Chapter 23: The Palladium Solution
January 2009. The signs were subtle at first, invisible to everyone except Ben, whose adult mind recognized the symptoms from movies he'd memorized and whose Enhanced Observation—now Level 22—catalogued every micro-expression, every unconscious gesture that betrayed Tony's deteriorating condition.
The dark veins threading across Tony's neck when he thought no one was watching. The way his hand would drift to his chest, fingers pressing against the arc reactor through his shirt like trying to ease some deep ache. His increased irritability during workshop sessions, snapping at JARVIS over minor computational delays.
"It's starting earlier than it should. The timeline's already changing because of me."
Ben traced the cause back to the Iron Monger fight. In the original timeline, Tony had used his armor sparingly before discovering the palladium toxicity. But Ben's interference had forced more combat, more power draws, accelerating the poisoning by months.
The supernatural speech restriction meant Ben couldn't simply say "Your arc reactor is killing you, and Dad left you the solution." Any direct warning would emerge as gibberish. But Ben had learned to work around the restriction through careful indirection.
He started small. During their evening workshop sessions, Ben would "accidentally" pull up Howard Stark's old files while browsing JARVIS's historical archives.
"Mr. Stark, what was your dad working on before he died?"
Ben kept his voice carefully curious, childlike wonder masking adult calculation.
Tony glanced up from the Mark V's gauntlet assembly, momentarily distracted from his work.
"My father worked on a lot of things, kid. Arc reactor technology, mostly. Clean energy. World-changing stuff that never quite worked out."
"But he was super smart, right? Like, maybe he left messages for later?"
"Come on, Tony. Take the bait."
Tony's hands stilled on the armor component. "Messages for later?"
Ben shrugged with practiced nonchalance. "I dunno. Smart people in movies always hide stuff for their kids to find. Like puzzles."
That night, Ben sketched atomic structures in his homework—configurations his Arc Reactor Technology knowledge provided in exacting detail. When Mrs. Chen asked about the complex diagrams in his math margins, Ben played confused.
"I just like drawing atoms. They're pretty."
Mrs. Chen showed the drawings to Pepper, who brought them to Tony's attention. The sketches bore striking resemblance to theoretical energy matrix configurations Tony had been exploring for weeks.
"Pepper, look at this."
Tony spread Ben's homework across his workbench, the child's careful drawings revealing sophisticated understanding of molecular structures.
"Either our kid's a savant, or he's getting help from somewhere."
"Who would help a ten-year-old with graduate-level atomic theory?"
Tony stared at the sketches, gears turning. Ben had been asking about Howard's work. Now he was drawing energy configurations that looked suspiciously like arc reactor improvements.
The next morning, Ben staged his most ambitious "coincidence." While helping Tony organize workshop files, he discovered shipping manifests from 1974—documents that had been filed incorrectly in JARVIS's database.
"Look! Your dad made this huge model thing for the expo. JARVIS says SHIELD has it. Can we get it? It looks cool!"
Ben pointed to the manifest entry: Stark Expo 1974 - Architectural Model (City of Tomorrow) - Currently in Storage: SHIELD Facility 47-B.
Tony read the document twice, his expression shifting from casual interest to focused intensity.
"JARVIS, why do we have SHIELD storage manifests in our files?"
"Sir, these documents were misfiled during the digitization of legacy Stark Industries archives. The Stark Expo model was considered significant enough to preserve, given its historical value."
Tony studied the manifest, then looked at Ben, who was practically vibrating with excitement.
"You really want to see this thing?"
"Yeah! I bet it's like a puzzle with hidden meanings!"
"Please, Tony. Please connect the dots."
Tony made the call that afternoon.
"Coulson? You have my father's old Expo model. I want it."
Agent Coulson's response was immediate. "Of course, Mr. Stark. We've been meaning to return Stark property anyway. I'll arrange delivery."
The model arrived two days later—a massive, intricate miniature city representing Howard Stark's vision of tomorrow. Ben watched Tony circle it like a predator evaluating prey, seeing the gears turn behind those sharp brown eyes.
"It's beautiful," Pepper murmured, running her fingers over the detailed buildings.
Ben bounced on his toes with genuine excitement mixing with calculated manipulation.
"It's like a puzzle! I bet your dad hid stuff in it!"
Tony ruffled Ben's hair absently, his mind elsewhere.
"You know what, kid? You might be onto something."
That night, Ben positioned himself in the workshop doorway, watching as Tony began his analysis. The holographic scanners revealed every detail of the model's construction, mapping internal structures, identifying materials, searching for anomalies.
When the hidden atomic structure finally emerged from the scanned data—constellation of particles forming the blueprint for a new element—Ben saw the exact moment Tony recognized his father's final gift.
