Chapter 37: Ch37. Welcome to...
"Will you finally stop jumping around like an overexcited squirrel and tell us why you called us here, Mr. Stark?" The Ancient One asked in a calm tone but her eyes betrayed a smidge of excited impatience while Natasha next to her nodded in agreement.
Tao knew whatever Tony did would be something outrageous and didn't want to miss this moment. As for how she knew what he called them for... why else would he ask her to come with him if not to boast?
"Fine!" Tony retorted and pouted, crossing his arms on his chest. "No fun with people your age."
"People my age are mostly just dust." Tao genially deadpanned but her eyes intently observed Tony. She could feel him channel the energy from the Sling Ring, creating a portal while his hands were crossed, meaning he already figured out how to stop using a crutch such as gestures.
Needless to say, The Ancient One was quite impressed. For a few months' worths of learning, Tony once again broke her expectations. She only wondered how fast would he advance if she took him as her disciple and trained him full-time.
She promptly discarded that thought. Tony wasn't someone who reacted well to being told what to do. It was better if she let him have his pace and learn what he was interested in rather than her trying to teach him what she thought was important for him. The two were not exactly the same, after all. She would have never introduced him to Golemancy or Alchemy in general... and yet.
"Touche, grandma." Tony snorted and beckoned them to follow him. "Come on." He then turned around and walked through the portal he created.
The Ancient One and Natasha looked at each other in exasperation at having nothing explained and only told to follow but Natasha then sheepishly shrugged, causing Tao to chuckle before they both went through the portal.
The first thing that greeted them when they stepped through was a feeling of something latching on them. Both Tao and Natasha instantly tensed in alarm but...
"Incredible." The Ancient One relaxed and spoke in amazement after a while. Noticing that Natasha was still wary, Tao decided to explain to her what just happened, "He warded this room. It attaches several spells on everyone who steps inside."
"What spells?" Natasha asked, also relaxing. If the Sorceress Supreme looked fine with them, then Natasha really had nothing to complain about. She was still curious though.
"I..." Tao started but stopped herself as if losing her words. She really did measure her next sentence, not knowing how to put it into words because she knew exactly what spells these were and she could already predict what will happen next. "I have no idea how to say this in a calming way, Nat. These spells allow Sorcerers to survive in places uninhabitable by humans." She slowly said but Natasha didn't seem to understand what she meant if her unbothered nod was any indication. Tao decided to be blunt, "Such as other planets without oxygen in the atmosphere."
That stopped Natasha in her tracks, causing her to blink, her mouth opening in speechless bewilderment. She turned towards Tao with wide eyes, "You want to tell me we are..."
"On Mars. Yes." Tony suddenly spoke, alerting the two women to his presence.
"When you asked me for portal coordinates to other planets in our Solar System I already suspected what you wanted to do but this... You did this in under a month?" The Ancient Ones was looking around, her eyes seeing through every enchantment and ward in the room.
"This? No, no, no. This is just the entry room!" Tony giddily explained before he turned around and walked out, clearly expecting them to follow him.
Both Natasha and Tao had no idea what to think about this while a sense of deja vu hit them as they looked at each other... again.
With a weary sigh, the two women followed the overgrown manchild, mentally preparing to interrupt his gloating the second it starts. They had a feeling today would be full of surprises even without Tony being his usual self.
The two awkwardly followed Tony and when they left the entry room, they were greeted by a long corridor where he was already waiting for them, looking out of... the wall.
The 'wall' to their left was mostly made of reinforced glass and showed a rocky plain of the red planet. The sight wasn't anything special until one realized they were on a different planet.
Natasha walked next to Tony and snuck her hand into his as she also stared at the empty plain of red rocks behind the glass. "We are in a mountain?" She idly asked, coming to this conclusion from what she was seeing through the window.
Tony smirked, "Yeah. I had to make sure my base won't be visible for the pitiful Earthlings who try and fail to explore this part of the planet." He remarked without any ill will behind his words.
"I assume the real wonder is at the end of this corridor, no?" Tao walked next to Tony too, on the opposite side of Natasha, and asked while her eyes also appreciatively roamed over the red planet's surface.
She was glad she could see the day a human would start colonizing another planet. Even if it was just Tony being Tony.
"Yes, the central part is much deeper in the mountain." Tony nodded.
They marveled at the sight for a few seconds before Tony gave them a quick tour through the facility. It wasn't fully finished yet. There was still a lot of work to be done but it was still impressive that Tony managed to do this much in a month.
The living quarters were quite bare for now, unfurnished, and Tony revealed he intended to let JARVIS try his hand on making the furniture as it would be a good way to practice his dexterity and get some experience in making stuff. The only furnished parts of the living quarters were Tony's own room and a room next to it with a plate saying 'Nat', which made Natasha's smile widen just a teensy bit more.
