peter gives a quick smile and takes a couple of chips from the bag, crunching thoughtfully.  â well, i have a couple others, so i donât actually need it functioning again. itâd probably be easier for me to make a new one than repair that one. so if you can get the footage, iâd be really thrilled. â
âa new one, huh? makes sense. this one definitely needs some improvements anyway.â leon could point out the various ways it could be improved but heâd rather just work on it himself and bring peter a new one. he can do that later. abandoning his half-finished project, leon slides his chair over to his computer and plugs the drone in so he can get to work. âshouldnât be too hard, give it a minute to run some checks and stuff, iâll have the footage in no time.â
winnie wasnât stupid â she was far from it, actually, but she was wildly uneducated when it came to boys and⊠other things. she was naive with it all, having not bothered with anything related to that sort of thing for basically her whole life. really, in all honesty, winnie was sure sheâd never been looked at in any way other than something congenial and polite, but she wouldnât know what a compliment looked like if it bit her on the nose â meaning, basically, that when leon spoke, she had no idea what he was getting at.
âwhat? leon, youâre not abrasiâ oh. are youâ?â she blinked, her brain trying to catch up with his joke. it didnât take much for her to blush, either, and as a result, she was bright red. âleon!â winnie gasped, staring up at him. âdonât beâ donâtâ iâmâ!â huffing, she tried to move on, without drawing attention to her flushed cheeks. âindian isâ indian is fine. good, even. letâs have that. iâm glad youâre also eating, because as much as you think i donât eat, youâre just as bad as i am. and you know it!â
leon knows exactly how innocent winnie is. itâs not that sheâs stupid - of course not, heâs not stupid enough to think that. sheâs smarter than most people they know, actually. but thereâs still a sense of naivety, childish innocence when it comes to jokes of this.. flavour. which is why he likes throwing them in from time to time, to throw her for a loop. maybe itâs a little mean but he canât help but chuckle at the sight of her floundering and blushing this way. and - sure, okay, itâs kind of cute too.
âiâve been told as such. come on, iâm sure youâve noticed it.â leon canât bring himself to wipe the smirk from his face, more than a little mused at the way sheâs reacting. âwhat? so you didnât mean me?â the feigned innocence is so obvious he just knows odds are itâll just make her more flustered - which is kind of the point, but hey. he could point out the blush on her cheeks and really mess with her, but she figures itâs probably better not to today. maybe another time. âi have no idea what youâre talking about, i eat just fine!â
it never really bothered winnie that she was more patient than leon â there was never a time where she felt like he was rushing her. her patience, she hoped, maybe allowed him to think things through a little more â and, admittedly, his extroversion and confidence was a little contagious. at least, mostly. but, really, what did bother her was the idea of her pulling him away from things he loved doing, much like lab work. rather than harping on about it for too long, winnie just sighed softly, gave him a half apologetic look, and carried on.
âi⊠donât mind, really?â winnie was pretty good when it came to food. sheâd never been a picky eater, which sort of made things easier and harder when it came to her making the decisions. âiâm a little bit in the mood for something spicy? or, oh, thatâ that cafe that has that lemon tart. something abrasive, apparently.â following after him, the redhead shrugged. âhave you had lunch? i donât want to go somewhere and get a meal and you just get a small little⊠thing. you know? what would you prefer?â
it never really bothered him, to do this. to take time away from the lab to keep an eye on winnie. not just because they basically grew up together, or because their families were close. despite how different they are, leon enjoys her company. he likes helping her, keeping an eye on her, and.. maybe he doesnât let it out all that often, but he does at least feel like he can be a little more himself around her. which is always nice to have. he doesnât mind taking some time out of the lab for that.
âsomething abrasive, huh? iâve been told iâm pretty abrasive, you know. seems like a pretty big coincidence.â leon says with a smirk, raising his eyebrows just a touch. heâs not serious of course, but winnieâs so easy to poke fun at he just canât help himself. he drops the smirk and lets out a laugh as they step outside, looking around to try and find the closest place they can find something abrasive. âcâmon, i think thereâs an indian place around the corner thatâs not half-bad. you know me, iâm always good to eat.â he doesnât want to admit to her that he missed lunch because he got so caught up in another project, thatâs just going to make her worry and she doesnât need that.
