Howard Stark… future legend, super-genius, and the eventual father of Tony Stark was not yet the titan history would one day remember.
Here, in this fragile moment of the 1930s, he was only a boy.
A boy with absurdly sharp intuition, dangerous creativity, and a head full of weapons no sane child should be able to design.
Even now, when most families still owned black-and-white radios rather than televisions, Howard already understood the basics of DNA programming.
Before 1940, he had constructed the prototype for a maglev vehicle, though he lacked the resources to finish it.
Rifles, submachine gun frames, experimental pistols… his tiny workshop was the birthplace of ideas that should not exist yet.
And yet… he was still just a kid.
No matter how wealthy the Stark family was, no one in their right mind would invest factory capital into the whims of a boy who wasn't even old enough to shave.
What Howard needed was simple:
Money.
Authority.
And someone who believed in him.
He walked past the High Claw Gold & Exorcism Shop many times, always slowing down at the same spot.
But whenever his eyes met the orange cat lounging arrogantly at the doorstep, Howard felt a jolt of memories of that same cat kicking him on a cruise ship more than once.
Even geniuses can hold grudges.
…
Tonight, negotiations with his parents had gone badly.
"Father, just look at what I've built."
Edward Stark rubbed his temples. "Son, the world is at peace. This is not the time for military fantasies."
"Factories are closing and people are starving."
Mary Stark chimed in gently, "Howard, sweetheart, law is a stable profession. Follow my example. Be sensible."
"Be sensible?" Howard clenched his fists. "Europe is boiling under the surface! In Asia, an expansionist empire is already preparing for war."
"Ten years… give it ten years and the world will burn! And when it does, the military industry will explode!"
To Howard, it was logic.
To Edward and Mary, it was childish imagination.
"Howard, enough. Go back to your room and calm down."
Howard didn't calm down.
He stormed out, heading not for his room but for his workshop.
Edward followed him outside, but when he realized the boy had only gone into the workshop, he sighed and returned indoors. He expected Howard to cool down.
He did not expect Howard to grab his inventions and quietly slip out the back door.
✦••┈┈••✦••┈┈••✦
Howard didn't know why his feet led him back toward the High Claw Gold & Exorcism Shop.
Something tugged at him… instinct, fate? He couldn't explain it.
All he knew was, his inventions needed a patron. And something about that orange cat… felt intelligent.
He stopped in front of the shop, hesitating.
There was something uncanny about the building, he hadn't noticed it before, but now it was obvious. Passers-by walked past without turning their heads, as if the shop didn't exist in their perception at all.
Worse, inside the window sat two impossibly beautiful twins, one with gold hair, one with silver.
Their eyes followed every passer-by… predatory.
"…" Howard swallowed.
Something was definitely wrong with this place. But something about it also felt right.
"I must be insane," He muttered, tightening his grip on the bundle of blueprints and metal parts under his arm.
But genius and insanity were two sides of the same coin.
Howard Stark pushed the door open.
The moment Howard stepped into the High Claw Shop, his instincts said that something was wrong.
Everything in the shop felt… warped, like reality was politely pretending to behave while something hungry and mildly annoyed lurked beneath the surface.
There were only three things that seemed normal…
The elegant woman behind the counter,
The two adorable-looking twins lounging nearby…
Absolutely nothing else.
Especially not the orange cat.
The orange cat stared at him with the same expression adults used when watching a toddler put forks into electrical sockets.
…Ah. This brat again.
Last time I punted him on that cruise ship. He looks like the type to hold grudges.
And what's with that bundle he's hugging? A potato gun? Did this child seriously come here seeking revenge?
Garfield's tail flicked. Even if you did bring a potato gun, kid, I can swallow a whole farm.
Stupid little Stark cub. He's thinking too hard… that's dangerous.
Howard, after wrestling with his courage, finally crossed the threshold.
The golden-and-silver-haired twins, Lilith and Vivienne, perked up instantly. Their eyes gleamed like sharks that had just detected the first drop of blood in the water.
"A little boy," Lilith purred.
"A little genius," Vivienne corrected.
"Fate coils around you."
"Delicious fate."
"We offer contracts," The twins whispered in harmony as they stepped closer, teeth sharp behind charming smiles.
"No tricks."
"No traps."
"Only for you."
Garfield glared at them with glowing orange eyes.
The twins ignored him.
Howard Stark, genius child or not, was still human. So when two ethereal, predatory, inhumanly beautiful girls cornered him…
He did the only reasonable thing.
He yanked out the modified pistol from his backpack and pointed it at them.
SNAP
A golden flash burst through the room. Two ropes coiled violently around the twins, binding them like venomous serpents.
Smoke rose from where the ropes touched skin.
"A~AAGH!!"
"Master, mercy!!"
Lilith and Vivienne dropped to their knees instantly, pain stripping away their glamoured human forms.
Their true shapes flashed through… curved horns, pale luminous skin, elegant but deadly limbs.
Howard's jaw nearly hit the floor. "My god! They're DEMONS!"
Garfield sighed. "Technically, succubi. Don't lump them with general-purpose demons, please."
With a flick of his paw, the golden ropes dissolved. The succubi scrambled immediately to Garfield's side like repentant cats.
"Master, we were wrong!"
"We won't tempt him!"
"We tried to resist, but his soul smelled so~so…"
"For the love of all dimensions, shut up," Garfield snapped.
The girls clamped their mouths shut.
"Next time," Garfield said coldly, "You won't get a gentle warning."
"Yes, Master," The succubi whispered in unison.
Howard's entire worldview was collapsing. He pointed at Garfield, trembling.
"Th~the orange cat… JUST TALKED."
"If I were you," Garfield said, "I'd put the hand down before I bite it off, Howard Stark."
"You~know my name?!" Howard froze.
"I knew it," Garfield said smugly, "The moment I punted you on that cruise ship. Now, state your business."
"What are you doing in my shop?"
Howard straightened, breathing hard, clutching his invention.
"Before I explain," He said firmly, "I need to ask something."
Garfield blinked lazily. "What."
"Are you the one who bought the entire High Claw property on Wall Street and Broadway?"
"That's me." The cat answered without hesitation.
Howard held up the bundle in his arms… a prototype weapon, blueprints sticking out the sides, steel gleaming.
"Then…" Howard declared, eyes burning with raw genius and desperation,
"I want you to invest in me."
꧁𓊈𒆜༺⚜༻𒆜𓊉꧂
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