"Oh my God."
Tony's voice was barely a whisper, reverent and stunned. The holographic display showed an elegant atomic configuration, stable and powerful, embedded in the very architecture of the expo model.
"Dad, you beautiful bastard. You actually did it."
Tony discovered the discovery alone—something Ben could only achieve by leaving enough breadcrumbs to guide genius-level intellect toward inevitable conclusion.
The building phase began immediately. Tony didn't announce his discovery, but his behavior changed. Late-night sessions in the workshop stretched toward dawn. Equipment orders for particle acceleration components. Requisitions for exotic materials that made Pepper raise concerned eyebrows.
Ben "helped" by handing him tools, asking questions that led Tony's thoughts in productive directions, and using his Arc Reactor Technology—now Level 42—to occasionally spot calculation errors.
"Um, Mr. Stark? That number looks weird?"
Tony glanced at the holographic display, checking Ben's observation.
"Good catch, kid. Decimal error would have made the whole synthesis unstable."
Their father-son bonding during the construction was profound. Tony explained physics principles that went over most adults' heads, but Ben absorbed everything, his Inherited Genius trait accelerating learning beyond normal childhood capacity.
"See, the particle accelerator creates a controlled collision environment. We're essentially forcing matter to reorganize at the atomic level."
Ben nodded seriously, understanding concepts that should have taken years to master.
"Like breaking down LEGO pieces to build something new?"
"Exactly like that. You've got a gift for analogies, Ben."
Pepper found them at 3 AM, covered in grease, laughing at jokes about proton decay that only two genuine geniuses could appreciate. She didn't have the heart to scold them.
When the new element was finally synthesized—brilliant blue energy contained in a crystalline matrix that pulsed with clean, stable power—Tony held it up to the workshop lights.
"This is going to change everything."
Ben's voice came out smaller than intended. "Your dad would be proud."
Tony's breath caught, emotion cracking his usual composure.
"Yeah. Yeah, he would."
He looked at Ben, eyes bright with unshed tears.
"And you know what? I'm pretty sure he'd be proud of you too, Ben. For pushing me to find this."
It was acknowledgment—Tony recognizing that Ben had somehow known, even if neither could explain how.
[QUEST COMPLETED: HELP TONY SOLVE THE PALLADIUM PROBLEM]
[REWARD: 5 LEGENDARY TICKETS EARNED]
[NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED: INSPIRED GENIUS (PASSIVE, B-RANK, LV. 1)]
['HELP OTHERS SOLVE PROBLEMS FASTER WITH SUBTLE GUIDANCE'']
[ARC REACTOR TECHNOLOGY: LV. 42 → LV. 50]
[CANON EVENT PRESERVED WITH ASSISTANCE]
[TIMELINE STABILITY: OPTIMAL]
[TOTAL POWER: 13,500]
[LEGENDARY TICKETS TOTAL: 14]
The installation of the new arc reactor was seamless—Tony's hands steady as he replaced the poisonous palladium core with clean, infinite energy. The dark veins faded from his neck within hours. His energy returned. The irritability evaporated.
That night, Tony found Ben in his workshop, sketching new web-shooter designs with the kind of focused intensity that reminded Tony of himself at that age.
"I need to tell you something, kid."
Ben looked up, noting the serious tone.
"I don't know how you knew about the palladium problem. I don't know how you knew Dad left me an answer. I don't know if you're psychic, a time traveler, or just the luckiest guesser alive."
Tony sat heavily in the chair beside Ben's workbench.
"And right now, I don't care. You saved my life. Again."
He produced a folder of official documents, placing them on the table between them.
"These are papers granting you access to all Stark patents and technologies as my heir. When you're older, you'll help me run this company. Not because I need help, but because you've earned it."
Ben stared at the documents, overwhelmed by the magnitude of what Tony was offering.
"I'm ten."
Tony's smile was soft, paternal, proud.
"And you've accomplished more than most adults. Age is just a number, kid. Genius is forever."
[LEGACY SECURED: STARK INDUSTRIES HEIR]
[NEW BONUSES: ACCESS TO ALL STARK TECH BLUEPRINTS]
[+25% LEARNING SPEED FOR TECH SKILLS]
[STARK RESOURCES UNLOCKED]
Ben's integration into the Stark legacy was complete. But even as he celebrated this victory, his Enhanced Hearing caught a conversation from elsewhere in the mansion.
Natasha's voice, speaking quietly into her phone: "The boy definitely has foreknowledge somehow. He guided Stark to the solution too perfectly. Fury needs to know—Parker's more than enhanced. He's prophetic."
"And so the game continues. But at least Tony's safe now."
The first crisis had passed, but Ben knew it was only the beginning.
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