[Third POV, Year 2001, Broken loop, 18th of April, Stark Industries]
"So, you want the Navy to use the LRAD? I never thought a kid could be that much of a patriot — creating something people at least four times your age can't. Alright, Adrian, pay attention to your mail."
With a humorous tone, Stark walked to the exit of the room, tossing some last words to Obadiah before leaving.
"Obadiah, please give this kid and his father a good deal — don't try to butcher them. Oh, and don't bother insisting on the sonic taser; it's not like we could commercialize it. It'd probably be considered too inhumane and get disapproved by the government."
And with that, Tony left the room. As he walked, he pulled an earbud from his breast pocket, popped it into his ear, and spoke aloud.
"JARVIS, search for the kid's contact info. Using email is too retro for me."
"Understood, sir. Right away."
'Alright, time for an in-depth talk with that actress. Stark Pictures isn't exactly an easy place to break into, after all.'
(This is an actual thing Stark Pictures was made by Howard Stark in the series of Agent Carter.)
Taking off the earbud, Tony headed out of the building to get on with his day.
Back in the meeting room, Obadiah scratched his head a little as he looked at their young guest.
'Goddamn it, Tony. Can't you at least stay for the deal? Whatever — let's get this diamond.'
With a sigh, Obadiah put on a big smile, stood up from his chair, and approached Adrian.
"Well, that presentation was definitely something. You really are a monster, you know that? To create not just one but two devices at that level of technical complexity — honestly, not even Tony could do that when he was a child. While he was busy making his first circuits, you were already building a machine capable of military use."
Chuckling a bit at the memory of Tony's circuit-making days, Obadiah patted the kid's shoulder, then turned to Adrian's father.
"Mr. Edwin, your child is without a doubt a genius. Now that even Tony Stark — considered one of the greatest minds of the century — has confirmed and approved him, we have no reason to doubt it. We'd like to discuss a deal regarding the manufacturing, distribution, and sales process of the LRAD."
With that, the discussion shifted to how the sales ratio would be divided between Stark Industries and the father-son duo. Thanks to Tony's earlier remarks, Obadiah decided to restrain himself and not be too greedy on the share and sales split.
After laying out the proposed contract terms, Obadiah leaned slightly toward Adrian.
"Hey, Adrian, say — I know you don't want to commercialize the sonic taser, but… what about making another one? I'd like to have one for myself."
Hearing that made the protagonist pause in thought.
'Looks like even if it wasn't Stark Industries that made the sonic taser in this timeline, you old bastard still want to have it. Well, you did say it was your favorite toy at some point after all.'
This internal monologue flashed by in less than a second, and Adrian quickly gave his answer.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think that would be a good idea. You've seen the effects it had on the person in the video. After I made it, I decided to disassemble the device — I deemed it too inhumane. I only kept the video in case something were to happen."
Hearing that made Obadiah feel somewhat regretful. He had taken a liking to the gadget and wanted his R&D engineers to study it and figure out how it worked. Still, he decided to set the idea aside for now. With at least a lead on how it functioned, it would be easier for his people to try recreating it later.
"What a shame. But alright, then. I think we've reached a good outcome in this meeting. We'll send the contract to your house. We'll contact you if anything else comes up."
Prompted by Obadiah's words, Adrian started packing up his things, then walked over to stand beside his father, who replied politely.
"Understood, sir. I hope you have a good day."
"It's been a pleasure. I wish the same for both of you."
With that, the father and son left the room, exited the building, and got into their car to drive home.
"Well, that went well."
"Well? Even if you hadn't won the lottery or made that music that's booming right now — with just the money we'll make from the LRAD and the Stark Industries deal, we could live three lifetimes without worrying about money! That's more than 'well'!"
Exclaiming loudly, Edwin stopped the car, looked at his son, and held up his hand for a high five.
Clap!
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Now I'm actually curious about what Stark meant — he looked like he was planning to talk to me afterward."
As the father and son kept chatting, back at Stark Industries, Obadiah was having his own conversation with the researcher he'd brought into the meeting.
"Well, do you think we could reproduce what the kid made? The sonic taser — that looked like a neat thing to have."
Thinking for a few seconds, the researcher answered his boss with an uncertain tone.
"With what the kid and Stark said, I think we could recreate it pretty soon if we tried. We just need to figure out the frequency that was used and how to emit it consistently. But… is it really a good idea to replicate it, considering what Mr. Stark said?"
"Well, think of it as a personal project I'll fund."
Nodding and understanding what his boss said the researcher made a mental note of talk with some his friends in the R&D department to work in the recreation of the sonic taser.
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Author Note: I don't have too much to say.
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