Story Info

Title: Iron Man on the Job

Author: Del Rion

Fandom: Iron Man (MCU)

Genre: General

Rating: K+ / FRC

Characters: J.A.R.V.I.S., Tony Stark (Iron Man). Mentioned: Tony's bots (DUM-E and U).

Summary: Tony's got the flu, but that can't keep him down when Iron Man is needed – because there's only one Iron Man. Right?
Complete. Part of the "Genius, AI & Bots" series.

Written for: My card on Trope Bingo's Round 2 (square: secret twin / doppelganger)

Warnings: Mild profanities.

Disclaimer: Iron Man and Marvel Cinematic Universe, including characters and everything else, belong to Marvel, Marvel Studios, Jon Favreau, Shane Black, Paramount Pictures and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. In short: I own nothing; this is pure fiction created to entertain likeminded fans for no profit whatsoever.

Beta: Mythra

Feedback: Very welcome!

About Iron Man on the Job: After Iron Man 3, this story won't surprise anyone. (No spoilers, though!)

Perhaps this is how the House Party Protocol got started, in a sense…

Story and status: Below you see the writing process of the story. If there is no text after the title, then it is finished and checked. Possible updates shall be marked after the title.

Iron Man on the Job

. . .

Written for Trope Bingo's Round 2 (square: "secret twin / doppelganger").

Iron Man on the Job

Iron Man descended from the sky, rounding the building as he slowed down, staying far enough away to not rattle the walls and windows. Finally, the armor curved towards the entrance that led to the underground garage, navigating the narrow, twisting passage easily.

The red-and-gold armor carried a few visual signs of the latest mission – scratches and stains, mostly – and landed steadily on the floor of the wide room that, besides being a garage, also served as Tony Stark's workshop and armory.

Tony Stark, who stood in the middle of said room, had his arms crossed across his chest, pursing his lips in a show of displeasure.

"You're up," a voice coming from the armor stated, head moving slightly to fix two glowing eyes on the man.

"Obviously," Tony narrowed his own eyes. "How is it that Iron Man got called out on a mission and you didn't even bother to wake me up!?"

"You had been burning up with a fever all night; you needed to rest."

Tony grumbled and refused to change his stance. "Drop the act. Is that how you've been talking while pretending to be me?" He blinked and considered it. "Is that how I sound?"

"Indeed, sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. replied from the speakers.

Tony huffed and turned away. "Put the armor back where you found it. Also, this better be the last time you pull a stunt like this! Impersonating a person is a serious offense – I'm sure impersonating a known superhero is even worse."

"What are you going to do, sir? Ground me?" the AI asked. Either J.A.R.V.I.S. was still copying Tony's speech patterns and attitude – or, more likely, the AI was just being a cheeky bastard because he could.

"I'll think of something," Tony promised, then sneezed harshly and sniffed afterwards. Dummy rolled over, offering him a tissue from a half-empty box the bot was carrying carefully in its grip.

"It would seem your temperature has gone down, finally," J.A.R.V.I.S. observed as the armor walked itself to the far end of the workshop. You followed in its trail, making upset sounds at the dirty footprints the armor left behind.

Tony sniffed again and tried blowing his clogged-up nose. "I could have handled the mission," he responded.

"The long flight would have been unnecessarily hard on you, sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. protested. "I neither observed nor recorded any suspicious activity regarding whether or not anyone thought that it wasn't you in the suit. Not even the S.H.I.E.L.D. liaisons on-site."

"Aren't you the perfect doppelganger…" Tony muttered.

"Go to bed, sir. Get some rest. I'm sure you'll have plenty of chances to don the suit once you have recovered."

"You know I can just ban you from using the suits independently, right?" Tony reminded his AI as he shuffled to the elevator, grabbing the box of tissues from Dummy as he went.

"Of course, sir."

Tony nodded and stepped into the elevator, hitting the top floor button as he leaned against the back wall. "Good job, J," he finally admitted.

"Thank you, sir."

"Let's not make this into a habit, though, okay?" he confirmed as the doors closed.

"You are, and always will be, Iron Man," J.A.R.V.I.S. confirmed. "That is not something wearing a piece of armor can change."

Tony hoped his AI was right.

The End