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Time drifted by slowly.
In the living room, **Pichu** was sprawled out, surfing the web while continuously absorbing electricity.
Down in the lab, Tony was hard at work on the translator.
Before they knew it, noon had arrived.
Maria Hill and Pepper Potts arrived at the villa one after another.
When Hill stepped inside, she spotted Pichu in the corner of the sofa. The corners of her mouth lifted in a playful smile.
"Pichu, I haven't seen you for ten days—miss me?" she teased while reaching out to stroke him.
A moment later, Pichu unceremoniously batted her hand away with his right paw.
Squinting up at Hill, Pichu gave her a flat look.
"Woman, just talk like a normal person—don't touch. I know you're drooling over my body, but I'm telling you right now—it's impossible."
Of course, Hill couldn't understand him verbally, but that didn't stop her from noticing the flicker of annoyance on his face.
Not that she cared—in fact, she found it even more entertaining.
Whenever she found a spare moment to visit and tease Pichu, the stress from the mountain of S.H.I.E.L.D. work she dealt with seemed to melt away. The brief breaks left her feeling lighter and more relaxed.
It would be even better if Pichu actually let her hug him.
If Pichu knew what she was thinking, he'd scoff. If their positions were reversed, well—he might actually enjoy it.
Pepper, watching their interaction with a smile, scanned the room and noticed Tony was missing. Her expression shifted into mild exasperation.
"Where's Tony? Don't tell me he got lost in work down there again!"
Her tone might have been framed as a question, but it was more of a statement—tinged with helplessness.
Once Tony got caught up in a project, he could go for hours without eating or sleeping. Pepper was well aware of how bad that habit was for his health, so she made a point to check in on him regularly.
Sighing, she headed toward the stairs to the lab. It was clear she intended to drag him upstairs if she had to.
A short while later, Pepper returned with Tony in tow.
The two women then headed into the kitchen together to prepare lunch, leaving Tony and Pichu alone in the living room.
***
Tony leaned back, rubbed his temples, then focused on Pichu.
"The trial version will be ready in about half an hour. We'll test it then. If it doesn't work, we'll let J.A.R.V.I.S. process the data, then try again.
"Though, I'm pretty sure I'll need materials I don't have on hand. I'll have Happy run out and pick up what we need, so he can have them shipped in."
Most of his lab's stock was tailored for his Iron Man suits. Crafting a cross-species language translator—especially one that could survive Pichu's electrical discharges—required more specialized components.
After all, when the device was finished, Pichu would be wearing it at all times. If it shorted out the moment he let off a spark, it would be pointless.
"You'll figure it out," Pichu said, waving a tiny paw dismissively.
***
"Right… speaking of which."
Tony leaned back on the sofa, looking at Pichu strangely.
"J.A.R.V.I.S. told me your appetite's increased tenfold. You're absorbing 10,000 kilowatt-hours per minute—that's tens of millions per day.
"Even the power company messaged me again asking why this property is drawing so much electricity."
This villa wasn't built by Tony—it was something he'd purchased and modified to his liking afterward. Utility accounts were still set up like any standard home, though.
Buying the place didn't mean free power, water, or internet.
Normally, Tony didn't care. He'd dumped tens of thousands of dollars into the villa's accounts to cover bills for years, given his pre-Pichu consumption levels.
But after Pichu moved in? That money vanished in days.
The only reason the power company hadn't cut the juice was because they knew exactly whose home this was.
Pichu, however, didn't look concerned. He calmly typed on his tablet:
**"Relax. It's a tiny expense. You're talking under $20,000 a day. For a billionaire like you, that's nothing."**
Tony's eye twitched, his tone flat.
"Do you *seriously* think utilities are charged at a fixed rate? The moment your monthly draw passes a certain threshold, rates skyrocket.
"You're sucking up tens of millions of kilowatt-hours every day. At their highest tier rates, that's three to four hundred thousand dollars a day.
"You know what that means? In the past three months, you've burned through more than **three million dollars** in electricity alone."
He jabbed a finger at Pichu.
"And don't give me that look—this is just *now*. What about later?
"You're gonna evolve again. Your power needs will climb. We could be looking at millions—*tens of millions*—per day.
"Short term, fine. But long term? Even for Tony Stark, billionaire industrialist, there's a limit to feeding an electricity black hole."
***
Pichu's long ears twitched. He blinked at Tony, suddenly realizing… he hadn't accounted for that at all.
No wonder Nick Fury was so eager to "find him a home" so quickly!
***
*(Author's Note: The dollar amounts here—hundreds of thousands, millions—are rough estimates. Real residential U.S. electricity rates average around $0.13/kWh, with business rates around $0.065/kWh, increasing heavily past certain usage tiers. Point is: Pichu's energy habit is insanely expensive.)*