Work Text:
Tony Stark was running on fumes.
With Pepper on maternity leave after Morgan’s birth, he’d stepped into both her roles and his own. By 8 a.m. he was CEO. By 10, head of R&D. By noon, a guilt-ridden new father who hadn’t made it to Morgan’s last pediatric appointment. He’d forgotten to check the nutrient upload protocols for SI’s next-gen algae batteries and nearly approved a vibranium schematic with a charge bleed flaw (MJ caught it and stopped him). The man who once scheduled his ego between coffee breaks hadn’t slept in three days…maybe four.
Peter noticed first.
As Tony’s personal intern, he watched up close. Tony would scribble half-formed ideas into his tablet, pause, sigh, and leave them hanging like ghosts.
Peter sat down in the employe cafeteria with a tray over filling with food. “Did you see Tony today?”
MJ stated, “He snapped at the UN press secretary about the press conference. The worst thing was that he had no idea what the press conference was about.”
Peter hesitated, thinking of the last time Tony had shown up at the lab in pajamas, baby fluids smeared across his shirt. “Yesterday, I wouldn’t let him off the elevator into his own lab. He was dressed in pajamas and baby fluids. He snapped at me. I reminded him that he’s the one that always stresses lab safety to me.”
Ned pulled up his phone, frowning at the data. “I programed Friday to wake him if he falls asleep anywhere but the penthouse. She’s supposed to notify me too when this happens. It’s been four days, and I know he hasn’t slept properly.”
“I tried to get him to eat something for lunch earlier. I stopped him and forced a protein shake and a power bar on him. He just took the shake and sprinted off towards the R&D lab muttering something about a prototype generator.” MJ said holding the protein bar up to the boys. Peter took it and stuffed it in his pocket.
Peter stopped, glancing at his friends. “We have to do something. Intervention? Pepper?”
“No.” MJ crossed her arms. “What he needs is our help. We are working in the three largest departments in the tower.” MJ pulled out her tablet and showed them Tony’s schedule and his five page long to do list. “What on this list can we do, without him knowing, to help him.”
“I don’t know about this MJ?” Peter said.
Ned grinned. “Hey, Tony always says if you can fix it then fix it. Guess that includes him.”
Over the next few days, the trio started to peck away at Tony’s list. One of the things on that list was due for a product launch in three weeks and Tony had barely started on the project. It was called Helio Weave. Helios Weave is a flexible, solar-powered textile engineered to generate sustainable energy on the go. Designed for maximum comfort and functionality, it blends nanotech innovation with intuitive design by allowing wearers to charge personal devices via their clothing in real time, no bulky batteries required. It had a lot of potential to help first responders, third world countries, and more.
MJ, interning under Pepper, knew this was what the UN press conference was about. She managed to, after talking with Ned and Peter, get the UN to push back the conference for three weeks. That left them three weeks to produce a viable prototype
Ned, down in SI’s IT division video called both MJ and Peter about the Helios Weave project. “He’s coding the diagnostics by hand. I could write an AI code that would give feedback and adjust the flow due to environmental changes.”
Peter pulled up the dusty file. “Helios Weave. He meant it to be wearable solar mesh. Flexible, modular, green energy anywhere.”
MJ narrowed her eyes at the specs. “He missed bleed-off thresholds. That’s not like him.”
Ned tapped into the design logs. “We can finish it. Stabilize the mesh. Add an adaptive AI chip that changes charge regulation based on local temperature and UV index.”
Peter hesitated. “We’d be hijacking his work.”
MJ shrugged. “Or saving it. He’s stretch too thin, and this has majorly slipped through the cracks.”
The trio met up in the half-abandoned R&D Lab B6—under renovation, under the radar.
They got to work.
Peter reverse-engineered filament composites, layering lightweight strands into recycled textile from Mr. Stark’s storage. MJ created a layout that balanced power flow with comfort and wearability. Ned and Peter worked together integrated sensor ring around the hoodie’s cuff. Ned coded an elegant learning protocol, whispering to Peter’s mesh with enough intelligence to self-optimize in real time.
Lab B6 quickly became their hangout after school—Ned brought burritos, MJ drew on coffee filters, and Peter soldered under soft lights. They nearly finished before Tony discovered them two weeks and three days after they started, and his reaction was intense.
Tony entered during the test. The hoodie prototype glowed under Ned’s emitter array as they worked to make the charge invisible.
"You and your friends are in serious trouble,” Tony said. His voice wasn’t raised. It didn’t need to be. However, it made all three jump, as they weren’t expecting to be interrupted.
Ned froze.
MJ didn’t react.
“Do you understand that?” Tony asked looking at the three interns before him. Tony was still exhausted but at least he was dressed in clean clothes.
