Gifting

The next day Tony couldn't wait for the evening to arrive. His little ghost visited the workshop at that time and today would be the day he caught his little magical house guest!

After her second day working at the bistro, Valerie ported to Starks lab to bring him his coffee but was greeted with an electrical current that was coursing through her instantly after she arrived. Tony didn't know that she was already used to electrical shocks far stronger than the one she was currently enduring so she had the time to see DUMEE rolling in her direction and pointing something at her. Not having the leisure to identify the device her instinct screamed at her to flee so she ported to the other side of the workshop, not one second too late. She could feel the discharge of the device and although she was several meters away it was enough to stun her lightly.

It seemed Stark was upping the ante. Thinking she didn't know Stark well enough to determine if he would experiment on her if he caught her and that the game is turning more and more dangerously for her, she decided to test Tony. Levitating the device to the coffees that spilled the moment she arrived she exchanged it with an egg she had in her ring. It would become a magical creature, so she could monitor Stark what he would do to it. No scientist could resist such an allure. Vali could always remove the being from Tonys grasp if he was too cruel to it but if she was captured nobody would rescue her.

Removing the stasis spell from the gg and casting an alarm charm on the shell, that would notify her when it began hatching, she teleported to her home again.

Hearing the alert, Tony was waiting for her all day, he ran down the stairs. Feeling guilty to use the device Obi used on him on his gift bearer, he felt he was running out of options because of her teleportation ability. He had either captured his intruder or had now a very pissed off magical being inside his workshop. Extreme caution was called for, so he equipped his two Iron gauntlets and charged into the room.

"What the heck? Why is there a big red egg on top of the spilled coffee? Where is the intruder? Jarvis?"

"Sir, I would recommend watching the video footage."

Playing the recording, Tony could see the stunner going off then it flew out of DUMEE's fingers and landed on top of the spilled coffee. Then it vanished and instead the egg was lying there. Hoping the witch wasn't as pissed off as Pepper would be in her shoes, he cautiously peered around, waiting for vengeance.

"Sir, behind you."

Quickly turning around Tony was surprised seeing four new cups of coffee with a notice underneath them.

- Mister Stark, I am flattered you want to meet me so much that you are going to such great length to see me.

For your efforts, I have a little gift for you.

This little red egg will hatch a creature that is called a Morph. It will bond to the first person it sees after it hatches and it will be the most loyal friend you can think of. Once it is bonded it will live as long as its owner and will take its last breath with you. They look like a fist-sized fur ball with really big eyes, their coloring can be anticipated based on the color of the eggshell. It can smell bad intentions so always trust his instincts. It is a magical creature with magical blood so there is no need to worry about it catching an illness, there is also no need to get it vaccinated. It will grow up to be as intelligent as a ten-year-old child. Morphs are very particular, very empathic creatures. Right after their bonding, they will metamorphose into the favorite animal of their owner. Please don't ask me why because I don't have the answer but I guess this is a kind of a survival instinct for them, to ensure their owners would love and care for them.

So I am hoping you love dogs or cats and not something bigger like a tiger or smaller like a flea. If your favorite animal is a flea than I am sorry to say that possessing a Morph might be awkward for you. But regardless of which animal it's going to change into, I suppose it should not be a difficult problem to explain it away as a billionaire's eccentrics. Forming an empathic link with its owner, the morph will know if something is amiss or if something is hurting you and try to defend you. Training it to only attack if you give the command might not be a bad idea. It has magical blood so there will be some surprises. Feeding it should not be a problem because it is fine to feed it with human food and water. I hope that's all and that I didn't forget to mention something vital.

Sincerely your (almost) Captive. -

Right after he finished reading he could hear something crack. Looking up he could see several fractures forming on the eggshell. Rushing to it, he carefully put his hands around the egg and lifted it off the floor and on a work counter. Something red and fluffy made its way out of the egg. After some minutes two big blue eyes were staring up at him. It looked like the letter described: it was as big as a tennis ball and seemed to only consist of red fur with the exception of the too big eyes that were still focusing on him. Suddenly there was a bright light blinding him after he regained his eyesight the red furball was nowhere to be found instead he could see a dog wagging his tail at him.

Tony heard light tinkling melodious laughter, it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. Blue words began forming before him

- Congratulations Mister Stark. I think you are the first person to ever own a Morph that didn't transform into a living being but a robot dog. Hilarious. -

Staring at the being in front of him, he took one step forward and inspected the robot. The dog´s coloring was red and gold and it looked as if it was made to fit his Iron Man suit. Tony always wanted a dog but the danger to get a dumb dog was too high, you couldn't upgrade the animal. But now he had a magical living being that looked like an invention from him. It was perfect it could explain every suspicious behavior easily. A living robotic dog was the perfect pet for him. Taking it in his arms it licked affectionately across his face and nestled into his arms. Inspecting it closely he could see it resembled a baby jack Russel terrier with long floppy ears.

Happily holding his new dog, he couldn't believe his luck: Not only did his ghostly friend not get angry with him, she even gifted him the best present of his life. This was the second time she gifted him something right after he tried catching her which he interpreted as a go sign. From now on he would not pull his punches, he would try to capture her with all means possible.