Lexi eyed the dog, a smile curving her lips.  âAnyone who steals from a dog deserves to deal with him being upset,â she decided. Then she held out the device.  âOh, itâs not mine.â She wouldnât ever treat her tech like that.  âI found it outside, and all things being considered, I figured it wouldnât be safe to just leave it there.â Not that she hadnât been tempted to take it back to her place to tinker with it on her own, but with three computers at various stages, she just didnât have room.  âWho knows what someone might accidentally do with it?â
âyou got that right. no one would steal from him, though.â wolf is, for the most part, a big sweetheart, and leon knows it through and through. heâs not likely to attack anyone unless theyâre a threat to leon or one of his siblings, truth be told. he tosses a treat to the dog before turning his attention to the device, tilting his head to the side a bit. âhey, iâm not here to judge whoever banged up their tech like this. iâm sure whoever it was would just want it back in one piece.â he says with a raised eyebrow, grabbing the abandoned tablet so he can take a closer look. not stark tech, clearly - stark tech wouldnât break so easily - but he should be able to do something with it. âso youâre just a good samaritan, then?âÂ
wrinkling her nose as his hand came up to her face, winnie giggled softly. she hadnât realised â how long had that paint been there? oh, well. slipping on her jacket and calling out goodbye to the other kindergarten teacher, winnie turned back to leon and blushed. âsorry â i just didnât want to keep you waiting! and then i did. whichâ yeah. sorry. sorry for⊠being sorry? i guess?â
eyes widening, both scandalised and delighted by his joke, winnie gave winnie a little nudge. that mother was fine, just⊠a lot. when it came to winnie herself, however, leon knew her too well, and whatâs more than that, she was a bad liar. she couldnât even tell him she had eaten, not to worry, itâs all fine, but it was a thing heâd see right through. brushing hair back off her face and huffing out a short, embarrassed laugh, the redhead shrugged. âi donâtâ only if you want to. i donât want to take you out of your way or anything. are you sure you arenât busy?â she asked, watching him carefully, trying to find out if he was just being nice or if he meant it.
leon canât help but chuckle as he watches winnie rush around, saying her goodbyes and getting ready to leave. her nature is so different to his, theyâre basically opposites in most ways, and yet he canât help but feel fond of her, soft nature and all. âitâs fine, really. iâve been cooped up in classes and labs all day, it was about time i got out and about.â not entirely true - leon would stay in his workshop-slash-lab all day if he had the option, but he knew he had to come and pick up winnie. and she has a habit of making a big deal out of nothing, so - heâd rather try and wave it off now than have her overthink it.
a grin appears on his face at winnieâs reaction, nudging her right back. she has infinitely more patience than leon does, especially with these kids and their parents - he wouldâve handled the situation very differently. leonâs lucky to have had parents who understood where his talents were, but he knows not all kids are so fortunate. âoh iâm super busy. crazy busy. busy with trying to convince you that i want to get something to eat.â he heads out of the classroom, looking back over his shoulder to make sure winnieâs following him. âso, what do you want to eat?â
winnie had always loved working with kids â they were so much easier to understand than her peers, and whatâs more, kids liked her. and even when they didnât, which wasnât often, they were honest about it, so she had no real reason to be anxious about it. the redhead, however, had just spent the last twenty minutes talking to a mother â somebody who was much more difficult to gauge, in terms of how much she liked her â and was glad to see her go.
âsorry, sorry! iâm coming now!â she called out to her old friend, collecting the last few paintings and hanging them up to dry, unaware of the small blue flick of paint on her cheek. âkids are great! mrs conleyâs boy is exceptional in music, even for this gifted lot, so i had to just speak to her about it. iâm so sorry to keep you waiting. thank you for coming to get me!â
the thing about winnie, about their friendship, is that leonâs never actually annoyed at her. how could he be? sheâs about the sweetest person on the planet. and they basically grew up together. however, sheâs also ridiculously easy to tease and poke fun at - in the most harmless way possible, of course - and leonâs always here for that. so where he means something as a joke, somehow winifred banner-ross will always take it way too seriously.
âi was kidding, come on. itâs like we just met or something.â leon says with a chuckle, poking at the youngerâs forehead gently - meant to be affectionate, he promises - before wiping the blue paint from her cheek. âthe longer we hang around, the longer itâll take for pip to find me and harass me about her new suit, so itâs fine. besides, that sounds like a conversation worth having, even if the mother looks like she swallowed a whole lemon for a snack. câmon,â he holds winnieâs coat up for her to put on. âletâs get something to eat. if i know you, you were âtoo busyâ for lunch today.â
âOkay, Okay! Enough playing around, you promised youâd help me with my Mark I suit and I need to finish it cause Iâm already on a Mark II design and itâs not upgraded yet but aesthetically it can be considered an improvement.â She explains as she drags Leon by the hand into the lab. âBut eventually Iâm gonna start thinking up upgrades, and things to fine-tune cause in my head Iâll have already thought of something more efficient before I even use it the Mark I and that would be a tragedy.â Piper has been very excited to get her suit ready and getting it ready or a test drive. She was very excited to actually fly in her own suit, and not one of her fathers old suits she just took out for a joyride.
She has everything set in the lab but she had to hunt down her brother and drag him down, playfully knowing she wasnât really bothering him at that moment. He had said he would make time today anyway. She let go when they were close to the table and started over organizing the tool set up she had ready as she wanted certain tools they would need more frequently closer within in their reach.
