Marvel: Little Genius - Chapter: 427 (Patreon)

"Hey, hello there, friend. I'm looking for Doctor Zola. Have you seen him?"

The newcomer asked as he saw Tony inside the armory.

As for the mentioned Doctor Zola, full name Arnim Zola, he was a scientist who had defected from Hydra. If the person being questioned here were Captain, he would certainly remember this name well.

Because Dr. Zola, as a scientist who helped the Red Skull control the energy of the Tesseract, had been captured by Captain, and under duress, he revealed the location of the Red Skull's base. This eventually led to the epic showdown between Captain and the Red Skull.

After World War II, with the defeat of the Axis powers and the apparent dissolution of Hydra, they went underground and, taking advantage of the opportunity to recruit Nazi scientists, secretly infiltrated the predecessor of S.H.I.E.L.D. – the Strategic Scientific Reserve.

Through this method, Hydra linked its fate to the political system of the entire country, eventually leading to the "Insight Program" and the collapse and reorganization of S.H.I.E.L.D. The mastermind behind this plan was none other than Dr. Zola, who transferred his consciousness into a supercomputer after his physical death.

However, at this moment, Tony had no time to ponder over these matters. In fact, he seemed to have fallen into a daze.

Because the person who appeared in front of him was Howard Stark, the man who had given him everything.

"Hey! Friend, can you hear me talking?"

Seeing that Tony had no reaction, Howard reached out and shook his hand in front of his face before asking again.

"Oh, sorry! I was a bit distracted earlier. You're looking for Dr. Zola, right? But I haven't seen him, and there's not a soul here."

"Is that so... Thank you for your answer." Even though he hadn't found Dr. Zola, Howard still smiled kindly at Tony.

For some reason, from the moment he laid eyes on the person in front of him, he felt a deep sense of familiarity and warmth, as if they had known each other for a long time.

So Howard couldn't help but ask, "Have we met somewhere before?"

"You probably don't know me, sir. I'm a visitor from MIT, and maybe we crossed paths on the MIT campus," Tony replied, shaking his head.

In theory, he should have felt very nervous about being caught by someone while stealing the Cosmic Cube in the armory. But his current feelings were quite the opposite – he felt remarkably relaxed, even somewhat pleased, simply because the person standing in front of him was his father.

"If we did indeed cross paths before, it seems like we have a strange fate between us. By the way, what's your name?"

"I'm Howard, Howard Potts!" Tony didn't reveal his real name; instead, he improvised a name by combining his father's first name with Pepper's last name.

"That's an easy name to remember, and it's quite a coincidence because I'm also named Howard, Howard Stark – Hello, Mr. Potts!"

As Howard introduced himself, he extended his right hand to Tony.

Tony quickly reached out and shook hands with him, but perhaps due to the excitement of seeing his father again, especially in his younger years, Tony's emotions got the best of him, and his grip involuntarily tightened.

"Just a handshake, no need to be so tense! But you don't look very well, Mr. Potts?"

"Sorry, I squeezed too hard. I'm fine; it's just that I've been a bit tired lately. I have a son, not too young anymore, but he still manages to make me worry. Today, he got himself into a big mess, and now I have a headache that won't go away."

Facing Howard, Tony didn't hold back and opened up about his son, Mark, who happened to be Howard's grandson, even though Howard himself was unaware of this fact.

"In that case, how about we go outside for some fresh air, Mr. Potts?" Howard suggested.

"That sounds perfect." Tony agreed without hesitation.

"In that case, this way, please. And don't forget your suitcase," Howard pointed to the suitcase that Tony had left aside.

Tony grabbed the suitcase containing the Space Stone and followed Howard out of the armory. Then, Howard went into his office, took out a bouquet of flowers and a can of sauerkraut, and finally, the two entered the elevator together.

"Flowers and sauerkraut, do you have a date tonight?" Tony opened the conversation.

"Uh, no, it's not that. My wife, she's pregnant. And I've been working overtime a lot lately, so I need to make some gestures," Howard said with a gentle smile on his face when talking about his family.

Tony, who was listening, was initially a bit shocked. He had genuinely forgotten that he was supposed to be born around this time. Tony felt somewhat ridiculous for overlooking such a thing. But then, he seemed to understand why Mark had brought them to this time to search for the Space Stone.

"Congratulations, Mr. Stark. How far along is she?" Tony inquired.

"To be honest, I don't know the answer to that question. She can't even stand the sound of me eating now. I might have to eat in the kitchen from now on, haha! By the way, Potts, tell me about your child. Were you nervous when your child was born? Do you feel prepared? Do you know how to successfully raise him? I'd like to get some parenting advice from you."

"Advice... Well, the truth is, I didn't receive any news when my son was born. When he appeared in front of me, he was already a crying little baby. And during my son's childhood, we spent very little time together.

Besides providing him with a comfortable life, I didn't fulfill my responsibilities as a father. But luckily, he grew up healthy and achieved far more remarkable accomplishments than I did.

Sometimes, I even find redemption in his shining achievements. Fortunately, I had a daughter later on, and this time, I didn't make the same mistake. I put aside fame, fortune, and socializing to spend time with her and gained happiness and joy from her.

If you ask me for parenting advice as a father who can't really be considered successful, I can only say, try your best to be there for them, because "No amount of money ever bought a second of time.""

"I see... being there for them, sometimes the simplest things are the most luxurious! But I hope my child is a girl, at least that way, the chances of her turning out like me will be lower," Howard said with some anticipation.

"Any issues with being like you?" Tony asked in confusion.

"I always put personal hobbies above collective interests. People like me probably won't be well-liked. I still hope that my child can make some good friends, and not be as solitary and eccentric as I am.

Although my child hasn't been born yet, I'm willing to do anything for them. It was a pleasure to meet you today, Mr. Potts, and I enjoyed our conversation. But now I need to go home and be with my wife."

"I've also enjoyed our time together. I wish you all the best, Mr. Howard. And thank you for everything you've done... for this country."

After bidding farewell to Tony, Howard approached his car with the bouquet of flowers and the can of sauerkraut. The butler who had been waiting by the car took the items from him carefully and placed them in the back seat of the car.

"Jarvis, do you remember if we've met that gentleman before?" Howard pointed to where Tony had been.

Edwin Jarvis, the Stark family's butler, turned to take a look and shook his head slightly. He had no recollection of the man. "You've met so many people, sir."

"Is that so? But why do I have this strange feeling of familiarity with him..."

Murmuring to himself, Howard got into the car. With Tony watching, the car kicked up dust as it gradually drove away.

"Goodbye, Howard… Father."