Ch78. Important Talk

Author Note:

AU incoming. Don't give me sh*t and start going at me that some explanations here are not canon. Of course, they are not.

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Tony was in his workshop when he suddenly heard a knocking sound. He immediately stopped tinkering and spoke, "J, please unlock the door."

"As you wish, sir." JARVIS replied and the door clicked before opening, revealing Natasha clad in her usual white shirt and black skirt, looking the part of a proper secretary. All except the fluffy-looking bunny slippers on her feet.

The perks of working from home... or rather, at home.

"You wanted to talk?" Natasha asked as she approached Tony and put her hands on his shoulders, starting to gently massage them like usual.

This time, Tony couldn't really enjoy it, though. Not when he was about to start an unpleasant conversation.

"Ah, yes." Tony said without any enthusiasm, causing Natasha to instantly know something was wrong. Her hands slightly faltered, only for a second, before they resumed what they were doing but Natasha was now in a full serious mode. "I... am almost finished with my PLUS ULTRA-"

"The name is stupid." Natasha couldn't help herself but interrupt.

"Yes, yes. Just as I told you the fifty-six times before, I don't care. I like it." Tony rolled his eyes, no longer feeling so down. It didn't last, however. "Anyway..." His morose tone returned and with a deep sigh, he continued, "I think we need to talk about the consequences of going through it. Not all of the results will be pleasant and there are some that will be cruel, especially in your case."

Natasha furrowed her eyebrows, "Cruel to me? I already decided to throw away my 'humanity' for you. What could be worse?" She had no idea what he meant.

Instead of answering, Tony stood up and turned towards Natasha before taking her hand into his and starting to lead her towards the couch where he sat down and pulled her onto his lap.

"What we will go through will be a transformation. In simple terms, I will transform the core of our soul to be akin to a self-charging battery of certain energies while making sure to preserve our minds and physical form-." Tony spoke with a bit of excitement.

"You have already explained that to me. You want us to stop being reliant on the energies from different dimensions, energies that belong to entities that might or might not be friendly. Right?" Natasha narrated with fond exasperation. Tony loved explaining slash bragging about his progress. She got used to it. "You are basically playing at Merlin from Nasuverse and trying to make us into his Artoria with how he implanted a dragon core into her."

Yes, Natasha picked up a new anime series...

Tony slowly nodded, a bit irritated that he was interrupted. "Yes. I don't trust even something as simple and 'neutral' as making weapons out of eldritch energies. We have no idea where these energies come from. We only know they are non-corruptive and 'safe' but... they are not ours."

"Which pisses you off." Natasha chuckled.

"Of course, it does!" Tony huffed. "It should piss you off too. It's unreliable."

The only thing Tony trusted in Mystic Arts was the Portal Creation. And even then that was only because he knew where the energy for that came from. The energy supplier was the Time Stone.

Even the non-Sling Ring Portal Creation used the Time Stone's energy. The reason why creating portals without the Sling Ring was one of the hardest things in the Mystic Arts was simple. It fully relied on the small connection of the Sorcerers to the Time Stone. The very same connection that was cultivated excruciatingly slowly by simply using Sling Ring. By using the Time Stone's energy.

The more one used said energy, the more attuned to it he was. That's how the experienced Sorcerers could draw a very small amount of Time Stone's energy and create portals on their own.

In short, they were still using the Time Stone. They just didn't need a crutch such as Sling Ring to connect to it.

The ability to do that, however, needed years of practice with the Sling Ring. Simply using the Time Stone's energy deepened the connection. But it was a very slow-going process.

That was the principle upon which all of the Mystic Arts were built. The Sorcerers did not have 'magic' in them. They could only use energies from different dimensions.

It was similar to how humanity used electricity in the past. Before they understood how to 'control' it, they thought it to be some godly force.

In a way, Mystic Arts were a science that seemed magical because every single energy had its own properties and rules. Hence, what applied to one spell didn't necessarily have to be true for another. As such, it seemed to be illogical and did not follow any sort of system like other laws in the sciences. So, the mystery deepened and the term 'magic' was adopted.

