie's sleeve and stepped to the side, keeping close to the Future Foundation escort beside her, as though she was on a mission.
Then she saw him.
Leo.
Red hair that shimmered like copper in the sunlight. Brown eyes that had this calm focus, like he was always thinking three steps ahead.
Her heart did something weird in her chest—like it flipped over then skipped a beat entirely. Her breath caught in her throat for half a second, and her eyes, normally so quick to analyze and shift, just… froze.
"Leo!" she called out, louder than she expected.
She immediately cringed. She sounded too eager. Maybe too loud. Her face heated up, but her legs moved on their own. She took a few quick steps toward him, all the earlier nerves dissolving into excitement.
He hadn't turned yet, but she could see him standing there near a tall man in a black suit with a goatee—someone she vaguely recognized from previous visits. Leo's back was to her, but she'd recognize his posture anywhere—straight, alert, but never stiff.
The Future Foundation employee, a tall woman with sleek black hair and glasses, kept pace beside her with a few duffel bag slung around her.
"Try not to run," the woman murmured in that gentle-but-firm tone adults used with her when they forgot she was technically smarter than all of them.
"I'm not running," Valeria replied, brushing her hair behind her ear. "I'm walking with purpose."
The woman gave a small smile. "Of course you are."
Valeria slowed just slightly, her heart still thudding in her chest. This was silly. She was eight—well, almost nine. Emotions shouldn't be this distracting. She had already published a short paper on subatomic probability fields. She built her own portable AI assistant. Well, Leo did help. But she shouldn't be this flustered by a boy.
But Leo wasn't just any boy. She always reasoned.
He understood her. When everyone else stumbled over her vocabulary or stared blankly when she brought up theoretical physics, Leo kept up. No, more than kept up—he challenged her. And not in that annoying I-have-to-win way some boys had. He asked questions that made her think.
She liked that. A lot.
As they neared, she caught a better view of him. He was wearing a red hoodie with the sleeves bunched at the elbows, He was looking up at the sky, She knew he loved to contemplate ideas while waiting then he turned toward her voice.
Their eyes met.
And Leo smiled. Just a soft, calm smile. Yet it melted her heart nonetheless.
Valeria's steps slowed. She felt her face warm again. She didn't know what to say now that he was actually looking at her. What was the correct protocol for greeting a boy you might definitely have a crush on when you hadn't seen him in months?
Before she could figure that out, Leo raised his hand in a casual wave.
Simple. Easy. Effortless.
Valeria smiled back, trying not to beam. She raised her own hand, mimicking the gesture. Her fingers were trembling just slightly, but she doubted anyone else would notice.
The woman beside her looked between the two kids, then nudged Valeria gently. "Looks like you're in good hands. I'll make sure the additional luggage are transferred to the guest quarters."
"Thanks," Valeria said, her eyes never leaving Leo.
The wind tugged gently at the ends of her hoodie as she stepped forward, ready to greet him properly. For the first time in days, maybe months, she felt something other than equations and calculations buzzing in her mind.
She felt happy.
#
Time: Early morning, March 4rd, 2004 – 20isu Minutes Before Valeria's Arrival
Location: California Airport
#
Leo Stark leaned lazily against the side of the black Audi, his hands in his red hoodie pockets and his red hair tousled by the light breeze. His brown eyes were half-lidded, more focused on the drifting clouds than the flow of people rushing in and out of the terminal.
She's going to love the new projects I have planned he thought, a slow grin tugging at the corner of his lips. Might even suggest something crazy that actually works—again.
It was always like that with her.
Valeria Richards.
They first met in early December 2001, right after… well, the fainting. The towers, the panic, the dust—Leo didn't talk about it much. But his dad did something surprising after. Tony Stark, world-class genius and sarcasm machine, decided his son needed more than labs and blueprints. He needed a friend.
That friend turned out to be Valeria— around his age, quick-tongued, Naturally way too enthusiastic and just as much of a science junkie as Leo.
At first, Leo had braced for annoyance. A tagalong with big eyes and endless questions? No thanks. But Valeria didn't just keep up—she made suggestions. Brilliant ones. Ones that turned some of his stalled experiments into breakthroughs. After that, she wasn't a tagalong. She became his closest thing to normalcy.