âi donât remember using the words i promise. i think youâre making things up, pip.â leon teases, though he doesnât resist as his sister pulls him along into the lab. heâs absolutely poking fun at her - he did promise and he remembers doing so, and while itâs easy to tease her or make a big deal about it and make it seem like this is the last place he wants to be, he would never go back on a promise to one of his siblings. âyou know, a mark ii design isnât all that practical when we still need to get mark i off the ground. i get youâre thinking ahead but - letâs make sure the first one actually works.â and he doesnât mean it in a you canât do this way. heâd never even think that about piper. he absolutely means it in a i donât want you to crash and get hurt kind of way.
maybe he should do the first test flight. that could work. pip doesnât even need to know, right?
okay, he can deal with that later. âyou still having trouble calibrating the repulsors with the right amount of energy? tricky to get it to work with no delay or downtime. i reckon thatâs where we start, at least youâll have stable flight then.â
itâs endearing, to see winnie in her element. to watch her working with the children at the daycare centre, clearly completely absorbed in what sheâs doing, in giving them 100% of her attention. not that leonâs surprised to see it, of course. winnieâs just got that kind of personality, the kind thatâs suited to.. helping. caring. itâs just how she is. so itâs nice to see her in her element.
not that leonâs about to say that. he pushes off the doorframe as winnie finishes up, stepping into the room with his hands tucked into his pockets. âyou know, when i agreed to give you a lift back to campus i didnât expect to have to hang around and wait.â leon says with a raised eyebrow, holding her pre-collected coat up to help her put it on. âkids alright?â heâs not a heartless asshole, okay.
peter opens and closes his hand in the universal symbol for blah-blah-blah. little twerpy brat. who does he remind peter of ?? oh yeah, like every dude with too much money and objective smarts. â weâre all busy guys, leon. iâm asking for your help. â peter gives a casual shrug, hands over a bag of chips too.  â those are technically fried, all yours.  â besides, this isnât ta stuff. this is evil people stuff. âÂ
asking for your help. well shit. how does peter already know that an almost sure-fire way to get leon to do something is to say something like that. letting out an overly dramatic, over the top sigh, leon puts the drone down on his bench so he can get a proper look at the mechanics. âbetter. so much so that i might even share.â leon takes a chip for himself, tosses one to wolf, and then holds them up to peter. âso, you need this to be a fully functional creeper again, or just need the footage?â
 june rolled her eyes, pulling away from her lecture notes she was writing to look over at leon with a glare. â donât you get tired of coming in here to tear apart the equipment your family paid for? â she asked, spinning her chair to face him. â do you even still have access to stark money here? âÂ
the glare does absolutely nothing to him, leon barely even notices it. when youâve dealt with his motherâs glares your whole life, you tend to be pretty immune to anything else. ânope. they mightâve paid for it, but itâs not theirs. theyâd give you much better tech.â he points out, wrinkling his nose at the tech sheâs decided to go with. âtechnically iâm a stark, and technically some of that money mustâve come from my universe when it all crashed, so - yeah, i can access it.â heâs not sure heâs accessing it legally, but for now it doesnât matter.
âchrist, this stuff is old.â leon says with a crinkled nose as he wanders into juneâs lab, hands tucked into his pockets. he knows he doesnât technically own the place, but he knows thereâs a good amount of stark money here and thatâs enough for him to be a bit like this. just a bit. maybe not as much as this but - hey, sue him. âseriously. can you please let me get some new equipment in here? i donât know how you work itâs a tragedy.â
peter drops down on his haunches to the dogâs level and goes ahead and hands the magnificent beast a quarter of his sandwich. peterâs a lot of things, but heâs not the kind of monster who can eat in front of a dog without sharing. peter turns the small, pathetically-attempting-to-scuttle drone over in his hands a few times before putting it down on its back in front of leon.  â well, see, thatâs the problem. i gotta try to repair it, so i can watch the footage && find out what happened. seemed way up your alley, partner. and, wait a second !! â he fakes a gasp and takes out another parchment-wrapped sandwich out of his bag. â whatâs that? a delicious bribe? âÂ
âoh youâre gonna be his... third favourite person, if you keep doing that. maybe second, if you bring a cheesesteak some time.â leon says with a laugh, not at all phased about wolfâs new snack. the drone takes him by surprise, and even though he masks it well leon canât help but feel curious to get a closer look. âgeez, what did you do with it? drop it off a building? toss it across the parking lot? honestly.â picking up the drone, leon holds it up so he can look over the mechanics. something is clearly damaged in there. but, heâs also fairly certain peter can handle this himself. he sure as hell couldâve back home - home for peter, at least. âyou know iâm a busy guy, right? being your TA isnât the only thing iâve got going on.â okay, the sandwich is tempting, but not enough to distract him entirely. âthe bribe is only gonna half-work. hot food next time. fried something-or-the-other. take notes. you couldnât fix this thing yourself?â