The Sorcerers were in no way scientists. Even the Ancient One, the most knowledgeable and educated person when it came to the Mystic Arts, was not really into researching why things work as they do. She researched and created new spells. Her expertise was in 'how' certain energies affected the world, instead of 'why' things worked how they did.

Honestly, the entire system of Mystic Arts was so confusing and misleading, that even Tony was baffled for quite some time. He could see why other scientifically aligned minds would have a problem understanding it and simply accept that it was magic, no longer pondering about it.

Not to mention that in-depth research of particular energies might not be to the liking of their owners. And no Sorcerer wanted to piss off some dimensional entity. Even if said Entity was extremely good-aligned, it was a foolish risk.

An entity ruling a dimension from which particular energy came, had full dominion over said energy that completely belonged to it.

THAT... is what Tony wanted to avoid. He wanted... no, he needed his own energy source. Something his, something he could always rely upon, something that won't have a possibility of a hidden 'catch' hanging over his head whenever he used it.

He might not have managed to not use energies that came from 'nobody knows where' but were known for being fully safe and Sorcerers used them for millennia without problem, but he vehemently avoided using spells that borrowed power from other entities.

The problem with that was simple.

The same as energies from uncaring entities that gave them for free, these 'safe' energies did not provide much power.

The strongest spells in Mystic Arts needed the user to make a deal with a Dimensional Entity. This rule was unavoidable.

And for Tony, it was unacceptable.

Not even the Sorcerer Supreme who mostly used the Time Stone as her energy battery, could avoid approaching this or that entity with a deal from time to time. And if the Sorcerer with the biggest cheat as far as the Mystic Arts are considered could not avoid it, how could a normal everyday Sorcerer that wanted a power boost manage dodging this requirement?

"Well, I am sorry for understanding that power comes at a cost." Natasha snarkily rebuked. From her tone it was obvious she didn't really mean it. After all, Tony's distaste for that particular rule of the Mystic Arts was well known to her and Tao and they loved to make fun of it.

"I might not be able to choose how others price their products but I can choose if I am willing to pay a said price or go look elsewhere for a more efficient option. A basic principle of business, dear Natasha." Tony jokingly reprimanded.

"Yes, yes, you are self-sufficient. I am so proud of you." Natasha rolled her eyes, "So? Stop trying to divert the topic and tell me what's the problem already."

Tony pursed his lips. Yes, he was being a bit dodgy but she didn't have to call him out on that. Couldn't she just wait until he gets enough courage and...

"Haa~," Tony sighed, "Fine. You just had your body healed through the Extremis Cradle..." He trailed off.

"Uh-oh. I don't like where this is going." Natasha pipped but her voice was quiet enough to not be disruptive.

Tony gave her an apologetic smile, "PLUS ULTRA will make us 'higher' existences, metaphorically speaking. At the very least, our lifespan will be multiplied a lot. Unfortunately, it is a natural way of things that the more durable and resilient an organism is, the harder time it has to reproduce."

"But... I will still be able to have children, no?" Natasha carefully asked.

"Yes. As I said, the chances of having a child will be extremely slim but not impossible." Tony explained. He really felt bad about this. He knew Natasha longed for family and by putting her through his PLUS ULTRA, he would take that dream away from her for a very long time.

But... he would rather her get stronger and live long rather than have her dream. After all, dead people could not fulfill their dreams.

"You silly man." Natasha affectionately put her hand on Tony's cheek and laughed with obvious relief.

Seeing how unbothered she was, Tony was too relieved. He expected a much angrier reaction from her.

"I didn't even have the necessary organs to reproduce before. I had zero chance of having children. I am a bit upset about this but... in the end, it is not like there will be no chance whatsoever." Natasha closed the distance between Tony and herself, tightly hugging him in reassurance.

Tony returned her hug, enjoying her warmth when...

"Plus, I am sure the years of attempts will be enjoyable." Natasha sensually whispered into Tony's ear in a husky tone.