But Leo also thought the way she jumped from one thought to the next with too much energy for her small frame. Even he felt exhausted by it at times. He was only able to keep up because he could remember everything he studied and even improve upon it.
What did surprise him even more though, was finding out their families had an oddly tangled past. Apparently, back in their college days, Tony, Reed Richards, and Victor Von Doom had been dormmates. Yep. Those three. The infamous trio who almost blew up their college due to their crazy and mind boggling experiments. And of course, His dad being well his Dad, he once tried to flirt with Susan Storm.
That… hadn't gone well.
Leo had laughed when his aunt Susan told him the story during one of their family dinners. The way she rolled her eyes and smiled warmly while talking about Reed made it obvious. She'd been hooked on Reed since day one. Tony, predictably, turned bright red at the memory. Leo considered that moment a win.
A voice rang through the air. "Leo!"
He blinked and turned toward the terminal doors.
There she was.
Blonde hair shining in the sun, bright eyes scanning the area until they locked on him. Valeria Richards. And just like that,a soft smile returned on his face.
He lifted his hand and gave her a calm wave. She bounced over in her usual slightly-too-fast walk, a woman from the Future Foundation following close behind with her luggage.
"Uncle Happy!" Valeria greeted as she reached them. She gave the man behind the wheel a quick hug through the open window.
"Hey, kiddo," Happy Hogan replied with a wide grin. "Welcome back."
Valeria turned to Leo, eyes practically glowing. "It's been forever! Okay—not forever, but December feels like a long time ago."
"Three months," Leo said, amused. "But who's counting?"
She laughed softly, then looked away for a second. "I, uh… might've watched some of your MyTube videos. For science," she added too quickly.
Leo raised a brow. "You did?"
"Yup." She cleared her throat. "Really liked the hologram demo with the black hole compression. Very… visual."
What Leo didn't know, of course, that she'd left comments under it gushing things like 'This is genius!!! You're amazing!!! omg! I love you~~' and then immediately regretted it each time. She never told him it was her to avoid second-hand embarrassment.
Happy stepped out of the car to help the Future Foundation rep with Valeria's bags, tossing them neatly into the trunk.
"Come on," Leo said, holding the door open for her. "Let's catch up inside. It's a long drive."
Once they were buckled in the backseat, Valeria looked around curiously. "Where's Uncle Tony?"
Leo shrugged, folding his arms behind his head. "Tinkering. I showed him something cool two days ago— after we figured out a way to miniaturize the arc reactor."
Valeria's jaw dropped. "Wait—the arc reactor? The one that powers your whole tower? It was a success?"
Leo nodded. "Smaller than a hockey puck now. Then I pitched the idea of wearable energy cores—kind of like… a personal Exoskeleton armor system."
Her eyes went wide. "You mean like—like an actual Mecha suit? "
Leo's smile widened. "Yes but more tamed, He was immediately interested. I mean, it was just a pitch, but now he's already sketching things to the point he practically lived inside his basement."
"And You already have experiments lined up, don't you?" she asked softly.
Leo turned to her and continued, matter-of-factly. "Yeah. And I was hoping you'd help. You're the only person who can keep up with my thinking"
Valeria looked stunned, she felt a little breath catch in her throat. She looked down, biting her lower lip to stop the giddy grin spreading across her face.
"Okay," she said, voice almost whispery. "I'd love that."
Valeria looked out the window, trying not to smile too widely. Her cheeks still managed a faint rosy tint. She was already replaying that sentence in her head.
Leo didn't notice the subtle shift in her voice or the extra pink in her cheeks. He was already pulling out his tablet, talking excitedly about heat dispersion patterns of the arc reactor and how it could be made into a light saber.
Valeria leaned closer, listening intently.
In the front seat, Happy glanced at the rearview mirror. He watched the two kids—heads together, hands waving in discussion like they were solving the world's next problem.
He smiled quietly to himself.
Leo had a friend.
##
Time: Early morning, March 5, 2004
Location: Leo's first base, Somewhere near Malibu, California.
##
The car rolled across the dusty expanse of the newly paved private road. Valeria Richards leaned against the window, her skyblue eyes wide as the massive pentagon-shaped wall came into view. Her breath caught in her throat.
"Is that it? Is that really your base?" she asked, voice filled with awe.
Leo nodded from the passenger seat, his arms folded calmly, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Yep. That's the one."