The Ancient One gave the redhead a knowing look before she smirked at Tony and quickly asked him where was her room, to which he just stuck out his tongue and told her to choose and furnish whatever room she wanted because he was apparently too busy.
He could have at least chosen a better lie...
The kitchen was similarly not yet stocked with ingredients because Tony saw no point in it. He could just portal in and out whenever he wanted so he won't be eating inside anytime soon. Unlike the living quarters, the kitchen, however, was fully functioning with the best appliances on the market. Just in case.
The security measures could use some work too, according to Natasha. She didn't like the fact there were no deadly traps capable of dealing with intruders.
Naturally, Tony just looked at her weirdly with, "What intruders?" But she just rolled her eyes at him and that conversation was over.
Three hours later, the trio finally reached a door in deep underground and Tony stopped, "Okay, this here is the central part and the reason why I bothered making this place. Step through and feel free to leave your jaw on the floor!"
Both Natasha and Tao were quite used to the fact they were on Mars by now so Tony's warning fell on deaf ears as they stepped through the door and found themselves on a platform overseeing a huge, really massive area where...
"Is that an... assembly line?" Natasha asked in astonishment, gripping the railings of the platform. Down there were multiple machines Natasha did not recognize but some parts were obvious.
Hearing Natasha, Tao groaned, "You are planning to mass-produce golems through an assembly line, aren't you?" She asked with a fed-up voice. Now this she didn't foresee even in her wildest dreams.
Tony just cockily shrugged, "Alchemists and Artificers of old were really genial, I gotta admit. But they did not have something I can freely use. Modern ideas. Why should I bother crafting everything by hand when I can fully automatize the process, having my golems make other golems?"
"The magical parts need someone to actively imbue them with mystical energy." The Ancient One dryly said. It wasn't as easy as Tony imagined. "Actively, as in personally. I mean, sure. You can still mass-produce the shell of the golems but..."
"JARVIS." Natasha suddenly interrupted as a realization hit her, causing Tao to furrow her eyebrows at her, "JARVIS is an Artifact capable of independent action and can use mystical energy." She uttered, dumb-struck at the fact that Tony created a fully-functioning golem-making factory.
The Ancient One blinked and... facepalmed.
"Of course, your two insane Artifacts. How could we expect anything else from Tony Stark than creating something capable of learning and evolving by itself. Anything less would be an insult to the name Stark, right?" She retorted, a bit of petulant annoyance clear in her tone.
"Is it safe?" Natasha abruptly turned towards The Ancient One. "I am sorry Tony," She glanced at him, "but I want an opinion of someone with more experience in the Mystic Arts than a few months of self-study. So," She turned back towards Tao, "Is there a possibility of JARVIS going full Skynet on us?"
There was no way she would not use this chance to alleviate or prove her worries. She did trust Tony but the uncertainty was killing her.
The Ancient One thought about it for a second before shaking her head, "No. Both JARVIS and FRIDAY are Tony's Artifacts now. There are only very few more efficient ways to prevent betrayal."
Natasha released a deep breath she had no idea she was holding in and flinched when a voice appeared from nearby.
"Thank you for making that clear, Miss Magical Grandma. Maybe Miss Romanoff will feel at ease near me now." JARVIS's smooth British voice came out of a 'golem' looking like an Iron Man suit.
Natasha threw him an apologetic look but... she didn't regret asking.
The Ancient One threw a meaningful glance at Tony who seemed to take a subtle step back while whistling as if she was not aware it was him who corrupted JARVIS with this 'Magical Grandma' nonsense.
"Call me Tao, JARVIS."
"As you wish, Tao." JARVIS agreed before turning to Tony, "Sir, we found various new veins of precious metals. The mining processes will start once more golems are created."
"Okay. Good job, J." Tony gave him a thumbs-up and the golem controlled by JARVIS in front of him turned around and left. Tony could instantly feel two pairs of eyes burning into his side.
"You... are planning to mine minerals here?" Natasha asked, understanding this facility might very well become fully self-sufficient in the future if Tony solved the problem with water and food. Even without that, it might be enough to mine and create one golem after another.
She realized that this was the method with which Tony wanted to create his army.
"Of course!" Tony seemed almost offended she had to ask that. Wasn't it obvious? "There is no law saying I can't mine on Mars nor any stating I have to report my mining activities here to the government!" He smugly added.
Tao sighed, looking down at the golems who were using the machines of the assembly line, creating more of themselves. It was a mesmerizing and disturbing sight in a weird sort of way.
She couldn't help but to quietly murmur, "What a grievous oversight."
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