Peter tried to explain. “We were just—”
“No,” Tony said abruptly. “This is the part where you stop talking and you listen.” Tony steps forward, eyes scanning the lab. “This lab has been closed for remodel for the last four months, that is until I find out the you,” He points to MJ, “Have had the remodel put on hold for a month, “You,” He points to Ned, “bypassed security, so, they didn’t know the lab was being used, “You,” He points to Peter, “accessed restricted specs, and hijacked a proprietary, unfinished, and completely unauthorized project.”
“I had to convince the UN to push back the press conference because the project was barely started,” MJ stood confidently beside Peter, chin lifted. “Besides you weren’t going to finish it and this needed to be done.”
Tony blinked. “Excuse me?”
Ned held up his tablet. “The original had flaws. You were too overwhelmed to see it. We saw it. We fixed it.”
Peter swallowed hard. “Mr. Stark we’ve watched you ever since Pepper went on maternity leave, you’ve been trying to do the work of many when you have many that are willing to help you shoulder the load.”
Ned continued, “You’re burning out. Not sleeping and forgetting important things…”
“Like Morgan’s doctor’s appointments,” MJ finished.
Peter fished their intervention speech, “You trained us to think outside the box. We wanted to help and this,” He points to the prototype on the table, “is something that we can help you with.”
Tony looked down at the hoodie, fingertips grazing the weave. The charge hum was stable. The prototype glowed evenly, but it was still too bright. His eyes scanned the data feed Ned reopened. The AI’s code was smoother than anything he’d written.
“You improved it,” he said softly. “You actually improved it.”
Peter nodded. “It’s not finished yet, but we have a solution to the bright glow problem. It should be done by tomorrow.”
Tony sank into the edge of the bench, rubbing his face. “I didn’t stop Helios because…you’re right I was…am over worked. I can’t be everywhere.” He sighs, “Thank you, all of you, for having my back on this project. The UN wants to use this tech for humanitarian relief projects.”
Ned said gently, “Then maybe… it’s time to let people help you. At least until Pepper is ready to come back to work.”
“I will.” Tony stands and takes one more look at the teenage interns that have had his back, and would always be there to help even if he doesn’t ask. “First thing I am going to is give you three all the credit for this project.”
“Mr. Stark…” Peter started to protest.
“What did I say, I talk you listen.” Tony smiled, “This also means that your presenting it.” He saunters out of the lab. Just as the lab door close, “I want a working prototype on my desk by the end of the day tomorrow.”
The UN presentation/press conference. (This is a skit)
The stage lights slowly grow brighter, MJ center-stage, stylishly wearing a sleek black hoodie that glimmers faintly under spotlight. Peter stands next to her, frantically checking his phone.
Peter:
Ugh, seriously? Dead again? I swear my phone’s allergic to being helpful.
MJ (grinning):
Lucky for you, you’re standing next to the future.
She taps the cuff of her hoodie.
Peter:
I’m doomed. Mr. Stark wanted me to call him after school. And I know Aunt May wanted me to text her when I got home.
MJ:
Watch and learn, Pete.
She pulls a hidden micro-port from the side seam and plugs it into Peter’s phone. After a beat, the screen lights up. Full battery icon glows.
Peter (gaping):
Okay, no joke, did you just resurrect my phone with fashion?
MJ (posing):
Solar-power, fashionably fast.
A halo screen turns on overhead lights up with the presentation.
The Helios Weave.
Sustainable, stylish, and... savior of lives.
Ned (stepping up confidently) starts his speech:
Ladies, gentlemen, of the UN welcome to wearable energy. The Helios Weave integrates flexible solar filaments directly into the textile. It draws power from ambient light, not just sunlight. So yes—fluorescent lighting in this room? Already charging MJ’s hoodie. Ned points to the screen highlighting the important points about the Helios Weave.
- Adaptive AI chips inside the collar auto-regulate charge levels based on environment and movement.
- Built-in safety coatings keep it heat-resistant, lightweight, and washable machines.
- Dual micro-USB-C ports hidden in the cuffs and an induction panel in the back hem.
- Made with recycled Stark Tech fabric and minimal manufacturing footprint. So yes, even MJ’s aesthetic rebellion is eco-approved.
- The weave can be integrated into any design you need. Even gloves. Ned shows off his gloves that have the same faint glow of the hoodie, and a charging port in the cuff.
Peter (to audience):
Helios Weave charging phones in thirty seconds or anything with an USB-C.
MJ (to the audience):
Helios Weave now on pre-sale only from Stark Industries.
Tony steps out on stage.
I aways thought that I was invincible. My dad taught me that Stark men are made with Iron, but even Iron has a breaking point. These three stepped in and saved me when I was at the breaking point. It’s because of them that I realize that they are our future and so, when Pepper and I are ready to retire, I know Stark Industries will be in good hands.