Valeria sat back, her eyes still locked on the towering gray walls as the car rolled closer. "It's huge… and cool. But—it must've cost a fortune."
Leo chuckled lightly. "Science always costs a lot of money," he said with a shrug.
About four hundred and eighty-three million, give or take, he thought to himself.
The car slowed as it neared the front gate. The steel barricades hissed open with a mechanical whirr, revealing a tall woman in full-body armor standing at attention. Her design was sleek, matte black with faint blue lights humming along her joints—an obvious inspiration from the halo series armour
As soon as the car came to a stop, Travis stepped out from the driver's seat and opened the back door with his usual mechanical precision. Leo stepped out first, brushing imaginary dust from his coat, followed closely by Valeria, whose eyes instantly locked on the armored figure.
The woman took two sharp steps forward and gave Leo an imperial salute—fist to chest, head slightly bowed.
Valeria's eyebrows shot up seeing the familiar action. "Wait… is she a robot too? Like Travis?"
Leo smirked. "Good catch and Yeah. Meet Lucia. She's the warden of this place."
Lucia turned her head, visor glowing softly as she scanned Valeria. "Greetings, Miss Valeria. I am Lucia. Protocol guardian and base supervisor."
"She talks!" Valeria stepped closer, examining the armor. "Do you feel stuff? Like pain or taste? Or are you more like a super-butler like Travis?"
Lucia tilted her head, as if thinking. "I do not feel pain. I do not taste. But I do observe, learn, and protect my liege's base."
Valeria let out a low "whoa," then turned to Leo. "Can I have one?"
Leo laughed. "Maybe.. Right now though, let's not add armored wardens to your science fair project otherwise aunt Susan will chew my ears out."
Valeria let out a small chuckle with a reminiscing voice she spoke "She definitely would."
Leo put his hand on her back to comfort her "Don't worry, I am sure they will return safely, We worked on the software side, remember?"
Valeria nodded and mumbled "Thanks, Leo." Her heart already felt at rest.
Soon they stepped into a sleek white golf rover waiting just past the gate. As it zipped across the facility grounds, Valeria clutched the edge of her seat, eyes darting across the various buildings. "So, you really built all this? Just for phones?"
Leo shrugged. "Originally, it was going to be a mobile assembly factory. Just one floor, one mission. But then… I had some extra ideas."
"Extra ideas always lead to more floors," Valeria said, nodding like a sage.
They both quickly laughed at that.
The rover curved gently around a corner, and the main building came into view—shaped like a hexagon, its mirrored windows catching the sunlight. It stood like a monument to innovation.
"Welcome to the base of operations." Leo said as they pulled up.
Inside the glass doors, the hum of activity was immediate. Sleek, spider-limbed worker droids glided across conveyor belts and assembly lines. Parts clicked, screens flashed, and small robotic arms performed micro-welding with incredible speed.
Leo gestured toward the nearest table and picked up a slim, rectangular device. "Here," he said, handing it to Valeria.
She gasped. "Is this a phone?"
"A smart one," he said. "You're holding the future of communication, Val."
She flipped it over, tapped the glass screen, and squealed when it lit up. "There's no buttons!"
"Touch interface. You can swipe, tap, scroll—basically, it listens to your fingers."
"I'm never giving this back," Valeria whispered in awe, already navigating the home screen.
Leo chuckled. "Take your time. Those droids over there—" he pointed to a cluster of robots assembling motherboards with surgical precision. "—they can build one in about ten minutes. Faster if I feed them espresso. Not that they need it."
Valeria was now taking selfies with the phone, her blonde hair glowing under the soft fluorescent lights. "Can I give some to my parents? They won't believe this."
"Sure, but let's keep the location secret for now." Leo said, waving his hand as though it was a small matter.
As they strolled through the vast open floor, Valeria asked question after question—about the droids, the tools, the screens, even the floor's polished design. Leo answered each one with surprising patience, his tone somewhere between older brother and professor.
Eventually, they reached the back of the hall where a pair of elevators waited, gleaming silver with biometric locks.
Leo scanned his hand, and the door slid open with a whisper.
"Ready to go down?" he asked.
Valeria stepped in, still holding the phone like a treasure. "What's on the next floor?"
Leo smirked. "Let's just say… the phones are the least exciting thing in here."