âheâs fine, he doesnât bite. much. just donât take that squeaky wrench toy, itâs his favourite and he will not take kindly to that.â leon says absently, referring to the dog. because of course he has a spot in their lab for his dog. how could he not? wolf goes everywhere with him, thereâs no way he wouldnât have a dedicated corner where leon spends most of his time. the eldest stark pushes his goggles up onto his forehead, shifting his attention away from his tinkering. âalright, letâs take a look.â nodding at the device in their hand, leon reaches out for it. âwhat did you do to it anyway? drop it? pull it apart? i mean i can fix it no problem, but iâd recommend not getting too hulk-y with your stuff next time.â
( gregg sulkin, 26, he/him ) Look, itâs LEONIDAS âLEONâ STARK from EARTH-487! Arenât they the child of TONY STARK & PEPPER POTTS. I hear theyâre currently GRAD STUDENT & ENGINEERING TA. I noticed theyâre INTELLIGENT AND GENEROUS, but also kinda ARROGANT AND GUARDED. Their file says they have GENIUS LEVEL INTELLECT & HIGHLY TRAINED IN SELF-DEFENCE, EXCELLENT SKILL AND PROFICIENCY IN USING THE IRON MAN SUIT, AND FIREARMS USE. I canât wait to see what they do next!
BACKGROUND:
biography:
as not only the eldest stark, but the eldest child of two incredible and legendary parents, leon has had a world of pressure on his shoulders for as long as he can remember. pressure he takes all too seriously, despite making it appear as though he didnât.
from a young age, leon took after his father. he didnât know tony as the great tony stark, or as the superhero iron man, not at first. he just knew his dad, this incredible man who always made him laugh, always made him feel loved, always understood when leon wasnât quite right but didnât know how to say it. to him, tony was just an amazing father, who saw the pieces of him no one else seemed to.
the closeness to his father lead leon to spend as much time with tony as possible as a child, which fed into his natural intelligence and interest in engineering and sciences even when he was young. but tony died when leon was 12, and it changed everything.
in their world, infinity war panned out the way it did in the movies. thanos wiped out half of the universeâs population. endgame happened - they had to restore everyone, but stopping thanos a second time came at a price tonyâs children werenât prepared for. and while he died a hero, died saving everyone from being wiped out, it wasnât so easy for his oldest son to accept.Â
leon struggled like you wouldnât believe with losing his father - with losing the one person he felt understood him in any way. as a child, losing someone so strongly influential in his life, it definitely left a mark on him and made that pressure to be the next Tony Stark that much worse.
over time, with the support of pepper and the other avengers, leon was able to move through his grief, but heâs never really gotten over the death of his father, and never quite found someone who really sees all the pieces of him the way tony did.
the older leon got the more like his father he seemed to be. cocky as hell, charismatic, saw at least five steps ahead and drew people in like you wouldnât believe. after a while, it became a mask more than anything else, to always be confident, always be arrogant enough not to have too much questioning but not enough to make people hate him, most of the time at least. and to always be the smartest man in the room, no matter what room he was in.
the upside of the pressure is that leon has always overachieved. strives to be the best at everything - sports, engineering, science, just about any class he takes he can figure his way through it. heâs already got two doctorates under his belt purely because he canât stop, canât let himself be anything but the best - and because he needs to try and live up to tonyâs name. behind the mask of confidence and overachievement, though, thereâs a kid whoâs just worried heâll never be good enough to protect everyone he loves like he couldnât protect his father.
powers and abilities:
leon doesnât have any powers, but he does have his fatherâs genius intellect and knack for engineering, not to mention the advantage of strength and a lot of training from family, friends, and the countless aunts and uncles who are all heroes of some kind. so heâs pretty well proficient in martial arts and can more than defend himself. he can also use the iron man suit quite well, but hasnât stepped into the big boots of a superhero as a full-time gig just yet.
headcanons:
being the oldest of his siblings, leon very much feels responsible for his brothers and sisters. it all stems from this whole idea that heâs so like tony, that heâs the next tony - he canât shake the concept that heâs supposed to do what tony did, and protect everyone
he suffers from bipolar II - a form of bipolar disorder where he gets the highs and the lows, but the highs are rarely quite as high as full blown mania. heâs had a couple of full manic episodes in his life and itâs never ended well, but for the most part now his highs tend to land him in a lab working on tech of some kind so he can actually do something productive and keep away from anyone he could potentially drag into trouble with him
leon has a dog, a big black german shepherd named wolf. wolf is almost always with him. and i mean always. wolf is also a bit of an unofficial therapy dog, helps leon with the highs and the lows, and is also basically leonâs best friend