The elevator hummed softly as it descended, lights casting a calm blue hue across the interior. Valeria stood close to the glass, watching then gradually blur past in slow motion. Leo stood beside her, hands in his pockets, gaze thoughtful.
"No humans work here by the way " he said suddenly.
Valeria blinked and turned toward him. "Huh?"
"For this factory and pseudo base" Leo clarified. "I didn't want any of my sensitive projects to leak. So I built everything myself. Took me the whole of last month just to get the automated assembly lines running."
He let out a small, tired sigh.
Valeria gave him a gentle smile, her eyes softening. He's telling me all this...That means he trusts me a lot.. she thought, warmth blooming in her chest. Does that mean he also likes me..? Her fingers curled slightly in excitement, but she kept the thought quietly to herself.
The elevator chimed as it passed the first sublevel. Through the glass wall, Valeria leaned closer to get a better look. Inside the wide space beyond, mechanical arms swiveled and clicked, tirelessly assembling more of the spider-limbed droids she'd seen earlier.
"Whoa…" she murmured. "They're building more robots?"
Leo nodded. "Yeah. Auto-production lines. But I'll probably pause them soon—don't want to make more than I need. They're efficient, but they don't have common sense yet. One tried to vacuum a coffee spill with a soldering laser last week."
Valeria giggled. "Sounds like someone needs a manners update."
Another chime sounded. The elevator slowed as it reached the second sublevel. The doors hissed open.
This room was different. Larger. Dimmer. In the center stood a circular platform, and neatly arranged around it were six hulking Spartan Droid suits—sleek, angular, and powerful. Their colors varied in muted tones, except for one that stood out to her in a vibrant cyan and soft blue.
Valeria's eyes immediately locked on it. "Are these robots too? They look... way cooler than the others!"
Leo grinned, walking ahead. "These are the Spartan Droids. My latest creation."
He gestured for her to follow him toward a nearby metal table. Upon it lay a neatly arranged set of gear: a VR headset, gloves, tracking shoes, and a flexible suit with sensor nodes embedded in its fabric.
Leo handed her a set. "Put these on. It's showtime."
Valeria wasted no time, hopping in place with excitement as she tugged on the armor. Within moments, both were suited up, their visors lighting up as the system booted.
"Alright," Leo said, flexing his fingers. "The suits are piloted via neural sync—through this VR setup. Whatever you do, your Spartan follows."
He raised his right hand. Across the room, one of the darker droids—a sleek purple one—mimicked the motion perfectly.
Valeria gasped. "That's amazing! It's like a robot mirror!"
Leo gave a modest shrug, though hints of satisfaction still appeared in his eyes. "Still needs some tuning. Movement delay, input syncing, gesture recognition—it's not perfect yet. I could use your help testing."
"Help you?" Valeria's eyes gleamed as her cyan-colored Spartan blinked to life. "You bet I will!"
Then, without warning, she stepped back and took a stance—legs apart, hands up, serious as a martial artist. "But first… how about a Spartan match?"
Leo blinked. "A spar? You sure you're ready for that?"
Valeria smirked playfully. "Are you?"
He considered it for half a second before nodding and taking his own stance, his purple Spartan mirroring him.
"Alright then. No backing down now."
Valeria's voice rang out with an excited laugh. "Loser has to write a convincing essay on multiverse theory!"
"Deal."
Their Spartan suits stepped forward, the metallic floor echoing their synced movements.
Their duel had begun.
###
Word count: 3159
Author's note:
This was a spur of the moment idea I wanted to implement. I tried to write Valeria's crush from the perspective of a teenager since she is as smart as Leo. I hope it was natural and didn't feel awkward.
And To elaborate on the significance of them researching together. It's like you put two variant Reeds Richards in a single room. The only thing stopping them is probably just their lack of experience in the scientific field and a lot of resources. Both that can be eventually solved.
Hmm, I wonder what should they make together, Like a Project that is only unique to them and it would be helpful in the future.
Also Yes those Spartan droids are inspired by the Mark 4 and such suits from Halo.
As for how and why he has so much money to build a base. I will explain that in a later chapter. I initially wanted to explain all of that in author notes but then I had an interesting idea on how to implement the explanation storywise.
Anyways, Good news, you will probably get 6 chapters this week. Bad news, I have to write 6 chapters this week because of everyone hitting the challenges.
75ish